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Collins FDC Catalog

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L2601

L2601 / Scott 3088

Iowa Statehood

150th Anniversary


Fred's Anecdotal Note


This hand-painted COLLINS First Day Cover is dedicated to the memory of the Lewis and Clark Expedition which began its journey of discovery from St. Louis on May 20,1804. .

It was the center of the fur trade and the last settlement on the edge of the unexplored territory stretching to the Pacific.


By August third, the expedition had traveled up the Missouri River to the western border of present-day Iowa. It was there that they had their very first meeting with Native Americans and they named the spot Council Bluffs.


On this day Lewis and Clark began the official presence of the United States in Iowa. Some of the men erected an awning from the mainsail of the keelboat and the captains personally met with the Indian delegation.


This unofficial First Day Cover was serviced by Christy, Ryan, Becky and Fred Collins on Day of Issue enroute to the 1996 AFDCS Convention in St. Louis.


Collins Cover Announcement 


IOWA STATEHOOD


LEWIS AND CLARK AT COUNCIL BLUFFS


This detailed and beautiful hand-painted COLLINS First Day Cover has several storylines connected to it and, when combined, make it one of the "must own" 1996 covers for your collection.


Becky, Ryan and Christy traveled with me to this year's AFDCS Convention in St. Louis. Enroute, we arrived in Dubuque, Iowa on the evening of July 31st. Bright and early the next day, we obtained the new "adhesive" variety Iowa stamps at the post office. This is a historic issue because it's the first "self stick" commemorative and I think it's the wave of the future. This variety will not be on sale at local post offices and I think FDCs with it will be very limited and FDCs with "unofficial" Day of Issue postmarks will be downright rare.


After getting the stamps, it was off to Iowa City for our First Day postmark. Since it was a statehood issue, I wanted to have "Iowa" in the cancel. Iowa City is in the state's heartland and a wonderful place it is. The philatelic clerk was very nice and, based on my conversation with her, I believe that COLLINS cachets were the only ones to get this great postmark.


It was then off to the Convention in St. Louis. I met several of my area collectors and their opinion of the just completed Iowa FDCs was terrific. A fair number were snapped up there, so with limited numbers remaining I look for a pretty quick sell out. I did do an "insert" (see over) to be included with each cover, and it gives a nice account as to how they came into existence.


Finally, the hand-painted cachet is one I'm very proud of. As part of my research, I obained and read "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen E. Ambrose. It tells of Captain Meriwether Lewis and the 1804 expedition he led to the Pacific Ocean and back. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone, especially from page 140 to its end.


As the keelboat turned her bow into the stream, Lewis and his party cut themselves off from civilization. There would be no more incoming letters, no orders, no commissions, no fresh supplies, no reinforcements, nothing reaching them, until they returned.


The captains expected to be gone two years, perhaps more. In all that time, in whatever lay ahead of them, whatever decisions had to be made, they would receive no guidance from their superiors. This was an independent command, such as the U.S. Army had not previously seen and never would again. Lewis and Clark were as free as Columbus, Magellan, or Cook to make their mark on the sole basis of their own judgments and abilities.


This is a wonderful First Day Cover for the hobbyist! A great Day of Issue postmark (probably an "exclusive) from Iowa City personally serviced by the COLLINS clan. An important philatelic issue as the very first "self-stick adhesive" commemorative stamp. An informative insert telling how this cover was born and a brief description of the cachet. An early sell-out imminent which translates into increased worth on the open market. And, finally, a superbly detailed and individually hand-painted COLLINS cachet showing Lewis and Clark holding their first meeting with Indians at Council Bluffs, Iowa. This one is what collecting is all about. Item #L2601. $11.75.

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