The Crown Agents

Stamp Bureau Crown Agents Omnibus Promotions

The Crown Agents Stamp Bureau (CASB) produced several promotional items

down the years for its various 'omnibus' series of counter stamps or miniature

sheets and these colourful items form the basis of this one-frame Cinderella display.

Most items remain cheap as they were invariably given away free within stamp

magazines or at stamp shows attended by CASB, but there are a few exceptions,

namely those marked as having been issued at the launch parties for the stamps.

On 1 October 2007, the Crown Agents Stamp Bureau ceased to independently

exist when it joined forces with stamp dealer Harry Allen to form Casco Philatelic

Services Ltd. No additional promotional 'omnibus' material has been seen since.

A Chronology of Events Commemorated

with Omnibus Promotions

1982: 21st Birthday of Princess Diana

1985: Her Majesty the Queen Mother's 85th Birthday and 'Life and Times'

1993: 75th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force

1995: 50th Anniversary of the End of World War Two

1997: Golden Wedding of HM Queen Elizabeth and HRH The Prince Phillip

1999: 30th Anniversary of the First Manned Moon Landing

2001: Year of the Snake 'Best Wishes and Good Fortune'

2002: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, 1900-2002

2002: HM Queen Elizabeth Il's Golden Jubilee

2003: New High Value Portrait of Her Majesty The Queen

2003: 50th Anniversary of the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth 11

ST. HELENA

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1982: 21st Birthday of

Crown Agents Princess Diana

A mere 700 sheetlets were printed by Harrison and Sons in photogravure with foil blocking for this

promotional issue. They were presented in a gift folder printed in silver by Walsall Security Printers to those

attending the launch of the new 21st Birthday stamps. This item is probably the scarcest of this series of

promotional items and is rarely seen offered for sale.

Ner Royal Highness The Princess of Wales

AZ.ENS O?3US ONN

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11 A The promotional sheet.

The presentation folder for launch party guests >

ST. HELENA

21 s Birthday I st J uly 1982

ST. HELENA ST.HELENA

Typical set of stamps in the series

from St Helena.

Presented by THE CROWN AGENTS

for Oversea Governments and Administrations

Typical set of stamps

in the series

from St Helena.

1985: Her Majesty the Queen Mother's

Crown Agents 85th Birthday and 'Life and Times'

In 1985, The House of Questa produced a sheet of 20 dummy stamp designs depicting HM The Queen

Mother for the CASB omnibus series. These sheets bore commemorative text in the perforated-through

margins. Copies were given away within Stamp Magazine at the time of the stamp issue.

Presented by Crown Agents Stamp Bureau

"gents rmnmn on

Crown Agn(sCrown .tnts Crown Agents Crown Agents Omnibus Omnibus JOinnihus Omnibus

0— W-0 Crown Agents rown Ag0fitA rown Agents own Aen Omnibus Omnibus •Omnihus Omnibus

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Crown Agents Crown .ents Crown Ageen Omnibus Omnibus

L jy: Crown Age Crownen g Agents Crown A Omnibus Omnibus

lCrownOmnibus Omnihu :

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Printed at The House of Qesta

The free gift version of the promotional sheet,

as supplied through Stamp Magazine.

1985: Her Majesty the Queen Mother's

Crown Agents 85th Birthday and 'Life and Times'

In 1985 and again in 1989, The House of Questa produced a sheet of 20 dummy stamp designs depicting HM

The Queen Mother for the CASB omnibus series as previously, but this time without commemorative text

and with imperforate margins. This sheet was initially given to those attending the 1985 launch and again in

1989 to delegates at a postal conference, by which time CASB was CAPHCO. 700 were printed for both events.

Crown Agents Crown Agents Crown Agents Oil 7Ks Omnibus Omnibus Omnibus

to'llilli 0,4 --m Trown Agents!TAgent's Crown Agent Crown Agents Omnibus innibus Omnibus Omnibus

C1 rwng..,nts I Crown mqWWS 0.

o Crown Agug.s ICrown Agents. Crown Age Omnibi miiibus Oiniiihus.•

Crown Agents wn Agits Crown Age Cr Omnibus - iiinihus omnibus Omnibus

P The C,r,ten Aqents Oroethus

Se,,es of Ptote Stomp Mork,mt the L4e ted litnot of

He. Mo,eot Qutee Ffoth.'th Th, Que.o Moh,

Scan of outside cover of the

1985 stamp launch version.

COMMONWEALTH POSTAL

CONFERENCE

PRE-CONGRESS MEETING

NOVEMBER 1989

lWW* CAPHCO

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Scan of outside cover of the

1989 Postal Conference version.

mi

It is not possible to identify whether the sheet is from the 1985 or 1989 printing

when separated from its folder. This copy is guaranteed to be from 1989.

Crown Agents

The aircraft and CASB artworks

used on the show sheets and

on the black-print.

1993: 75th Anniversary of

the Royal Air Force ii'A Crown Agents

A so-called 'black-print' was produced by an unidentified printer for this RAF series. The artworks were by

Tony Theobald and lack the text that appeared on the issued stamps, except aircraft name. These three (and

a fourth unadopted Tornado design) also appeared on a pair of Stampex/Eur-Apex 93 sheets in colour, again

without country name or face value, etc., but full MS are excluded from here as they are not omnibus related.

75th AN N IVE RSARYof the ROYAL AIR FORCE

F7/7 PWffHSNI8

SOPWITHS92PE 1918

ia Crown Agents

AVRO LANCASTER 5; :942

PRESENTED BY THE CROWN AGENTS STAMP BUREAU OLD INN HOUSE, 2 CARSHALTON ROAD, SUTTON, SURREY, SM I 4RN

The black-print promotional sheet.

75th ANNIVERSARY of 91,, ROYAL AIR FORCE 1918-1993 ER

ASCENSION ISLAND 2O

75c BELIZE

11th ANNWVEii'A~qt:~ 09,1,, ROYAL AIR FORCE1918-1993

75th ANNIVERSARY of th ROYAL AIR FORCE ER 1918-1993

36P FALKLAND ISLANDS The unadopted fourth aircraft

The three aircraft issued stamps design from the Stampex/

used on the black-print. Eur-Apex sheets.

1995: 50th Anniversary of the

Crown Agents End of World War Two

Depicting the reverse side of the War Medal set against a field of poppies, this imperforate promotional

sheet was printed at the House of Questa.

'LEST WE FORGET'

Crown Agents

Stamp Bureau,- I ". 50'--ANO

~ I~TERSARY

I ' The promotional sheet.

1

O" ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF WORLD WAR II

1I -:;

I l,

LLàIM#A. I. IIIlI:\A _ •

F E$T WE FORGET' •

Typical miniature sheet in the series

from St Helena.

im 1997: Golden Wedding of HM Queen Elizabeth and HRH The Prince Phillip

Crown Agents

On 9 July 1997, CASB and the British Library Philatelic Collections held a joint reception in the British

Museum to mark the issuance of a commemorative omnibus edition printed at The House of Questa. Guests were presented with the promotional sheet in a folder bearing just the Crown Agents logo on the front cover.

Presented by the Crown Agents Stamp Bureau

to commemorate the Golden Wedding of

H.M. Queen Elizabeth 11 and H.R.H. The Prince Philip,

1947.1997.

• • .•• ...............I•I,

H.M. Queen Elizabeth If

H.R.H. The Prince Philip

The presentation folder for launch party guests with its promotional sheet.

H.M. Queen Elizabeth II H.R.H. The Prince Philip

Typical miniature sheet in the series from St Helena.

1999: 30th Anniversary of the

First Manned Moon-Landing Ar Crown Agents

Depicting the Earth viewed from the surface of the Moon, this circular stamp design was printed at The

House of Questa and was given away in large quantities at The Stamp Show 2000, and no doubt elsewhere

The promotional sheet.

Typical miniature sheet in the series from Tuvalu and

overprinted SPECIMEN. St Helena never took part.

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2001

4!gents Year of the Snake

BEST WISHES & POOD FORTUNE

i{i i1 Ii

2001: Year of the Snake

Crown Agents 'Best Wishes and Good Fortune'

Walsall Security Printers printed this sheet for CASB, although it does not appear to be tied-in with an

omnibus issue. It utilises the silver foil blocking that had previously been used in 1997 for the 'Handover of

Hong Kong' omnibus series.

The promotional sheet.

Typical miniature sheet in the series

from St Helena.

im 2002: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth,

The Queen Mother, 1900-2002 Crown Agents

Showing HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, this sheet was a

tribute to 'The Queen Mum'. Free copies were given away inside copies of both Stamp Magazine and GSM.

The promotional sheet.

Typical miniature sheet in the series

from St Helena.

2002: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth,

Crown Agents The Queen Mother, 1900-2002

The two magazine promotions.

- -- L/\\_ With the compliments of Crown Agents

& STAMP MAGAZINE

We hope you enjoy your FREE Queen Mother souvenir sheet - for details of a special reader of fer please turn over this card!

The free gift, as supplied through Stamp Magazine.

The free gift, as supplied through GSM.

2002: HM Queen Elizabeth Ii's

Crown Agents Golden Jubilee

On this sheet printed at The House of Questa in a run of 25,000 copies, Princess Elizabeth is seen examining

pages from an album held within the Royal Philatelic Collection in July 1946. Copies of the sheet were given

away with the February 2002 issue of GSM.

The promotional sheet.

The promotional sheet, as supplied in the handbook of the travelling exhibition.

Typical miniature sheet in the series from St Helena.

2002: HM Queen Elizabeth Il's

Crown Agents Golden Jubilee

In 2002, CASB was involved in a special travelling exhibition entitled 'The Queen's Stamps', which was held

at the Palace of Holyrood House, Sandringham House and Hampton Court. An overprinted sheet was issued.

Travelling Exhibition 2002

*4333 3333300 #0 1' 14 I a

40

Typical stamp

in the series

from St Helena.

2003: New High Value Portrait of

Crown Agents Her Majesty The Queen

Based on a portrait of Her Majesty taken by the late Lord Lichfield in 2001, the sheet was first presented with

the September 2003 issue of GSM and to purchasers of the omnibus issue. A second edition bore additional

text and logo commemorating 50 years of Stampex and these were handed-out at the show. Both dummies

and the issued stamps were printed by BDT International Security Printing in the Irish Republic.

'FREE GIFT I MOW, 21 , = M I Of I

The Crown Agents Stamp Bureau and

Gibbons Stamp Monthly

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN St I-kkna

The Crown Agents Stamp Bureau ER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

The free gift,

as supplied through GSM.

The promotional sheet, as supplied through Stampex.

7,500 copies are likely to have been provided

to the show organisers >

The Crown Agents Stamp Bureau

stamp,)

50th ANNIVERSARY YEAR

im 2003: 50th Anniversary of the

Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II Crown Agents

The June 2003 issue of GSM came with a free copy of a sheet in the style of the Coronation omnibus series.

It was printed by De La Rue Security Print and proved to be the final such item.

F R E F GIFT eee

ft/ue4 O6

CO Of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Typical miniature sheet in the series

from St Helena.

iA 2003: 50th Anniversary of the

Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II Crown Agents

The new High Value Head and Coronation omnibus series both had a commemorative cover produced for

guests attending the receptions held to launch these two stamp issues.

Coronation Of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth U

Souvenir Cover

Crown Agents Stamp Bureau

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Crown Agents Stamp Bureau

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