K1701

Lighthouses

Admiralty Head, Cape Hatteras, West Quoddy Head, American Shoals, Sandy Hook

Collins Cover Announcement 

LIGHTHOUSE 

(Pane of Five)

This is the final COLLINS FDC for the very popular Lighthouse issue. A strip of all five attractive extra-tall vertical stamps is affixed across the bottom of the cover. To the left, a gull is perched on a buoy that bobs in gentle waves. Above the stamps and "Gull on Buoy" mini cachet, the main focus is on the Ambrose Lightship that is permanently anchored offshore to warn approaching ships of treacherous waters. In essence, this is a "floating lighthouse" whose beacon is every bit as important and functional as its land-based counterparts.

The colors used in the hand-painted cachet, especially the sea and sky, were carefully chosen to coordinate with the colors present in the five stamps. As a result, the completed cover has a very pleasing and realistic look. A few of the individual sets of five previously offered remain and if you missed them, I recommend most highly that you obtain a set. COLLINS was the only cachetmaker to obtain an unofficial First Day cancel from Lighthouse Point, Florida. This is the only post office in the U.S. with Lighthouse in its name and, after an incredibly busy day of locking and sticking, the end result was a set of FDCs that rank with the finest I've ever produced. Each of the five has an entirely different and superb hand-painted cachet. And, each has a clear, beautiful cancellation from Lighthouse Point that was an exclusive on COLLINS only. The set is $42.50 and, again, if you don't have the set of five, I contend that upon seeing them you will consider them among your most prized FDC possessions. If you have them, you might want to obtain an extra set to put away.

The Ambrose Lightship cover has the "First Day of Issue" cancel which ties all five stamps to the cover. It just seems to have that natural appearance that is so difficult to achieve and a real nice blending of cachet, cancel and stamps. A nice collectible to put the finishing touch on the COLLINS Lighthouses. Item #K1701. $9.50.

Spring 2021 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 20 K1701, K1702, K1703, K1704, K1705 and K1706 — Historic Lighthouses — 4/26/90

All six of these covers are now sold out, and this is the first time they have appeared in one of my sales, Please examine all of the illustrations carefully, and I think you will agree they are excellent renditions of lighthouse art. From crashing waves to picturesque locations to the desolate Ambrose Light ship, the individually hand painted cachets capture the power, the serenity, and the beauty of the sea. The wonderful additional feature of this set is the first day postmark. There is only one post office in the nation with "Lighthouse" in its name, and that is Lighthouse Point, Florida. The stamps were issued in Washington, DC, and after securing the stamps there, Maureen, Hank and I left from National Airport to Fort Lauderdale. For the whole flight, we worked intensely on our tray tables to get the stamps on the covers. A rental car took us up the coast to Lighthouse Point, and the postal people there were just great. The covers got fantastic magenta day of issue postmarks, and we were the only ones to obtain these cancels. I believe that due to the popularity of lighthouses and maritime art, these Lighthouse Point Collins covers will trend upward in the future.

Winter 2025 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 18 K1701 to K1706 — Historic Lighthouses (set of 6) — 4-26-90

From crashing waves to picturesque locations to the desolate Ambrose Light ship, the individually hand painted cachets capture the power, the serenity, and the beauty of the sea. Please examine all of the illustrations carefully, and I think you will agree that they are excellent renditions of lighthouse art. The wonderful additional feature of this set is the first day postmark. There is only one post office in the nation with "Lighthouse" in its name, and that is Lighthouse Point, Florida. 'The stamps were issued in Washington, DC, and after securing the stamps there, several friends and I left from National Airport and headed to Fort Lauderdale. During the whole flight, we worked intensely on our tray tables to get the stamps onto the covers. A rental car took us up the coast to Lighthouse Point, and the postal people there were just great. The covers got fantastic magenta day of issue postmarks, and we were the only ones to obtain these wonderful cancels.

Lighthouse covers are always well received, and I think you will like this set very much.