Sts-8 Flight Cover

This must be a bargain buy of great proportions....well, at least for the 28 days left.

If I remember correctly, the USPS sold those for $16.95.

Ok... only a bargain for UK collectors. Cannot remember what I paid for my one ... number 150883 ... but not the asking price here of £60 for the cover and £75 for cover and folder.

With free delivery, that appears to be a decent price in the US as well. Most of the folders with cover on ebay (US) right now are listed in the $15 to $30 range with a few outliers.

That Warren House ad says the cover was an FDC but US Scott 1909 was issued August 12th and the flown covers were first postmarked on the 14th.

Yes, the folder does state "it(the stamp) was issued at the Kennedy Space Center on August 12th". Postmarked on the 14th, as you say. I assume the launch was delayed until 30th August? I should have a look at the history of this flight as the dates on the cover were overlooked by me because the sheer delight of ownership took precedence

Incidentally the advert is actually from Buckingham Covers... a very well respected philatelic source in the UK but the eBay source does seem a bit more cost effective

The launch was originally scheduled for August 14th but I'm not sure what prompted the delay (most likely weather).

Like you, the thought of owning a cover that had flown in space was appealing to me; enough so that I purchased 3 from USPS. It took on even more meaning when Challenger and its crew were lost 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986.

There were several firsts associated with the 8th shuttle flight (and Challenger's third): it was the first night launch, the first night landing, and Mission Specialist Bluford was the first African-American to fly in space.

This link is to the press kit issued for the flight -- page 37 talks about the covers. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...e3rgFSIc6NdA

I have a few of these. They are really nice and I have no idea why they have not risen in value at all since they were first issued. Especially when you think of the very high cost it took to make these - not just the nice covers and folders, but far more because of the really high cost to fly every ounce of cargo on the Shuttle. I suppose it is because they made a fair number of them, but still they have substantial historical value that will only increase since the Shuttle program is ended and they Shuttles will never fly again.