Royal Mail has announced that they are changing all of their stamps, meaning that ones already printed will soon become worthless. The post distributor has said it is adding adding barcodes to all its regular stamps, meaning after a certain date those without these barcodes will not be valid.
However, if you manage to swap your stamps in before the deadline - January 31 - you won't be missing out. Royal Mail is telling people to otherwise use up their old stamps before this deadline or swap them for free for the new barcoded ones.
The stamps that are changing are the stamps (pictured below) that will be very familiar to you. They feature the profile of Her Late Majesty The Queen on a plain coloured background. The stamps that will come into force with Prince Charles III portrait have yet to be released.
Read more: From coins to stamps and passports, the things that will change after the Queen's death
Royal Mail says barcodes will enable new services by connecting physical stamps to the digital world through the Royal Mail app.
What type of stamps will no longer be valid?
These stamps of The Queen against a coloured background with no barcode will no longer be valid.
How do I swap my stamps?
Your non-barcoded stamps can be exchanged for the new barcoded version through the Stamp Swap Out scheme. To swap out your stamps, you must complete a Stamp Swap Out form and send it back to Royal Mail along with your non-barcoded stamps.
You can find all of the relevant forms you will need on the Royal Mail website here.
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