Official Post Office Cover Seven Values Windsor FDC Cancel
OVERVIEW
Offered is an original 1983 Great Britain official Post Office First Day Cover bearing the complete seven-stamp Machin New Definitive Values issue.
Cancelled at Windsor, Berkshire, on 30 March 1983, the official first day of issue, this addressed cover was sent to R. V. Hollingsworth in Midland, Texas.
The complete definitive set, repeated special Windsor handstamps, overseas destination, and distinctive brown-and-white "new definitive values" Post Office cachet create a strong presentation for collectors of Machins and decimal-era British postal history.
FRANKING & POSTAL HISTORY
The cover carries all seven Machin values issued on 30 March 1983: 3½p purple-brown, 16p olive-drab, 17p grey-blue, 20½p ultramarine, 23p brown-red, 28p deep violet, and 31p purple.
The stamps feature Arnold Machin's iconic profile of Queen Elizabeth II and were produced as contemporary decimal definitive values for the changing British postal-rate structure.
The complete set is arranged across the official Post Office envelope and tied by multiple matching Windsor, Berks special pictorial "First Day of Issue" pound-sterling handstamps dated 30 MAR 1983.
The complete seven-value placement is philatelic and presentation-oriented rather than a conventional single-rate commercial franking.
CONTEXT & COLLECTOR APPEAL
This cover documents a specific stage in the continuing development of the Machin definitive series, one of the most recognizable and extensively collected modern stamp designs.
The appeal rests on the complete issue rather than an isolated denomination: seven distinct values and colors, the official Post Office cachet, multiple Windsor first day strikes, and a clearly typed United States destination.
Windsor provides additional royal association appropriate to a Queen Elizabeth II definitive issue, while the overseas address gives the cover greater postal-history character than a standard unaddressed bureau example.
ITEM SPECIFICS
Country: Great Britain
Year: 1983
Type: First Day Cover (FDC)
Topic: Queen Elizabeth II Machin Definitives
Theme: Decimal Postal Rates and Royal Portraiture
Subject: Machin New Definitive Values Set
Era: Elizabeth II Decimal Period
Occasion: First Day of Issue
Region: Windsor, Berkshire
Stamp Color: Multi-Color (Purple-Brown, Olive-Drab, Grey-Blue, Ultramarine, Brown-Red, Deep Violet, Purple)
Denomination: 3½p, 16p, 17p, 20½p, 23p, 28p, 31p (138½p Total)
Currency: Pence Sterling (Decimal)
Perforation: Not Confirmed (from images)
Printing Method: Photogravure (Harrison & Sons)
Cover Stock/Paper Type: Official Post Office Envelope (Wove)
Cancellation Type/Date: Windsor Berks Pictorial First Day Handstamp (30 March 1983)
Catalog Numbers: Scott MH103-MH109 Range (SG X957-X963)
SKU-GB-1983-MACHIN-WINDSOR-USA-FDC-01
CONDITION
Original addressed 1983 First Day Cover in sound collectible condition.
The envelope shows light edge and corner wear, minor handling evidence, and limited storage marks consistent with age and overseas transit.
The official Post Office cachet remains bold, the typed address is clear, and all seven stamps remain firmly affixed.
The Windsor pictorial first day handstamps are dark and readily legible, although several strikes overlap the stamp designs as intended.
Please review all high-resolution photographs carefully on the individual listing for exact paper condition, edges, corners, stamp placement, cancellation coverage, and overall presentation prior to purchase.