Posts: 779
From: Chandler, AZ USA
Registered: May 2003

posted 07-16-2012 06:17 PM               

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There's a MA-6 USS Randolph cover on eBay, item # 200790461064, that has two Mercury stamps as postage. I know that the USS Noa did not have these stamps onboard for the recovery of John Glenn and that any Noa covers with these stamps were backdated.

So my question is; did the USS Randolph have these stamps onboard or is this cover backdated?

Posts: 660
From: Northville MI USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted 07-16-2012 06:48 PM               

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Backdated - no US Navy ships had the Project Mercury stamp aboard.

The only way would have been IF the ship was in port AND someone was ashore AND they bought the Project Mercury stamps AND went back aboard ship BEFORE the post office aboard closed AND requested the Feb 20 cancel. Not a likely scenario so even though there are several ships I have seen with Project Mercury stamps (e.g. USS Antietam, USS Edmonds) they are all considered backdated. See Ross Smith's excellent write-up on these ships and also other USS Randolph backdated covers.