Category Archives: First Day Covers

Mueller Honored with Holiday Cachet

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[press release]
AFDCS Honors Tom Mueller with Holiday Cachet

The American First Day Cover Society in 2024 is honoring cachet artist Tom Mueller as its Court of Honor cachetmaker. The Santa Claus cachet is taken from a 1991 cover for the Holiday Celebrations issue with Santa in a chimney (Sc. 2579).

AFDCS Court of Honor No. 44 (an example of which is shown on the right) was serviced with singles of all the U.S. holiday issues, including Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, and with all of this year’s holiday first-day postmarks. They are available for sale in the Marketplace section of the AFDCS website, www.afdcs.net/AFDCS-Marketplace

Mueller, a self-taught Midwestern artist, began producing his hand-painted “Silverwing” cachets in 1990 (Dwight Eisenhower, Sc. 2513), and continued designing for new issues until 2006, concentrating then on add-on cachets. Most are one of a kind. His 1991 cachet for the Basketball stamp (Sc. 2560) won the top award in the AFDCS Cachet Contest and his work was featured in a gold-medal exhibit by Anthony Dewey shown at St. Louis Stamp Expo this past March. Nearly three dozen of his family members attended the show to celebrate his philatelic career. (photo left. Dewey is second from the left in the back row)

An article on Mueller by Patrick Morgan (on the left in the blue polo shirt) appeared in the November-December 2021 issue of First Days, the official journal of the AFDCS.

The Court of Honor series commemorates cachet artists who have, over the years, contributed so much to the hobby through the beauty of their art. It began in 1981 and the

The original 1991 FDC

first artist honored was Ralph Dyer. There has been a new Court of Honor FDC every year since then. Stamps with Christmas themes are used because the U.S. issues new ones every year. A different artist is selected each year.

Many of the earlier years’ covers are also available.

The AFDCS is the largest not-for-profit first day cover society in the world, with members in more than a dozen countries. In addition to publishing First Days and handbooks, catalogues and You-Tube videos, the society is a co-sponsor of the annual Great American Stamp Show. It holds an annual cachetmaking contest and two mail auctions a year, and encourages philatelic exhibiting and writing about FDCs.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 57, Somerset, WI 54025-0057

First-Time Entrant Wins Top Honors of AFDCS Cachet Contest

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[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
First-Time Entrant Wins Top Honors of AFDCS Cachet Contest

A first day cover by Central New York resident Kevin Colton, who had never entered the American First Day Cover Society’s annual cachetmaking contest before, was chosen as the best design of 2023. His cachets for the Winter Woodland Animals (Sc. 5822-25) and, in particular, for the deer, jumped out at the judges, says contest chair Chris Calle.

Colton, who uses the trade name “KSC Cachets,” also won the Se-Tenant category with his set of four FDCs, as well as taking first place in Printed Artwork/Design, Multicolored (U.S. Flag, Sc. 5790 or 5791), and first, second and third place in Foreign Covers. In addition, his granddaughter Marrah Reichart, took first place in the Ages 10 and Under category with her cachet for the Red Fox stamp (Sc. 5742).

“I was totally blown away when I read the results,” Colton said. “I never expected to do so well. I love the creative process of designing covers that fit the topic of the stamps issued.”

The retired photographer had been creating KSC Cachets off and on since 1998, but an injury ten years ago kept him from working. His interest in first day covers was rekindled. Now he produces FDCs for almost all of U.S. and Canada issues, usually 20 to 25 each, as well as event covers and some add-ons (cachets on earlier uncacheted FDCs).

Colton says the Winter Woodland Animals designs were created in PhotoShop using a combination of stock images and artificial intelligence. “I have the idea of what I want and then begin to put all the pieces together,” he said. Each of the cachets in this set are composed of three to four different images, before he manipulated them into the final image design.

His cachets are printed on a Canon Pro 200 inkjet printer. “I had to change the entire configuration of the printer profile to be able to print on #6? envelopes,” he said. ”I only use dye-based ink to hold more vivid colors on the paper of the envelopes and the ink is more durable over time.”

He had been urged to enter the competition during a conversation with Calle. “My goal has never been to win contest but to create covers that I like and share them with others.”

Colton can be reached at kevin@kevincoltonphotography.com or 2043 Worden Rd, Seneca Falls, NY 13148-9722.

Click here to see the complete results for the Issues of 2023 Contest.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit educational organization. In addition to holding the Cachetmaking Contest, the AFDCS also publishes its bimonthly magazine First Days, handbooks and catalogues, and promotes the collecting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets, as well as exhibiting FDCs. It also offers awards for outstanding first day cover exhibits, and is a co-host of the annual Great American Stamp Show.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 27, Greer, SC 29652-0027.

Lawrence Article Wins AFDCS Ward Award

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You can click on the photographs for larger views.

“The Greatest American First Day Cover” by Ken Lawrence is the 2023 winner of the American First Day Cover Society’s annual Philip H. Ward, Jr., Memorial Award for

Excellence in First Day Cover Literature. The article appeared in the February 2023 issue of The Chronicle of the US Classic Postal Issues. It is the story of a July 2, 1847, cover sent from New York City to Indianapolis, franked with the 10-cent George Washington (Scott 2), one of the first two U.S. stamps. It was first discovered in 1972 and is currently on display at the National Postal Museum. [Photo here courtesy of the NPM.]

All articles in First Days, the official journal of the AFDCS, automatically are considered for this award, but articles and works in other publications may be submitted for consideration. A complete list of past winners can be found on the AFDCS website at www.afdcs.org/ward.html

Lawrence’s articles have won the Ward competition twice before and shared in a third. One of those articles also was awarded the U.S. Stamp Society’s Barbara Mueller Award. He is a recipient of the Charles J. Peterson Philatelic Literature Life Achievement Award, and served as a vice president of the American Philatelic Society and trustee of the American Philatelic Research Library.

Although he has been writing about FDCs for 40 years, “this article is probably the most important one I have written,” he says. Although the official first-day-of-issue for Scott 1 and 2 is July 1, there is no evidence they were placed on sale until the next day, when this cover was mailed.

Philip Henry Ward, Jr., began servicing first day covers in 1909. An electrical engineer by trade, he wrote on new issues for The American Philatelist, Mekeel’s Weekly Stamp News and The Weekly Philatelic Gazette in the early 20th century.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit educational organization. In addition to First Days, the AFDCS also publishes handbooks and catalogues, and promotes the collecting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets, as well as exhibiting FDCs. It offers awards for outstanding first day cover exhibits and an annual contest for cachetmakers, and is a co-host of the annual Great American Stamp Show.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 27, Greer, SC 29652-0027.

January 2024 AFDCS Cachetmakers Directory Available Free

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[press release]
Free AFDCS Current Cachetmakers Directory Updated

A new edition of the American First Day Cover Society’s AFDCS Directory of Current Cachetmakers is now available. The January 2024 version can be downloaded for free. Printed versions are available for $5.00 postpaid from AFDCS Sales, PO Box 44, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701 or may be ordered from the AFDCS website.

Compiled by John White of North Carolina, the directory seeks to list every individual or company currently producing cacheted first day covers, whether or not they are members of the AFDCS. There is no charge for listings; cachetmakers who wish to be included in a future edition should fill out the online form at www.afdcs.org/cmform.php

New editions of the directory are published when there are a number of additions or changes, so the next version may be next month or next year. The link to the latest edition — whatever it is — is on the AFDCS home page. The January 2024 edition adds 11 cachetmakers, removes 14 and updates six.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit educational organization, with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status granted by the IRS. Established in 1955, the AFDCS also publishes handbooks, catalogues and its award-winning bimonthly journal, First Days. It also promotes first day cover exhibiting, both at Great American Stamp Show and at other stamp shows, and holds an annual cachetmaking contest.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 27, Greer, SC 29652-0027

McClure FDC Collection Donated to AFDCS

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[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
McClure FDC Collection Donated to AFDCS

The extensive first day cover collection of the late Peter McClure — more than 35 boxes — has been donated to the American First Day Cover Society, and parts of it will begin appearing in AFDCS Fundraising Auctions in the near future.

“Pete” died in May 2023 at the age of 75 after a long illness. He designed many cachets, both for himself and for the AFDCS, and often serviced new issues on the first-day at his local Iowa Falls, Iowa, post office. He also collected Iowa-related issues and those for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair stamp (Sc. 1196), Roy Rogers (Sc. 4446), Janis Joplin (Sc. 4916) and the cachets produced by the AFDCS’ Graebner Chapter in Washington, DC, of which he was a member. He talked about some of these topics in Zoom presentations he made for the AFDCS, which can be seen on the AFDCS YouTube Channel.

The AFDCS runs two of these mail/online bidding auctions a year and a “silent” auction at

Pete McClure in 2016

its annual convention, all containing material donated by its members. The sales often contain one-of-a-kind covers.

All proceeds of these sales go to the AFDCS General Fund, and help support the many AFDCS activities, including video and print publishing, advocacy and encouragement of FDC collecting and exhibiting, and cosponsorship of the big annual national stamp collecting show, Great American Stamp Show, which is next scheduled in 2024 in Hartford, Conn., August 15-18. The AFDCS also publishes its award-winning journal First Days six times a year. The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit 501c3 educational organization.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, email afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 27, Greer, SC 29652-0027.

FDCs Poll: Singles or All-On-One?

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Which do you prefer?

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Multiple FDCs or Entire Sets on One?
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