Inside Linn’s: ‘Ingenuity,’ the little helicopter that could

By Charles Snee

The May 27 issue of Linn’s Stamp News just landed on the presses and goes in the mail to subscribers Monday, May 13. And if you subscribe to Linn’s digital edition, you’re at the head of the line with early access Saturday, May 11. While you wait for your issue to arrive in your mailbox, enjoy these three quick glimpses of exclusive content available only to subscribers. 

‘Ingenuity,’ the little helicopter that could

Charles J. Vukotich Jr., in Exploring Astrophilately, pays philatelic tribute the accomplishments of the Ingenuity helicopter built by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory as part of the Perseverance rover mission to Mars. The intrepid helicopter made its first flight from the surface of Mars on April 19 2021, and flew for the last time on Jan. 18, 2024.

How many first-day covers to produce is a tough question

“One of the most difficult questions facing a commercial cachetmaker is how many copies of a first-day-cover design or even how many of an issue to service,” writes Lloyd de Vries in his First-Day Covers column. To answer that question, de Vries draws upon his decades of experience. The insights he shares are most illuminating.

Kitchen Table Philately: ‘six continent supermix’

In each weekly issue of Linn’s, either E. Rawolik VI or E. Rawolik VII 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 VI reviews a sample from a mixture described by the seller as a “six continent supermix with Greenland and Falkland Islands.” The stamp with the highest Scott catalog value, $24, comes from one of those two named countries. Enjoy the full review in this issue.

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