Controversy: The First Modern First Day Cover

There is some controversy over which stamp issue represents the first "Modern First Day Cover." Some argue that new post office policies place that event in 1922 while others argue that George Linn's use of cachets on the Harding Memorial issue in 1923 represents the event. What do you think? Let's look at some facts.

Although First Day Covers (FDCs) of some 19th and early 20th century stamps do exist, FDC collecting as we know it really dates from July 12, 1922. On that date the United States Post Office implemented its new policy of designating when and where a new issue would be sold. This would be true for not only commemoratives but ordinary and special issues as well.

The stamp issued on that date was the ten-cent motorcycle special delivery (Sc. E12). The listed city of issue was Washington, DC. Except for the brief Post Office announcement dated July 8, 1922, there was little fanfare.
Because FDC collecting was still in its infancy and the fact that special delivery stamps were not popular, only a few FDCs of the new stamp would be processed on its First Day. We know of only eight servicers. They were collectors or dealers who were local area residents or who had a relationship of some sorts with the Post Office Department. It appears that none of the known covers were mail-in requests from collectors who read the First Day announcement.


The Post Office added a few new twists in its announcement for the next new stamp, the 11-cent Rutherford B. Hayes (Sc.563), to be issued on October 4, 1922. In addition to Washington, DC., Hayes' hometown of Fremont, Ohio was also listed as a First Day city. Thus, for the first time, a city other than Washington with a link to the subject of the stamp was designated to sell a stamp on the First Day. In addition, a First Day ceremony, the first of its kind in this country, was held at Fremont. Programs for the event were prepared and distributed at the ceremony. 24 FDCs servicers, from far away as New York and Massachusetts, are known to have received 78 FDCs from Fremont.

The Hayes stamp was the first of a new series of ordinary stamps, now called the Fourth Bureau Issue, that was replacing the Washington-Franklin series of ordinary stamps. It's Post Office announcement also mentioned that other stamps of the series would soon be released.


President Warren G. Harding died suddenly on August 2, 1923. He was beloved across the country at the time and three million mourners gathered to watch his funeral train pass by. As was customary, the Post Office Department immediately began work on a memorial stamp to be issued on September 1, 1923. Demand for the stamp would be greater than that for any previous special issue. George Linn, who would later found Linn's Stamp News, greatly admired Harding and wanted to do something special to mark the stamp's issue. He chose to print a black five-line cachet with a black border on a variety of envelopes for his FDCs.


Since then and particularly since the Presidential series off 1938, many FDCs have been decorated with a cachet printed, stamped, pasted or drawn on the envelope which relates in some way to the subject depicted on the stamp. These designs vary from the crudely drawn to virtual works of art in their own right. Linn's entrepreneurial step opened the door to a new phase of FDC collecting. Stamp publishers, artists and individual collectors today continue to produce imaginative cachets for FDCs.

So what do you think? What is the first modern first day cover? If it is the Linn cachet cover, how should the 1922 competitors be identified?

Hayes, you are looking more than a decade late.


The 1913 US Parcel Post Stamps were made available to all US Post Offices to begin use on 1-1-1913. Even the Postmaster general was shown Mailing the first parcel on the first day 1-1/1913. Known contemporary FD cover creators, made FDCs for 1-1-1913 as well as 7-1-13 when the stamps became valid as regular postage. Hammelman was on such early FDC creator. Chase created pre 1-1-1913 pre-FDCs by mailing covers the day prior.
Even a Postmaster and the Postmaster General noted that day with first packages, see: https://postalmuseum.si.edu/collect...el-post-cup.

While the parcel post packages were rated by pound, up to four ounce parcel post envelopes were just 1 cent per ounce.

Regarding Henry Hammelman see: https://henryhammelman.wordpress.com/ from which I pull this quote:




Later, FDC pioneer Henry Hammelman owned the Pioneer Stamp Co. at 116 Nassau Street, #816, from 1935 to 1950. (Cited from: https://www.stampexchange.com/threa...5009/page-14 ).

Well into his servicing career, here is an example of the scope of his work before your, Hayes, chosen dates of 1923 or 1922. Description for lot 1061, Shreves Sale 55, March 7, 2003, #526, 2c Carmine offset, Ty. IV, single centered a bit to right, tied to neat first day cover by "Washington, D.C./Mar 15/1920" duplex cancel, date is very clear though city name is a bit obscure, cover addressed to H. F. Colman and serviced by Hammelman who produced about 50 such covers, which is the lion's share of the first day covers that exist of this.

Why were the parcel post first days ignored? Simple snobbery discrimination as collectors of the period and even today, want their FD neatly on simple small envelopes, not wrappers or tags.

Mystic had this. More than one way to define first.

Hey Parcelpostguy,
your 1-1-13 event was one of a kind, much like for a commemorative. It didn't lead to a second, third, etc. and did nothing to announce the release of the Washington-Franklins. You do have great references. I find it strange that no AFDCSer has yet supported the Linn cachets. I was not aware of the Mystic article.

I suspect that there was not a real groundswell of interest in FDC's in the beginning. Philately has a long history of collecting interests coming and going, from coils to postal history to stitch watermarks to many other areas. So at the time, few would have paid attention to what issue was first.