E3002

Love

Victorian Heart - “Sea of Love” Cachet

Subscriber-Only Edition

Collins Cover Announcement 

Victorian Valentine

The 33-cent and 55-cent Combination

A Limited "Subscriber Only" Edition

Twice each year, I do special, subscriber-only, limited-edition Collins cachets. This is such an item. They will not be offered to non-subscriber collectors, and subscribers cannot order extras. As a result, they are very scarce items and seldom appear on the open market. My "sub-only" creations are extremely prime collectibles, and they will receive special attention in my upcoming book - making them even more desirable to own.

Before I tell you about this particular cover, let me give due credit to collector and cover aficionado Jim Jones of Utah. He joined the Collins team for this issue, and the beautiful Valentine cover announced today and those that will be offered soon are the result of his efforts.

The two "shaped" stamps (a Postal Service first) are tied to the cover with an excellent black hand cancel from Valentine Station, Loveland, Colorado. Of special interest, and adding much appeal to the envelope, is a postal cachet from Loveland in a soft magenta ink. Its color is a nice match with the border of the lower stamp. This unique cachet has a Valentine verse and a globe that, if examined carefully, you will find the location of Loveland, Colorado marked. You had to be there, in person, to secure these crisp and beautiful postal "Valentine" markings.

The hand painted cachet is superb. In Victorian times, boats of various sizes were often used on Valentines. Perhaps they were a symbol of the distance over which messages of the heart traveled. Speaking of hearts, that is the cargo which the boat carries and also the ribbon-bound cluster that a cupid holds in the foreground. A black and white kitten joins two cherubs in the rowboat sailing amid the white-capped waves on the Sea of Love.

This is my way of saying Thank You to my subscribers - a limited-edition only for you with no extras available. A dual FDC for the 33-cent and 55-cent Victorian Valentines. Item #E3002 - $12.00.

Summer 2025 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 30 E3002 — Victorian Love — "Sea of Love" — a Subscriber-Only FDC — 1/28/99 plus a free Lovebirds FDC 

This very detailed Love cover has several very special features. The two "heart-shaped" stamps (a Postal Service first) are tied to the cover with an excellent black hand cancel from Valentine Station, Loveland, Colorado. Of special interest, and adding much appeal to the envelope, is a postal rubber stamp cachet from Loveland in a soft magenta ink. Its color is a nice match with the border of the lower stamp. This unique cachet has a Valentine verse and a globe on which, if examined carefully, you will find the location of Loveland, Colorado marked. You had to be there in person to secure these crisp and beautiful postal "Valentine" markings.

The hand painted cachet is superb. In Victorian times, boats of various sizes were often used on Valentines. Perhaps they were a symbol of the distance over which messages of the heart traveled. Speaking of hearts, that is the cargo which the boat carries and also the ribbon-bound cluster that a cupid holds in the foreground. A black and white kitten joins two cherubs in the rowboat sailing amid the white-capped waves on the "Sea of Love."

Also included with the special "Victorian Love cover" will be "Lovebirds Cachet." It was produced at the same time with the special shaped stamps, same Loveland cancel, and the identical postal rubber stamp cachet. This cover is still available, but I would like you to have it free as it complements the E3002 so well. First time in one of my mail sales — a limited-edition dual FDC with a unique postal cachet plus a free coordinated cover. Linda and I are on a 61-year voyage on "The Sea of Love" with no land in sight.