N801

Roanoke Voyages

Sir Walter Raleigh English Colony

Collins Cover Announcement

ROANOKE VOYAGES

I am tempted to saw that this First Day Cover reaches the pinnacle of today's state of cachet-makina. That is quite a contention, but I believe that it is an accurate one. The detail in the cachet and the time required for hand painting have to make this one of the finest cachets ever produced. Period.

When I went to the Island village of Manteo on the North Carolina coast, I could not believe the crowds! It was a well publicized event , this 400th Birthday of the first English settlement in America, People (lots of them) came. The North Carolina Governor came. Princess Anne came. And, the State Police and National Guard came, They were everywhere for traffic and crowd control. T narked at a "designated area and hoofed it about a mile and a half to the restored waterfront area of the town, A colonial village with shops and historic attractions added to the significance of the event. Tourists were everywhere. Among other ceremonies and happenings, they went crazy over the issuing of the new stamp. Ye olde Post Office was jammed, It took me awhile to finish up but finally I was on a brisk pace back to my car.

Sir Walter Raleigh formed the expedition in 1584 and so I decided that Raleigh would be a perfect unofficial. When I got there I met North Carolina collector John White who had also thought of this unofficial. He was leaving as I arrived. The cancel is a nice clear one. It compliments the official 'First Day of Issue" cancel from Manteo, site of that frail settlement four centuries ago. The cachet is something else In all honesty, I must describe it as beautiful as other words fail. The inner circular part is about the size of a silver dollar, Its content shows a scene from an early settlement -- stockade, hut and two inhabitants including a sentry armed with pike, It is a colorful scene from the earliest times of English America.

The border is a collage of individuals and things representing the Age of Exploration in America. A sailing ship in which the hearty adventurers took to the seas. A soldier in breast-plate and helmet who guarded east coast settlements, A priest and explorer in canoe who journeyed through the mid-land interiors, A mounted horseman who galloped through the West. Added details are crossed blunderbuss and cutlass, plus anchor and sextant. At top is a compass point and below is an extended banner that unfurls from cachet across to the unofficial cancel. Its blue color ties in with the blue color of the attractive stamps, There were probably 250 to 300 different cachets produced by various makers for this popular issue. The COLLINS has to be near or even at the very top of the list. It has the two stamps with official and related unofficial cancels. And, it has a hand-painted cachet that is so colorful and so detailed that I am overly anxious for you to see it for yourself, As additional "Exploration Series" stamps are issued over the years, I plan to use the same border design with a different "inner" cachet related to the stamp subject, This, then, is the first of the COLLINS Exploration FDCs and I promise you it will be a terrific series as the stamps are issued. Do consider obtaining this cover now. It will stand on its own as one of the most exciting FDCs you own, and it will be the set cornerstone of future Exploration covers that I produce. Take heed -- don't miss this one as it is a winner. Item #N801 - $8.50