Z4501

American Landmarks

Redwood Forest

Collins Cover Announcement 

High-Value Express Mail and Priority Mail

Hand Painted Collins Cachets

Redwood Forest Priority Mail ($4.95 stamp) With California Golden Bear Watercolored Cchet

and

Old Faithful Geyser Express Mail ($1 7.50 stamp) 

With Yellowstone American Bison Watercolored Cachet

It is always gratifying to be able to offer exciting First Day Cover collectibles such as these. Highvalue covers offer you the opportunity to add to your collection cachets that will be sought after in the years to come by three types of specialists. Searching for them will be future Collins collectors, Wildlife collectors, and High-Value stamp collectors. Added into this mix will be topicalists such as National Park, Buffalo, and Bear collectors. My point is that by adding these gems to your holdings now, you will be acquiring guaranteed hobby treasures of the future. The most compelling reason, however, is that I honestly believe you will personally enjoy the pure beauty of these two majestic North American wildlife monarchs captured in two of our nation's most revered national parks. And, of course, each individual cachet is hand painted in natural and realistic watercolors. This is philatelic wildlife art at its finest. Because of the high cost of these stamps, many cachetmakers skip doing them. As a result, numbers produced axe incredibly low and desirability is extremely high.

Express Mail

The massive American Bison 

At Yellowstone's Old Faithful in Winter

The rugged buffalo is the largest land animal in North America. It can stand over 6 feet tall, reach a length of over 10 feet, and weigh over 2,200 pounds, exceeding the weight of the largest brown bears. The American bison is often used in official seals, flags, and logos. One of the most popular United States coins was the buffalo nickel which was minted from 1913 to 1938.

Most important for wildlife and Americana enthusiasts, the bison has become a beloved symbol of the American West. It is estimated that in the middle of the 19th Century 60 to 100 million buffalo roamed the prairies. It is almost unbelievable that by the late 1880s this immense population was reduced to a few hundred animals. In the 1890s the mighty bison was within a whisker of extinction.

The comeback was started in South Dakota in 1899 by James "Scotty" Philip. From just five animals, his herd grew to an estimated 1,200 animals with genetic diversity being added by surviving buffalo from Montana and Utah. From this beginning, the United States and Canadian herds of bison have been increasing each year.

The Old Faithful high-value stamp is a great complement to the American bison. This most famous of the Yellowstone geysers is the perfect scenic background for this incredible creature because the buffalo population in Yellowstone Park is the only continuously wild bison herd in the United States. It now numbers over 3,000 animals.

The subject I chose for this cachet is a large and regal bison bull. For dramatic effect, the season I chose is winter because a dark-haired buffalo with patches of recently fallen white snow on his thick coat is one of nature's most dramatic scenes. It's a visual celebration of the assured triumphant survival of this rugged animal. The brutally harsh but undeniably beautiful winter landscape of Yellowstone is the perfect way to present the towering, inspiring eruption of geyser water with the even more inspiring image of the powerful and dominant bull. Old Faithful and the American Bison — $39.00.

Priority Mail

The Legendary California Golden Bear

Amid the Old Growth Redwood Forest

There are many classifications of the brown bear (Ursus Arctos) with a habitat stretching across much of North America and Northern Eurasia. At its largest, it can weigh in excess of 2,000 pounds and stand over 12 feet on its hind legs. In the United States and Canada, the main classification is the grizzly bear (Ursus Arctos Horribilis).

One of the most intriguing classifications of the brown bear is the California golden bear (Ursus Arctos Californicus). In general, grizzly bears have furry coats in shades of blonde, brown, black, or a combination of these colors. The outer hairs are often tipped with white or silver giving a "grizzled" appearance. What made the California bears so unique is that almost all of them had the blonde far which gave them a "golden" appearance in the abundant California sun. This unique species was designated the official state animal in 1953.

It is pretty much accepted now that the California golden bear is extinct as the last verified sighting was in Tulare County in 1922. Prior to that, the bears thrived and their numbers were abundant. To preserve this magnificent creature for future generations of cover collectors, I am going to place this wildlife painting cachet at the turn of the century when these extraordinary golden bears roamed free and wild. To add to this historic legacy, I'm placing this blonde furred grizzly in front of a stand of old growth redwood trees. The result is something special as the hand painted watercolors bring this magnificent scene to life. You won't want to miss this high-value Priority Mail First Day Cover with California's awesome golden grizzly bear amid that state's majestic redwood trees. An incredible First Day Cover — $27.00.