F3101

Flora and Fauna

 Coral Pink Rose

Collins Cover Announcements 

Coral Rose

This is a very interesting cover, and I'm anxious to tell you about it. The stamp was issued during the American First Day Cover Society's Annual Convention in Indianapolis. While my son Ryan and I continued to man our booth, my daughters Becky and Christy serviced these covers at the U.S. Postal Station on the floor of the convention. Each new stamp was postmarked with the show's pictorial cancel which depicts a race car. The rose and car presented an interesting challenge as to how to combine them into my cachet's content.

Since the Indianapolis Raceway is affectionately known as the Brickyard, I decided that a brick wall with roses climbing on it would make an attractive and appropriate foreground. Behind it, I would position a race car, and the one I chose was the 1947 winner. It was sponsored by Blue Crown Spark Plugs, and the blue color of the car contrasts nicely with the brick wall and roses.

To get this pictorial postmark, you had to be at the convention on the Day of Issue, so the cancel will be relatively scarce. The hand painted cachet is a wonderful one for the Indianapolis setting. The coral rose and blue race car are brought to life by the watercolors. And I'll conclude by providing an interesting fact about the driver who won that 1947 race. His name was Mauri Rose!

The Indianapolis Coral Rose - Item #F3101 - $12.25.