F3501

Winter Olympics

Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, Ice Hockey & Figure Skating

Collins Cover Announcement 

2002 Winter Olympics

This Winter sports FDC has two day of issue postmarks that are really spectacular. To get them you had to be on site on January 81h and, again, I want to thank my friend, Jim Jones of Salt Lake City, for servicing them for us. A close examination of the cancellations will delight all collectors but especially those who savor the philatelic significance that such postmarks provide.

The top cancel ties a'pak of the new stamps to the envelope. It's a crisp pictorial that shows a downhill racer skiing down the course. His head and extended arm tie the first stamp to the cover, which really looks good. The really neat feature, however, is the way that just the tip of his ski pole is what ties the second stamp to the envelope. Since these are all canceled by hand, it took a good eye, a steady grip, and a careful strike. What a great look!

A large magenta bullseye from the Main Salt Lake City, Utah Post Office was used to postmark the remaining two stamps. The red color adds a nice touch to the face of the envelope. When canceling the covers, this postmark was carefully positioned just under the skis of the postmark above so that it appears that the athlete is skiing right over the top surface of the lower postmark. It's really a nice visual effect.

The action-packed line drawing cachet shows a skier in mid-race. The watercolors bring this scene to life with a colorful uniform and snow showers flying in all directions as it is sprayed by the passing skis. Only by Individual hand painting can such cachets be created.

Without a doubt, the marvelous First Day postmarks that were obtained for my five covers for this issue (this one and the four previously announced) will make this Collins set a very popular one to own. They will be scarce items with exclusive postmark combinations that will only be found on Collins covers. An early sellout is a foregone conclusion, and I reserve the right to limit multiple orders. I'm pleased to present my 2002 Winter Olympics cover with all four new stamps. Collins #F3501 - $16.75.