G1601

Ratification of the Constitution

North Carolina Statehood

Collins Cover Announcement 

NORTH CAROLINA STATEHOOD

This is the twelfth Bicentennial cover for the original thirteen states, and I'm breathing a little easier. When I started doing this set, I committed myself to going to each of the states on the Day of Issue and making it to Philadelphia the same day for the fine unofficial Ben Franklin colonial postmark. After all, Philadelphia is where it all began. Now, with the Tarheel State completed, only Rhode Island remains to finish the beautiful set of thirteen. Twelve down and one to go.

Let me tell you about the fine Carolina cover . The hand-painted cachet combines subjects that are pertinent to the state. Sir Walter Raleigh who helped establish the Roanoke voyages is prominently displayed in the courtly and colorful dress of his period. Also shown are the Battleship "North Carolina" which is now moored in Wilmington and the Wright Brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk. Daniel Boone, early pioneer and frontiersman, stands with "Old Betsy" cradled in his arms as he gazes westward outside a stockade fence. A pair of bobwhites huddles in their fern cover and represents the state's wildlife. A Duke pennant is representative of the state's many fine universities. And, an Appalachian mountain cabin (with a jug of moonshine sitting on the porch) stands as a silent sentinel to a grand vista of the hills and hollows of the Great Smokey Mountains.

One of the lovely and different features of this Bicentennial set is the hand painting of the lettering and the cachet border. In this case, the color I've chosen is the famous Carolina blue.

My trip to Fayetteville on the First Day was special. First of all, my eldest daughter, Becky, accompanied me to help lick and stick. We had a fun time together. Secondly, I ran into John Andrews who was very active in the late 70's and was, in fact, the first person I met in the Charleston, W.V. post office when I was doing my very first cover. He also had his daughter with him, and I remembered her as a small child when John and I shared a table and some sausage biscuits in Atlanta while doing the Martin Luther King issue. And, third, it was a homecoming of sorts for me because in 1962/1963 I was stationed there at Pope Air Force Base and it was from Fayetteville that I left for my tour of duty in Viet Nam.

As with my other Bicentennial statehoods, one stamp is canceled officially and a second stamp has an unofficial cancel from the B. Free Franklin Post Office in Philadelphia. I am exceedingly proud of this set, and I hope you will acquire this North Carolina FDC for your collection. Item #G1601. $7.75.