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T O P I C R E V I E WmicropoozI recently found this cover stowed deeply in my miscellaneous box, and I am trying to remember the controversy that surrounded it.I bought it from Rand Philatelic right around the time of the first Shuttle-Mir flight. It is a Baikonur postmarked cover for the launch of Soyuz TM-21 carrying Vladimir Dezhurov, Gennady Strekalov and Norm Thagard (the ascent crew) to Mir. And it was autographed by all three. I had the opportunity to add Nikolai Budarin's (descent crew) autograph (just left of Thagard) later.Some time after that I remember that these covers came into question in the community, but I cannot remember why. So it got relegated to my miscellaneous box instead of my ASTP album (where it had served as an appropriate conclusion to the cooperation initiated on ASTP).Does anyone remember the issue with these covers? If so, please shout!Ken HavekotteJust briefly, I think this is one of the bogus Russian signed space covers that were done in a small series of similar covers around the time of STS-71 involving Thagard and all the crew autographs you see on the cover, and even more signatures being forged. There are at least three to five other cover issues that fall into this category as not being genuine based on at least three or more concerns.Such "concerns" first came to my attention, along with another long-time space cover dealer, that something had to be amidst. My firm had been offered the signed cover issues by a foreign dealer not too well-known to us. Shortly afterwards, I started to suspect some of the U.S. astronaut autograph traits as being rather suspicious. The European dealer with me also checked out some of the background of the offered Russian Soyuz covers along with a couple of the Russian cosmonaut signatures that were included. One of the "signing" cosmonauts that was contacted reported that he never signed any the covers referred to in question at the time.micropoozAh, thanks Ken! That sounds familiar now...cosmos-walterAll signatures and postmarks are faked. As I remember, a few thousand such covers were produced. Space mail covers with similarily faked signatures and faked on-board cancellations came from the same source. Ken HavekotteThat's correct, Walter, as you know, too. The other "three to five cover issue concerns" I had referred to were indeed, as you said, the fake cancels and postal markings used that were not legitimate. Only the postage stamps were real.micropoozThanks to both of you Ken and Walter. Coming from experts like you two, that information is rock solid.Suffice it to say that this cover now "sleeps with the fishes" (to lovingly rip off a line from The Godfather). yeknom-ecapsWalter/Juergen/Ken - can you post images of the other suspect covers so we know what to be on the look-out for? Thanks.
I bought it from Rand Philatelic right around the time of the first Shuttle-Mir flight. It is a Baikonur postmarked cover for the launch of Soyuz TM-21 carrying Vladimir Dezhurov, Gennady Strekalov and Norm Thagard (the ascent crew) to Mir. And it was autographed by all three. I had the opportunity to add Nikolai Budarin's (descent crew) autograph (just left of Thagard) later.
Some time after that I remember that these covers came into question in the community, but I cannot remember why. So it got relegated to my miscellaneous box instead of my ASTP album (where it had served as an appropriate conclusion to the cooperation initiated on ASTP).
Does anyone remember the issue with these covers? If so, please shout!
Such "concerns" first came to my attention, along with another long-time space cover dealer, that something had to be amidst. My firm had been offered the signed cover issues by a foreign dealer not too well-known to us. Shortly afterwards, I started to suspect some of the U.S. astronaut autograph traits as being rather suspicious.
The European dealer with me also checked out some of the background of the offered Russian Soyuz covers along with a couple of the Russian cosmonaut signatures that were included. One of the "signing" cosmonauts that was contacted reported that he never signed any the covers referred to in question at the time.
Suffice it to say that this cover now "sleeps with the fishes" (to lovingly rip off a line from The Godfather).
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