Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
and mail it to the postmaster of the town issuing the stamp in a separate envelope.
You would also include postage to mail the cover back.
The postage rate for first class mail, in 1940 was 3 cents.
This cover got by with only 2 one cent stamps.
Go Figure !
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That’s not my understanding. Official FDC covers, with cachet, have always been issued by post office departments and first sold, or given away, at official ceremonies, and then sold at post offices. It used to be standard practice for collectors to mail unstamped, self-addressed envelopes (SAEs) to post office departments, with payment for the new stamps to be affixed to the SAE. Formerly, official FDCs were considered to be less collectible if they were addressed. To me, addresses make the individual FDCs unique.
I have a few FDCs in my collection. Attractive FDCs can add colour and interest to an album page or a web page. Some may represent almost the only postal use of some stamps.
Bob
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Back when I was a kid in the early 1970s, I did exactly what Bob describes... I went to the local stamp and coin shop, and bought Artcraft envelopes. I sent them to the postmaster in the first day city with my remittance, usually wrapped coins. Later on the rules changed that you could wait until after the official first day, buy the stamps at your local post office and send them in for a retro-time machine first day cancel. That kinda took the officialness out of it for a lot of people.
Later on when I got into the cachet business, I got approved to send my cover batches to the central office in Washington DC. I'd prepare my covers, sometimes 500 per issue, and ship them to DC. Sometimes it took awhile, but the box would reappear. And sometimes they'd screw up! The Colorado Statehood and Lindberg stamps were issued a day apart in 1977. I have a batch of Lindberg FDCs with the Colorado first day postmark a day later! I kept a few, and sent the rest back to get the correct cancel since Lindberg FDCs were like printing money!
I agree with Bob in respect to addressed covers. I always thought that a nicely addressed cover looked more official and unique. There are a million Artcraft FDCs for each issue, but only one or two that were mailed to a specific collector. I like typed addresses, especially with old time names. And I have some hand addressed with amazing penmanship that are special in their own way.
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05:07:26pm
If I recall correctly, if you wanted to obtain a first day cover, you would go to a hobby store, buy the cachet, address it to yourself
and mail it to the postmaster of the town issuing the stamp in a separate envelope.
You would also include postage to mail the cover back.
The postage rate for first class mail, in 1940 was 3 cents.
This cover got by with only 2 one cent stamps.
Go Figure !
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re: Question on First Day Cancel.
That’s not my understanding. Official FDC covers, with cachet, have always been issued by post office departments and first sold, or given away, at official ceremonies, and then sold at post offices. It used to be standard practice for collectors to mail unstamped, self-addressed envelopes (SAEs) to post office departments, with payment for the new stamps to be affixed to the SAE. Formerly, official FDCs were considered to be less collectible if they were addressed. To me, addresses make the individual FDCs unique.
I have a few FDCs in my collection. Attractive FDCs can add colour and interest to an album page or a web page. Some may represent almost the only postal use of some stamps.
Bob
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re: Question on First Day Cancel.
Back when I was a kid in the early 1970s, I did exactly what Bob describes... I went to the local stamp and coin shop, and bought Artcraft envelopes. I sent them to the postmaster in the first day city with my remittance, usually wrapped coins. Later on the rules changed that you could wait until after the official first day, buy the stamps at your local post office and send them in for a retro-time machine first day cancel. That kinda took the officialness out of it for a lot of people.
Later on when I got into the cachet business, I got approved to send my cover batches to the central office in Washington DC. I'd prepare my covers, sometimes 500 per issue, and ship them to DC. Sometimes it took awhile, but the box would reappear. And sometimes they'd screw up! The Colorado Statehood and Lindberg stamps were issued a day apart in 1977. I have a batch of Lindberg FDCs with the Colorado first day postmark a day later! I kept a few, and sent the rest back to get the correct cancel since Lindberg FDCs were like printing money!
I agree with Bob in respect to addressed covers. I always thought that a nicely addressed cover looked more official and unique. There are a million Artcraft FDCs for each issue, but only one or two that were mailed to a specific collector. I like typed addresses, especially with old time names. And I have some hand addressed with amazing penmanship that are special in their own way.
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