L2203

Winter Olympics

Ice Dancing

Collins Cover Announcement

WINTER OLYMPICS

Ice Dancing

Speed, grace, and endurance are the key descriptive words that sum up my set of five Olympic First Day Covers for this stamp. Before I go into detail about this particular cachet, I would like to briefly discuss the total group of five. The stamps themselves are quite attractive and, in my opinion, very well done. This is not something that can be said for all current U.S. stamps. The COLLINS hand-painted cachets that have ben created for this set are, I think, some of the finest covers ever produced for United States Olympic stamps. Much better than taking my opinion, I urge you to lay all five on a table side by side in natural light and observe them yourself and see what you think. That is the ultimate test.

In this "Ice Dancing" cachet, an embracing couple glides in harmony across the frozen arena. Their blue costumes are perfectly coordinated right down to the blue figure skates of the female half of the team. On the side boards surrounding the ice, the word "Lillehammer" is partially visible identifying the site of the event as the Norwegian Host City. Note the individual faces in the crowd as they are fixed upon the performing couple. What many cachetmakers would consider mere background space, I consider an opportunity to include "detail" that adds immensely to the composition of my cachets. Also note how the adjacent skates of the two athletes just slightly "break" the cachet's border giving just a hint of a 3-D appearance. Go back over your COLLINS collection once in awhile, and each time you will discover small details that you hadn't noticed before. It's a large part of the fun in this hobby.

This set of five is an asset to any FDC collection. Each has its own merits, but viewed together as a set, they are indeed special. There are lots of "sports topical" collectors out there and "Olympic specialists". Make sure that you have this full set, and you might want to consider an extra to put away before I'm sold out. The speed and skill of the Alpine skier coming down the mountainside. The courage of the luge racer inches from the frozen track "sliding" down steeply banked, hair-pin curves. The endurance of the Nordic cross-country competitors skiing over the grueling natural terrain course. The excitement of the hockey goalie coming out of his net to meet and reject the fast-flying puck. And, finally, in this concluding COLLINS Cover for the Winter Olympic Games, an event that combines graceful form, elaborate costumes, and charismatic music. The essence of performing arts transformed to world-class athletic competitiion -- Ice Dancing. Item #L2203. $10.75.