O101

Wright Brothers Orville and Wilbur

Aviation Pioneers

Spring 2020 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 32 O101 — Wright Brothers (9-23-78)

How this cover from my first year of cachetmaking came into existence is an interesting story. It was the first day of issue for this attractive pair of stamps in Dayton, Ohio. I was at the Main Post Office and had just gotten the new stamps when I learned of a dynamite postmark that was available at the Wright Brothers Branch Post Office. Off I went in my rental car, and the result is a magnificent large bullseye on a plate number pair. This postmark was not common knowledge among collectors, cachetmakers, and dealers, so I don't think many exist on first day covers.

But...I was not done. I drove to Indianapolis where the American Philatelic Society was having its 92nd convention. They had a superb Indy 500 Racecar postmark which I obtained on a second pair. The icing on the cake was that this cancel tied both pairs to the envelope. Look at the checkered flag! The hand painted cachet features the brothers and their plane. Only 96 of this Collins cover exist, and it almost never comes up for sale.