New high-value recess-printed Machins were issued on March 9, 1999. They have the same values as the previous high-values picturing castles: £1.50 rust, £2 blue, £3 purple, and £5 brown. The Castles will be retired.

They were printed in intaglio (recess) by Enschede of Holland and engraved by Czeslaw Slania. Unusually for British high-values, they are the same size as the current low-value Machins.

Royal Mail explains the change by saying that they wish to have “a consistent image across Royal Mail stamps on permanent sale, that is, stamps whose primary purpose is as a method of payment for posting rather than collecting.”

The first high-value Machins issued in 1969 were recess printed. They were replaced in 1970 by decimal versions. Large Machins printed by photogravure were issued in 1977, and these were succeeded by the Castles in 1988.