British birds year 1966 stamps full set Mint never hinged

British birds year 1966 stamps full set Mint never hinged

That’s a very popular and attractive commemorative issue from Great Britain!

The 1966 “British Birds” set was issued on September 19, 1966, and features four well-known native British garden birds. This was one of the earliest full-colour pictorial sets issued by the Post Office.

🐦 The Full Set of 1966 British Birds Stamps

The set consists of four stamps, all with the same value of 4d (fourpence, as they were issued before decimalization in 1971).

🔎 Varieties and Collectibility

This set is particularly interesting to collectors due to the multiple printing varieties and minor errors:

• Ordinary vs. Phosphor: The stamps were issued in two main types:
  • Ordinary (Non-Phosphor): Standard printing.
  • Phosphor: Printed with vertical bands of phosphorescent ink (invisible under normal light) for use with automated sorting machines. The phosphor versions are catalogued separately (SG P696–P699) and are often worth slightly more than the ordinary set.
• Errors/Flaws: Famous, highly valuable errors exist, such as the “Four Colours Omitted” error on the 4d Black-headed Gull (where several colours, including the bird’s eye, are missing) and minor flaws like “brown legs omitted” on the Robin or Blackbird.