THE KEY PLATES

Page 3 : QEII Decimal Issues

The key plate design was was again changed when the British currency was decimalised in 1971. By this time, there were only a few uses remaining for such revenue stamps, so presumably for reasons of economy a single design was used for all values.

The design changed yet again in 1983. When I first saw this stamp I wondered if it were a forgery since the reproduction of the design feels very crude, as does the coarse perforation guage (12¼x11¾). I wonder if the design change had anything to do with a change of printer ?