Cherrystone to present part 1 of Kopel collection of Poland stamps and postal history in Oct. 29 auction

By Charles Snee

Part 1 of the extensive collection of Poland stamps and postal history formed by Zig Kopel will be sold by Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers during an Oct. 29 sale at its gallery in Teaneck, N.J.

The single-day auction will take place in two sessions beginning at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

A summary of the 405-lot sale is provided on the homepage of the Cherrystone website:

“The Kopel collection debuts with Part I on October 29th, 2025, with an excellent showing of Krakow Issues, and unparalleled selection of Proofs, Essays and Errors of pre-WWII and early post-Liberation period Poland. This is followed by an-award winning exhibit of First Flights and Zeppelin mail, with an unprecedented, mostly complete group of South and North America Flights from Port Gdansk, undoubtedly the largest ever presented at auction.

“Many of the covers in the Kopel collection have been used to illustrate the listings in the Fischer catalogue and the definitive ‘The History of Airmail in Poland and Its Contribution to Airmail Services of Europe (1914-1939)’ by Dr. Kupiec-Weglinski. The sale concludes with many unusual and unique items from The Anders Army in the Soviet Union, Polish Government in Exile issues, Warsaw Uprising, Port Gdansk and Central Lithuania.”

An important rarity in the collection will cross the auction block during the afternoon session: a 1933 registered special flight cover carried aboard the airship Graf Zeppelin from Danzig via Brazil to the Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair. The cover was then returned to the addressee in Poland.

Both sides of the cover are illustrated above. The front is shown mounted on Kopel’s original exhibit page; the back is pictured by itself.

The franking, which is on both sides of the cover, consists of 10 Poland 1-zloty black President Moscicki stamps overprinted “PORT GDANSK” (Scott 1K24) and a single Poland 20-groszy dull red Ship of State stamp overprinted “PORT GDANSK” (1K17).

The overprint signifies that the stamps were for use from the Polish office in Danzig.

Six of the President Moscicki stamps are on the front. The other four and the Ship of State stamp are affixed to the back of the cover near the bottom.

In his narrative on the exhibit page, Kopel states the cover “must be one of the rarest and most daunting zeppelin cover[s] of the whole collection. The rarest because, it is believed to be, the only existing cover franked with ten 1zl stamps … of “PORT GDANSK” issued on [July 1, 1933,] in a limited quantity of 108,600.”

According to Kopel, the franking “was probably the correct amount for a registered letter to go from Gdansk [Danzig] all the way via South and North America and back to Germany and then to Rybnik in Poland.”

In the catalog lot description, Cherrystone states the cover bears prepaid “round-trip postage to South America, via Germany and back to Rybnik, Poland, all tied by ‘Polski Urzad P-T.No.1 Gdansk’ departure cds [circular datestamp], the customary triangular ‘Graf Zeppelin Airship 50th Transatlantic Crossing Pan-America Chicago Voyage’ on back, bilingual ‘Graf Zeppelin’ labels and additional ‘Bis Seville’ at bottom, [and a] red Berlin-Friedrichshafen forwarding cachet on front.”

Cherrystone also points out that the cover is autographed on the back by Graf Zeppelin crew members, including Hugo Eckener and Capt. Ernst Lehmann.

A biography of Eckener on the Airships.net website (www.airships.net) notes that he was “an early associate of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, and earned worldwide fame as a zeppelin commander and tireless advocate for passenger airships.”

Eckener played a pivotal role in zeppelin aviation because of his technical skills, development of thorough operating procedures, a keen understanding of meteorology, sharp business sense, and ability to foster enthusiasm and support for airship travel, according to Airships.net.

Cherrystone is offering this remarkable 1933 registered special flight cover carried aboard the airship Graf Zeppelin from Danzig via Brazil to the Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago with an estimate of $3,500 to $4,000.

Overall, the collection is an impressive reflection of Kopel’s attention to detail and passion for stamps and covers with great eye appeal and philatelic importance. Collectors desiring to begin or add to a collection of Poland stamps and postal history will find much to tempt them in this sale.

The catalog for the Oct. 29 auction of part 1 of the Zig Kopel collection of Poland stamps and postal history can be viewed and is available for download on the Cherrystone website, www.cherrystoneauctions.com, with online bidding options available through Cherrystone.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter