S1301

Settling of New Sweden

Swedish and Finnish Settlements

Collins Cover Announcement 

SWEDEN, FINLAND, AMERICA JOINT ISSUE 

350TH Anniversary of

Swedisn - Finnish Settlement

in America

To celebrate the Anniversary of the beginnings of their settlement in the New World, Sweden and Finland each issued stamps along with the United States. All three stamps of similar designs shared a joint First Day. The hand-painted COLLINS covers capture the spirit of the issue in superb fashion and I am pleased to offer them for your consideration.

Cover number one features a hand-painted map of the Delaware Bay area which the early Swedes and Finns colonized. Early settlements are noted on the shores of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. A colorful compass point and period ship bring a decorative appeal to the map. The important waterway of the Delaware Bay and River is given primary attention as the focal point of the cachet. A long, horizontal Finnish stamp is postmarked with a fine ship pictorial Finland First Day cancel. The "New Sweden" U.S. stamp is also on the cover with a Stockholm, N.J. unnoficial First Day cancel proving once again that this cover was actually serviced on Day of Issue. An ornate border frames the cachet and map creating, along with stamps and cancels, a wonderful FDC. COLLINS Number S1301. /

Cover number two is one that will have you smiling as you place it in your collection. The year is 1638. In the middle of the turbulent Atlantic Ocean, a wooden sailing ship -- the Kalmar Nyckel -- is under full sail as it makes for the New World of America. The Swedish flag -- a blue field with yellow cross -flies triumphantly from the wind-lashed stern. A colorful banner flutters from atop the center mast. The seas are awesome as blue/green water is whipped by the winds into raging white-tops. Wind gusts in the cloud-filled sky give the ship a sense of motion. You will appreciate the cachet-art which created this watercolored COLLINS Cover. Each cover has the Swedish stamp and the U.S. stamp. The former has Sweden's First Day of Issue cancellation which features the Swedish Coat of Arms. The latter has the Wilmington, Delaware First Day of Issue bullseye postmark. Looking at this cover, one can almost breathe the salt air on the incredible voyage of three hundred and fifty years ago. COLLINS Number S1302.