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  Jim Irwin certified flown moon-phases cover

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Author Topic:   Jim Irwin certified flown moon-phases cover
cosmos-walter
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Posts: 691
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 04-15-2017 10:05 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cosmos-walter   Click Here to Email cosmos-walter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Felzmann offered in its latest auction (No. 158) an Apollo 15 moon-phases cover with a certification of Jim Irwin on a picture. Its machine-written certificate on the back of a picture of the cover has Irwin's signature certified by a public notary.

Usually Apollo astronauts do not certify items flown by other crew members. Thus it looks like Al Worden has given this cover to Irwin.

What do you think? Is anybody of you aware of similar certified Apollo 15 moon-phases covers?

NAAmodel#240
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Posts: 312
From: Boston, Mass.
Registered: Jun 2005

posted 04-15-2017 09:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NAAmodel#240   Click Here to Email NAAmodel#240     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Can you provide a link to the cover? Unable to find it.

cosmos-walter
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From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 04-17-2017 10:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cosmos-walter   Click Here to Email cosmos-walter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It is Lot 6239.

NAAmodel#240
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Posts: 312
From: Boston, Mass.
Registered: Jun 2005

posted 04-18-2017 02:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NAAmodel#240   Click Here to Email NAAmodel#240     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have always been suspicious of the Phases of the Moon covers. No doubt in my mind the envelopes were on the recovery ship (new stamps and valid postmark) or that the autographs are genuine.

The "Launched" rubber stamp and the numerous questions about what actually flew make me steer clear of considering this anything other that an crew signed event cover.

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-18-2017 03:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
At the least, NASA stated that Al Worden flew 100 Phases of the Moon covers as part of its accounting of the "authorized covers" on Apollo 15 (Release 72-189):
144 Apollo 15 covers which were carried by Worden. 100 of these were especially printed with a cachet showing 15 phases of the moon and marked with the launch and recovery dates by F. Herrick, a philatelist and friend of Worden's, with the aid of Herrick's son.

...on the USS Okinawa, the Apollo 15 recovery ship, the astronauts placed two eight-cent stamps purchased on board by Worden on each of these covers and they had the covers canceled by the shipboard post office. The astronauts later autographed these covers while flying back from Hawaii to Houston.

NAAmodel#240
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Posts: 312
From: Boston, Mass.
Registered: Jun 2005

posted 04-21-2017 07:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NAAmodel#240   Click Here to Email NAAmodel#240     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There exist at least three different variants concerning Phases of the Moon. Some are addressed to Herrick with new stamps, others have the new stamps but are not addressed, and still others have a C76 plus 1 cent make up rate without recovery cancel (but addressed). All are autographed by the crew. I don't dispute Worden took Phases of the Moon covers on the mission. Just that identifying which really went isn't easy.

cosmos-walter
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From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 04-22-2017 04:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for cosmos-walter   Click Here to Email cosmos-walter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am regarding the covers which were seized by NASA as beeing flown. They are numbered with initials of NASA attorney Hosenball and are accompanied by a certificate signed by Apollo 15 crew. This does not necessarily mean, it is proved each of them was flown.

NAAmodel#240
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Posts: 312
From: Boston, Mass.
Registered: Jun 2005

posted 05-02-2017 07:20 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for NAAmodel#240   Click Here to Email NAAmodel#240     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Agreed that those with government initials on the back were flown. Are you suggesting the one pictured is one of those?

cosmos-walter
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Posts: 691
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 12-04-2017 08:03 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cosmos-walter   Click Here to Email cosmos-walter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The cover pictured abave is not a seized one. There are neither a number and no initials of Hosenball on the flap.

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