From the PICAXE manual 1:
More recent M2 parts are custom parts ‘factory engraved’ with the full PICAXE
name. Other parts are simply ‘engraved’ with the Microchip part name.
PICAXE Type Engraving on top of chip
• PICAXE-08M2 PICAXE-08M2+
• PICAXE-14M2 PICAXE-14M2
• PICAXE-18M2 PICAXE-18M2+
• PICAXE-20M2 PICAXE-20M2
• PICAXE-20X2 PIC18F14K22
• PICAXE-28X2 PIC18F25K22
• PICAXE-40X2 PIC18F45K22
Did you buy PICAXE-18M2? or did you buy PIC16F1847?
If you bought PIC16F1847, then you bought the wrong thing
If you bought PICAXE-18M2 then you probably bought the right thing, but the engraving might not match what the Manual part 1 suggests.
Which UK supplier? What part number?
PIC16F1847 is NOT the same thing as PICAXE-18M2+. Both use PIC16F1847 as a base device, but the PICAXE has firmware written in at the factory
My PICAXE-18M2+ chips were bought recently from Rapid Online, but are marked PIC16F1847. This contradicts the manual and does not match the picture, but is of no consequence to me. They work perfectly well as PICAXE chips,
Rapid PICAXE