posted 03-17-2024 10:00 AM               

Space Cover 745: Decade of Achievements stamps on Apollo 15 PRS covers

Above is the front and back of my Apollo 15 Prime Recovery Ship cover canceled with one of the two Decade of Achievement stamps

The pair of 8 cent Decade of Achievement commemorative stamps were issued in 1971 to honor US space achievements in the last decade. Similar to the Project Mercury stamps that were issued at the end of Glenn's Mercury flight, the "Decade" stamps were also issued during a space flight. They were issued during the Apollo 15 mission and Dave Scott served as a lunar postmaster in canceling a cover(s) with the "Decade" stamps while on the moon's surface (Covers exist commemorating this unique event).

The "Decade" stamps were issued on August 2, 1971, five days before the recovery of Apollo 15 by the USS Okinawa. There were three official First Day of Issue sites: Houston, Huntsville and KSC, and below is one of the Houston FDCs. The moon at Hadley Base served as an unofficial First Day of Issue site, as explained above.

Now back to the Apollo 15 lunar mission. One source gives 4,000 as the number of the "Decade" se-tennant (pair) stamps that were flown to the Apollo 15 Prime Recovery Ship, USS Okinawa, specifically for use on the covers flown to the moon by the Apollo 15 crew (that's another long story).

So about 800 of the 4,000 stamps were used on the flown covers with the remaining stamps available to the crew for use on personal mail and on covers for collectors.

Many years ago in a Space Unit auction I bought the cover above mainly just to have a stamp from that very special batch that was on board the Okinawa for affixing to the famous/infamous flown covers. Later I sent it to Jim Irwin (paying his $5 fee for autographs back then) for him to add his autograph and special inscription to my cover.

My Apollo 15 PRS cover with a single "Decade" stamp is a modest example, especially with a poorly applied cancel, but enhanced by the superb Jim Irwin autograph and inscription. But I know that there are plenty of other such covers, most with both stamps, and with a very special one reportedly selling for over $700. So, Apollo 15 PRS covers with the Decade stamps are special and something I'm proud to have one of.

At the top above is a Houston Artcraft Decade of Achievement FDC, signed by Charles Stark Draper, and below is one of the 398 Seiger-related Apollo 15 flown covers with, as standard, a pair of the Decade of Achievement stamps.

posted 03-17-2024 02:59 PM               

I've searched and searched for a cover with the left stamp from the pair, but haven't come across one to purchase thus far, let the hunt continue!

posted 03-17-2024 03:54 PM               

Here's my Apollo 15 Captain's Cover, with only the non-rover stamp, not the pair...

posted 03-18-2024 09:27 AM               

And here is an unusual hand drawn cover.

The next cover is a Beck B873 cover and is unusual in that it originally had an ordinary 8c US stamp which was postmarked on board the USS Okinawa. Then the two Decade of Achievement stamps were added and it was postmarked again with a different postmark!

posted 03-18-2024 11:00 AM               

With more than 500 stamp pairs of the 4,000 stamp issues that had been affixed to the flown lunar covers, I've always wondered of how those remainder Decade of Achievement stamps were distributed once onboard the USS Okinawa. I guess most were purchased by Navy ship personnel and used on their own recovery ship covers.