L103

Viking Missions to Mars 

Viking 1 Lander

Spring 2024 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 2 L103 Viking Lander on Mars (with triple cancel) — 7-20-78

This incredible cover is the very first Collins "Space" topical. I believe it hasn't been offered in one of my previous mail sales, nor has it been available on the open market. Only 15 were produced. The magenta cancel was not the best regarding clarity although the dates are readable, so I decided to do only a few. In addition to the plate number single, an additional single has a small bullseye from Hampton, Virginia, and a third single has a Kitty Hawk, North Carolina postmark with killer bars.

The hand painted cachet shows the Lander sitting on the red soil surface of Mars. It's one of the earliest Collins cachets. Hampton is the home of Langley Air Force Base where I had completed a week of deep-sea survival school on Chesapeake Bay 15 years earlier. It's a great postmark from the site of the Wright Brothers' first flight and really adds a lot of philatelic interest to this early Collins. Also, it's a fantastic Space collectible, and if you need it, now may be your only chance.