Royal Mail has issued a new stamp in honour of the 50th anniversary of the current 'Queen's head' design.
Royal Mail's new Queen Elizabeth stamps
The 91-year-old monarch Queen Elizabeth II has been featured on stamps in the iconic design made by sculptor Arnold Machin since 1967, and the Royal Mail now estimate her image has been reproduced in more than 130 and reprinted an estimated 220 billion times since then.
Now, to mark the half century since the design - which is often referred to as the Machin Definitive stamp - was first created, a set of six new stamps were issued on Monday (05.06.17) which all feature different stages of the design, including a preliminary sketch, alongside the finished product.
Royal Mail spokesman Philip Parker said in a statement: "We are proud to mark the golden anniversary of the Machin Definitive with new stamps showing the evolution of this design classic."
Dominic Newton - Arnold Machin's nephew and director and trustee of the Machin Arts Foundation - said his Uncle, who died in 1999, regarded the stamp design as his "greatest achievement".
He said: "Arnold Machin regarded his design and sculpture for the definitive issue stamp as his greatest achievement.
"He saw his task as creating a design with charm and dignity and yet without sentimentality, both a likeness of the Queen and an image of the monarchy. The result was an iconic design that has stood the test of time."
Arnold, who was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1911, had a long association with Wedgwood potteries and also designed the profile of the Queen that appeared on coins from 1968 to 1984.
Before 1967, a photograph of Queen Elizabeth taken by society photographer Dorothy Wilding was used on stamps.
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