The Royal Mail has introduced stamps that are tamper-proof to stop them being reused. The stamps have two strips, one either side of the Queen’s head, which are left on the envelope when the stamp is peeled away. They also have “Royal Mail” printed on them. Although stamps are franked at the sorting office, the markings on reused ones are not always picked up by staff.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “First and second-class standard stamps are being produced as self-adhesive stamps with new security features including slits and an iridescent overprint.

“The two adjacent die cut slits are semi-circular and are designed to inhibit the removal of used stamps from the mail for fraudulent use.

“The overprint repeats the words ’Royal Mail’ in microtext in a wave-like pattern reminiscent of security features on banknotes. These initiatives are part of the on-going development of security features for stamps.”

Original Post in www.timesonline.co.uk  

published February 25th, 2010