From: lwalsh@nemo (Laura L. Walsh)
Subject: Re: STAMPS: First Day Covers
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 15:55:12 GMT

dlee@oasys.dt.navy.mil (David Lee) writes:
>In rec.collecting, lmh@iago.caltech.edu (Henling, Lawrence M.) writes:
>>In article <BxIJvp.CK9@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca>, nick@sunburn.uwaterloo.ca (Nick
>>Fitzpatrick) writes...
>.>I assume then that the U.S, (like Canada) allows for the production
>.>of First Day Covers, without actually having them mailed, which (of
>.>course) means that they are not First Day Covers at all.  I always
>> And they may also be stamped after the first day of issue. Sounds like
>>a manufactured collector's item to me.
> As mentioned earlier, I don't collect FDC; however, I believe that
>FDC's are cancelled differently for covers on the first day and those
>that are cancelled later for collectors and "back-dated"..
>If your cover is actually cancelled on the first day of issue for that
>stamp; then they use a different size postmark; while those that are
>cancelled for collectors who can not be present on the first day, use a
>slightly different size postmark.. However, the postmark and cancel itself
>are identical in design.. Can a knowledgeable FDC collector comment???

"Official" First Day Covers have a special cancel applied, which states
that the stamp was cancelled on the first day of issue.  These cancels
used to be applied at the location where the stamp was issued at a 
ceremony to honor the stamp (and many still are).  At some point, the
number of FDCs requiring stamping at that particular location and on
that date became excessive for the Postal Service to handle.  So, rather
than hiring extra personnel occasionally, they decided to use the same
stamping equipment, but to allow several days to get the stamping done.
Then to make things even easier, they allowed people to buy the stamps
themselves, affix them to the envelops where they wanted them and send
them in to get cancelled.  These are "official"ly cancelled covers.

Then some FDC collectors, who wanted more REAL FDCs started a second
type of collecting of these called "unofficials".  To collect such
covers, the cover-producer must actually attend the first day cover
ceremony to buy the stamps (supposedly ONLY available at that location
on the first day of issue).  That person then may have them cancelled
at the ceremony by hand, but the key step is next:  the covers are
taken to ANOTHER location and cancelled on that day.  Often this
location is related to the theme of the stamp.  For instance, one of
the baseball-related stamps, I forget which, was issued in Cooperstown, 
NY at the Baseball Hall of Fame.  The covers were taken -- that SAME
DAY to Homer, Illinois to be cancelled.  (Homer == home run).

In fact, this gets to be so much fun and such an adventure, that
some people go to great lengths to get these cancels -- literally
flying thousands of miles to get the second cancel.  I did it once
myself.  I purchased the stamp commemorating the issuance of the
first Duck stamp, and had it cancelled in Swan, Iowa.

Obviously, these "unofficials" can cost much more, but they are
more "real" for the purists and basically, they are FUN, which is
an important aspect of collecting for me.
Laura Walsh
Newsgroups: rec.collecting