My Interesting Find Of The Day!

I was going through part of a lot I recently purchased at auction and came across this Scott 576 block of (4) with first flight cancel. Dated September 15, 1928 @ 3AM, I've tried to google what I could find and came across many different possabilities. Maybe someone else has something similar?

It's not all that unusual to find items similar to this in old collections. Covers were less popular years ago and since most flight covers historically have had little additional value to the stamps, many were soaked off.

True, however what I find interesting is that when I google the date, Zepplin first flight pops up along with several other first flights all on the same or close to that date.

The word "Contract" in the cachet indicates that this was a domestic first flight.

Noted, just another piece to my puzzle....gotta love this hobby! I came across this:

United States, 1926 CAM 8 First Flight Los Angeles-Seattle Sep 15, 1926., Cover flown on first flight and first day of 15¢ CAM rate. Pacific Air Transport. Backstamped Seattle Sep 15, 1926 at 3PM

The date on my cancel looks more like 1928...so not sure if it fits.

StampNut, I really like your imperf block, I am jealous! September 15, 1926 seems to have been a popular date for first flights.

regards, Theron.

Thank you yakboomer...and yes, it would seem so. Hard to try and determine which one at this time...a little more research needed LOL.

What is visible of the cachet exactly matches the cachet for CAM 8:



Note how you can see the "S" and the first part of the "E" for "SEATTLE" in the cachet. I don't see a first flight for that date in 1928 in the Air Mail Catalog. It is CAM 8.

Basil

Another example of CAM-8:



http://www.aerodacious.com/ccCAM008.HTM

blcjr and Wt1, thank you both for such a quick explanation. Very interesting. With this information, I know now what I found. Now I guess my next question would be what the value of my block might be. Any suggestions?

I doubt your block of 4 stamps (imperf.) would have any additional philatelic value as it relates to the first flight, since it is removed from the cover.

However, my Scott 2013 catalog suggests that Scott 576 in a block of 4 format is valued at $5.75 (mint) and $8.50 (used). The used figure is in italics, suggesting that there are not enough secondary market sales to really establish a value. Does it make it more or less valuable since it originally was used on a philatelic (first flight) cover? That's a question the market will have to bear out.

As far as I can see, you do have a clear date on the block suggesting that it is a contemporaneous use of the block on mail, even if it was philatelic in nature, therefore, the $8.50 figure would probably be a reasonable "value" for the block. Having said that, most items in the Scott Catalog are discounted considerably, so realistically you'll get only a fraction of that amount on the secondary market, as it is not a high demand item.

Using this ebay "sold listing" as an example, a block in used condition recently sold for just under $3.00, which seems about right:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Stamp-L1...047675.l2557

I cannot help much on value here, as I know little about the value of stamps in the block. I doubt that the fact that it was used on a first flight adds much to the value, though. These kinds of details are always interesting, but unless there is a specific market for these kinds of markings on flown stamps, I would just expect the block to be worth whatever the standard value for such a block would be.

Thanks again for the information. Its always interesting to find something which can be traced back to historical events.

Appreciate all the solid information!

Given that the $8.50 is down $1 since 2012, the italics are really not very significant. I have never seen any evidence that the partial flight cancel adds any value. Blocks exist with complete flight cancels, and I have not seen any evidence that they have much increased value either. Generally the flights themselves are too readily available for it to matter much.

Technically, isn't it a cachet, rather than a cancel? These early cachets were stamped by the PO, usually to the left of the envelop, or sometimes in the center. So it is actually unusual for the cachet to impact the stamp, as seen in the following selection (and image I grabbed from ebay), let alone for the cachet to be placed directly on top of a block of stamps:


Given that (which may not be much, given my limited experience), I might think that a block with a complete first flight cachet on it might have philatelic interest to first flight collectors, and might enjoy a premium in value for that reason.