HM Prison and Scottish Prison BT Phonecards

These British Telecom (BT) telephone cards were cards used within UK Prisons - HM Prisons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Scottish Prison Service (SPS) prisons in Scotland. Early prison Phonecards were general public released cards, later telephone cards were specially encoded for use only with cardphones in UK prisons. This was to prevent Phonecards from being smuggled into prisons and traded between inmates as currency and at inflated prices. Read more about BT Prison Phonecards for comprehensive information.

The cards pictured below appear in order of catalogue number CUP001 to CUP010. These cards are preceded by the general public hand stamped cards. To view all of the cards in CUP section simply purchase a copy of the UK 1 World Phonecard Catalogue (pictured right).

Hand stamped Prison 20unit BTD008 Phonecard.
BTD008: 2nd Issue Phonecard Definitive
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1986

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Hand stamped Prison 20unit BTD014 Phonecard.
BTD014: 3rd Issue Phonecard Definitive
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1989

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Hand stamped HMP Kirkham Canteen 10unit BTD013 Phonecard.
BTD013: 2nd Issue Phonecard Definitive
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1989

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Hand stamped HMP Kirkham Canteen 20unit BTD014 Phonecard.
BTD014: 3rd Issue Phonecard Definitive
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1989

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Hand stamped Home Office Official 10unit BTD013 Phonecard.
BTD013: 3rd Issue Phonecard Definitive
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1989

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Hand stamped Home Office Official 20unit BTD014 Phonecard.
BTD014: 3rd Issue Phonecard Definitive
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1989

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Hand stamped Home Office Official 40unit BTD015 Phonecard.
BTD015: 3rd Issue Phonecard Definitive
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1989

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HM Prison Service ('20' 2.6mm Thin Letters) BT Phonecard.
CUP001A: HM Prison Service ('20' 2.6mm Thin Letters)
Quantity: 1,500
Issued: 1989

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HM Prison Service ('20' 2.6mm Thick Letters) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP001B: HM Prison Service ('20' 2.6mm Thick Letters)
Quantity: 932,569
Issued: 1989-1991

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HM Prison Service ('20' 3.1mm) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP001C: HM Prison Service ('20' 3.1mm)
Quantity: 76,000
Issued: 1989-1990

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Scottish Prison Service 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP002: Scottish Prison Service
Quantity: 253,583
Issued: 1990-1991

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Scottish Prison Service (White Band) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP003: Scottish Prison Service (Thermographic Band)
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1992-1997

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HM Prisons Only (Offset Print) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP004A: HM Prisons Only
Quantity: 746,554
Issued: 1991-1992

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HM Prisons Only (Telecom Portugal 120u) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP004B: HM Prisons Only (Telecom Portugal 120u)
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1992

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HM Prisons Only (Thermographic Band) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP005: HM Prisons Only (Thermographic Band)
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1992-1999

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HM Prisons Only (Thermographic Band) 40unit BT Phonecard.
CUP006: HM Prisons Only (Thermographic Band)
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 1992-1997

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Prisons Only (New Design) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP007: Prisons Only (New Design)
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 2001-2003

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Prisons Only (New Design) 40unit BT Phonecard.
CUP008: Prisons Only (New Design)
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 2001-2002

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Prisons Only (Thin Plastic - 3/4 Face) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP009: Prisons Only (Thin Plastic - 3/4 Face)
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 2003

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Prisons Only (Thin Plastic - Full Face) 20unit BT Phonecard.
CUP010: Prisons Only (Thin Plastic - Full Face)
Quantity: Unknown
Issued: 2003

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Last updated: 27th October 2025