Inside Linn’s: 1946 registered cover bearing 65 $5 Head of Freedom Statue stamps

By Charles Snee

The May 12 digital-only issue of Linn’s Stamp News will be available to subscribers Saturday, April 26. While you wait for your issue to arrive in your inbox, enjoy these three quick glimpses of exclusive content available only to subscribers.

1946 registered cover bearing 65 $5 Head of Freedom stamps

In Dollar-Sign Stamps, Charles Snee focuses his attention on a large 1946 registered cover franked with 65 United States $5 Head of Freedom Statue stamps (Scott 573), the highest known franking. The spectacular cover, shown front and back above, sold for $1,888 during Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries’ March 22 sale of the Edward Field collection of the largest frankings in U.S. postal history.

Misrepresented postal history?

The Odd Lot columnist Wayne L. Youngblood highlights an unusual third-class bulk mailing that he recently received from AAA. One marking on the cover makes it appear that it qualified for special delivery service. But as Youngblood explains in his column, that is not the case. “Indeed, it is not uncommon for mailers to use arguably deceptive practices, such as the use of misleading wording (as in ‘urgent, dated material enclosed!’), boldface text, starbursts or other visual cues to create a false sense of urgency or exclusivity,” he writes. More details await in the full column.

Kitchen Table Philately: Large stamps in a worldwide mixture

In each weekly issue of Linn’s, either E. Rawolik VI or E. Rawolik VIII dissects the contents of a stamp mixture offered to collectors. E. Rawolik is a pseudonym that is also the word “kiloware” (a stamp mixture) spelled backward. This week, E. Rawolik VIII gives close inspection to an assortment of large, worldwide stamps. The largest stamps in the two-thirds sample are three 1968 commemoratives from Brunei. How large are they? Read the full review to find out.

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