C501

Transportation

High-Wheel Bicycle 1870s

Spring 2020 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 10 C501 — Bicycle 1870's — Transportation series (2-17-82)

The high-wheeler bicycle that was so popular at the turn of the century is the subject of the stamp and my hand painted cachet. What makes this cover so appealing is that it has a strip of four stamps with the Wheeling, West Virginia, postmark and also a Collins exclusive day of issue cancel from Wheeling, Illinois, on a second strip of four stamps. The Illinois postmark is a lovely large one with killer bars in an unusually pretty shade of magenta. The Collins "Transportation Series" covers have become very sought after, and this cover with two strips of four stamps each and two "Wheeling" first day postmarks from two different states is most unusual and eye-catching.

Summer 2025 <ail Sale Commentary 

Lot 9 C501 — Bicycle 1870s (plate number coil) — 2/17/82

This cover from the Transportation Series is for the non-profit rate of 5.9-cents. A strip of four stamps has a "First Day of Issue" hand cancel from Wheeling, West Virginia. An additional strip of four has an unofficial hand cancellation from Wheeling, Illinois. This second cancel is a really nice, large cancel with killer bars, and the coloring is an unusual and eye-catching shade of magenta. The two strips of four stamps each and the two Wheeling cancels really make this a very effective and eye-catching cover.

The hand painted cachet features the same type of old-fashioned bicycle that is shown on the stamp with a large front wheel and a small one in the back. The rider is right out of the 1870s with a handlebar mustache and cut-away suit. The watercolors complement the blue of the stamp, and all in all, this is a very nice first day cover that over the years continues to be a very popular PNC cover.