Are 50 year old postage stamps still useable??!!

[StampedUp]

Bought something off Ebay and took delivery of the most bizarre parcel today. Smothered in stamps some of which were 8p ones and even 8 and a half pence stamps (when were halfpennies last used?!) Lady Di and Charles wedding stamps and stamps from 1974!! I totted them up and they added up to over £2.50 so covered the modern day cost but even more bizarrely the frank mark said August 8 23 (not 24) I actually cut off the stamped up bit because it looked quite pretty!

I thought all stamps had to have a barcode now? My parcel looks like it time-travelled 😂

Picture stamps are still valid, I think.

Useable, no. Collectable, yes.

That's hilarious! I'd have thought half of them were invalid now! But... you got your parcel so....... 😆

Well it arrived so I guess so. But I'd have thought unused they would be worth more than whatever you bought .

(What did you buy? You know we are all desperate to know)

According to CAB, old commemorative stamps are still valid, but everyday ones with QEII' head on on are not. Looks like all yours are commemorative.

Have to laugh at Charles & Di being on there!

A couple of years ago I bought a lot of books from an auction (I sell books online). In one of them were several stamp stock sheets chock full of old picture stamps, mostly of low value, but adding up to about £80 in value (I only paid £10 for the lot, so I was quids in!)

My parcels looked very pretty for some time afterwards!

As far as I know, old picture stamps are still valid, it's just the plain ones with the king's head which need a bar code.

I have some of those stamps in my childhood stamp collection. I might use them up too!

If the stamp has a value on then they can be used, as can picture stamps. The ones that say 1st or 2nd without a bar code cannot be used anymore.

Pictures and ones with a value on are still ok, it's the normal first and second class ones that aren't.

Non value indicators are not. The ones that say just 1st class, 2nd class. Everything else is so go ahead and use them.

Thanks all - learn something new everyday! For the person asking, I bought a vintage tin 🙂

The seller had perhaps been storing the stamps in it!

🤣🤣
Just what I was thinking!
you can't imagine more appropriate packaging for a vintage tin! 🤣🤣

I sold my Fathers stamp collection to a company who buy old stamps for a % of their value then resell them at a slightly higher % and they are still worth the face value for postage. So businesses can save 20% or whatever on postage costs. It used to be all stamps now its just picture and Christmas stamps. There is more than one company who do this.

Some of those stamps might've been his. I feel a bit triggered by the photo. I had to sort hundreds and hundreds of them. 😂

I've bought books from a vintage bookseller and they always come like this. I think it's fun.

I think picture stamps of any sort (including 1st and 2nd class) are still valid. I have a friend who buys old stamps and uses them up.