Jersey introduced rate change April 23

New postage rates for the Channel Island of Jersey went into effect April 23.

Jersey Post increased two basic letter rates by 1 penny each.

The rate for domestic letters weighing 100 grams or less went from 45p to 46p, and the rate for letters to the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man increased from 55p to 56p.

Jersey Post reported that the rates for small parcels either remained the same or were reduced.

Jersey Post chief executive Kevin Keen said that for the fourth year in a row, special discount rates will be offered at Christmas, the period when islanders send the highest volumes of mail.

Keen also reported that this is Jersey Post’s first postage increase in two years.

Sets of commemorative stamps reflecting the new rates were issued in April and May.

Both the Remembrance Day stamps released May 6 and the William Shakespeare stamps issued April 23 include stamps denominated 46p and 56p.

The Shakespeare stamps commemorate the 450th anniversary of the playwright’s birth.

The Remembrance Day stamps mark the 100th anniversary of World War I. The stamps not only feature poppies, they also included poppy seeds.

Jersey Post said: “Poppy seeds have been encapsulated in two of the designs, sealed behind a thin, transparent, bio-degradable plastic cover. The stamps can be planted and will gradually decompose as the seeds start to grow, producing the striking red flowers which are so strongly associated with remembrance.”

The Remembrance Day set includes six stamps and a souvenir sheet, and the Shakespeare set includes six stamps.

Since 1969, Jersey Post has been providing postal services to the island of Jersey. Following incorporation in 2006, Jersey Post has grown into the Jersey Post Group, a company wholly owned by the states of Jersey.