T2003

Minerals

Variscite

Collins Cover Announcement

MINERALS - VARISCITE

A very nice magenta "Rocky Hill, Connecticut" First Day postmark adds a fine philatelic touch to this handsome cover. Only COLLINS obtained First Day cancels from four different states on the issue date for this set and that will certainly add to collecting appeal.

The hand-painted cachet fits into my time evolution theme for this four-stamp issue. Wulfenite highlighted the time of the dinosaurs. Copper featured the earlyAmerican coppersmith. And now, variscite is represented by the period of primitive man.

An erupting volcano propels smoke high into the sky while at the same time strewing red-hot lava flows down the mountainside. On the heights opposite the fiery spectacle, far across a lush sub-tropical valley, an early skin-clad hunter and his companion witness nature's fury. They had been stalking the formidable giant mammoths armed only with crude spears. Their quarry with large carved tusks can be seen descending into the valley. The greenish/brownish variscite rocks are visible underfoot on the steep slope. Truly an eye-catching cachet. Item #T2003. $10.75.