Netherlands - Post & Go 2017 - Den Haag, PostNL

The Netherlands did not have ATM stamps for years. In January 2017 they were re-introduced at the stamp show in Hilversum (I missed that). PostNL is experimenting with selling single stamps instead of sheets of ten stamps. Selling single stamps stopped when PostNL closed the post offices and put postal desks in bookstores, supermarkets and other shops.

In January 2017, four machines were in use. Machine NL01 is used for special events, NL02 is placed in the Collect Club stamp shop in Bussum and NL03 can be found in the PostNL shop in The Hague. There is also a machine NL00. The stamps from this machine are sold through the PostNL Collect Club website and in two shops in Amersfoort.

In October 2017 the NL02 machine in Bussum was relocated to The Hague and place in The Read Shop Apon in the Theresiastraat. Half a year later it was removed from there and whas then stored at the PostNL headquarters in The Hague without being used.

Each machine contains two rolls of 1500 stamps that are printed on demand. The stamp 'butterfly' has the value 1 (letter national up to 20 gr), the stamp 'tulip' has a value of INTERNATIONAAL 1 (letter international up to 20 gr) with a printed priority label.

I bought the stamps in The Hague on 20 April 2017. Since PostNL had withdrawn all datestamps at that time, the only possibility was to put my envelopes in a letter box.The envelopes were cancelled at the sorting centre in The Hague ('s-Gravenhage).

The post office in The Hage was closed on 14 November 2018, making it the last post office in the Netherlands to disappear. From that date no separate post offices exist anymore in the country.

Date sent: 20 April 2017

Date postmark: 20 April 2017

Date received: 21 April 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 7

Date sent: 20 April 2017

Date postmark: 20 April 2017

Date received: 21 April 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 8