J103

Americana Fort McHenry Flag

Winter 2022 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 1 J103 — Fort McHenry Flag — (6-30-78)

With only 25 produced, this is one of the crown jewels of the early Collins First Day Covers. A true rarity! This is a magnificent cover and is your chance to acquire a historic hobby gem. A plate single plus a coil pair of the new flag stamp are tied to the envelope with an awesome day of issue pictorial postmark showing Fort McHenry on the stamp outlines within the cancel. A large bullseye within the postmark reads "U.S. Postal Service, Baltimore, Maryland 21202." An additional flag single with the 3-cent carmine red Francis Scott Key stamp added has a magenta first day cancel from Washington, DC. The hand painted cachet within a red border shows Fort McHenry with "Bombs Bursting in Air" and a large Old Glory waving proudly. In a previous sale, the J102 variety (75 produced) brought a winning amount of $776.