phq

The History.

PHQ Cards were first issued by the British Post Office in 1973, with a single card for the County Cricket issue.
The stamps for the set were issued May 16th 1973, but the card did not arrive until mid-July, so most used examples of this card will be dated July or August 1973.
It is thought that originally these cards would be issued occasionally, just as 'nice postcards', it had not been considered they might become items of collectable interest to philatelists.
However, right from the start, collectors were putting the stamps on the cards and obtaining suitable postmarks.
In the early years, the cards were only issued occasionally, not for every issue, it was not until July 1976 that the cards started to be issued for every commemorative set.
Some of the early cards are therefore somewhat rarer and more difficult, and expensive to obtain.
It is worth noting that the first two cards Cricket & Inigo Jones, were larger , 120mm x 172mm, all issues since then have measured approximately 104mm x 148mm, nearer to normal postcard size.

What are PHQ Cards?

PHQ Cards are postcard reproductions of new sets of stamps issued by the British Post Office, with one card issued for each stamp in the set.
For many years the cards were only issued for Commemorative sets, but in recent years cards have been produced for other issues.

PHQ Cards are collected either as mint sets or serviced with the appropriate stamp attached and cancelled with the First Day of Issue Postmark.
(see below)
Serviced cards can have the stamp on either side of the card, but the most popular is on the face (picture side) of the card, as in the example below.