posted 06-22-2025 07:57 PM               

Space Cover 811: SCC Self-Service Covers

Many space cover collectors collect the covers from set of Space Craft Covers (SCC) produced from 1960 (Echo FDC) through 1975 (ASTP splashdown). The SCC partners were Joe Fitzpatrick (cover business) and Carl Swanson (artist).

In addition to the regular series of covers for the manned and unmanned launches, SCC produced generic one-color cachets for the Mercury flights (including a "trial" MR-1A cover on December 19, 1960) – Black for Shepard (also used on specials MR1A and Ham), Green for Grissom, Red for Glenn, Blue for Carpenter, Yellow for Schirra, and Green for Cooper.

SCC also produced three generic cachets that collectors could buy "blank" and use for whatever events they wanted to. Collectors used these for manned/unmanned launches, X-15 flights, various FDCs, pictorial cancels, etc.

The three cachets were produced in Blue, Red, and Black. The earliest use I have found for the Blue version is pictured above with a cover from Port Canaveral for John Glenn's launch. I have also seen a blue version from Pasadena with an unofficial FD cancel for the Project Mercury stamp.

It seems that label versions of these cachets were also offered to collectors but at a much later date (date unknown to me). However, I have never seen the label versions off or on a cover.

A few questions:

• When were these self-service covers first offered to collectors?
  
• Does anyone have an earlier event for the Blue cachet?
  
• What is your earliest event for the Red and Black versions?
  
• When were the label versions offered to collectors?
  
• Does anyone have any of the labels not on a cover?
  
• Does anyone actually have/seen a cover with the label versions?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

posted 06-23-2025 10:32 AM               

My earliest Red/type A is also for Glenn's flight on 20 February 1962, as is your Blue/type B. It's a Port Canaveral AM hand cancel addressed to Philadelphia.

My earliest Black/type C is for a Wallops Island machine cancellation on 5 April 1962 for a (Hudson RSC text stamp in purple) Nike-Cajun Ozone Cloud Apr 4 1962 11 32 PM launch.

But that is fairly meaningless regarding priority as my earliest Blue is from more than half a year later than yours. My Blue and Black dates are distorted by my collecting preference for Reds.

I think it is safe to say that all three types were first printed and then issued in time for the Glenn launch.

posted 06-24-2025 03:09 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by yeknom-ecaps:
The identification is not random.

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posted 06-24-2025 10:31 AM               

Rarely do I see any of these covers postmarked past 1964. There are exceptions but it is rare. It appears that anyone who purchased these unpostmarked covers used them shortly after receiving them.

I have never seen any of the label cachets nor does Chuck mention them.

posted 06-24-2025 04:00 PM               

Eddie - please check the Explorers, I don't have the early ones to check myself and have only heard vague references to the self-service cover availability of "1962."

posted 06-24-2025 05:14 PM               

The first mention is from Spacecraft Explorer issue #1 and is after the Feb. 20, 1962 Glenn launch covers shown in this thread. So I wonder if there was earlier communication from Joe to subscribers of the cover service. Maybe a letter, flyer, or ad insert exists?

Vol. 1, No. 1, April 15, 1962, Page 11

Vol. 1, No. 3, June 15, 1962, Page 14

posted 06-26-2025 02:56 PM               

In the December 15, 1967 Explorer a short note appeared about the labels.

PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY The cachet labels or gummed cachets, pictured on the last page of the Oct Explorer are not as yet ready for distribution, PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MORE ORDERS. Our printer does not have the equipment necessary to produce the caliber of work needed, and we are presently other printers in other locations. We will make an announcement as soon as possible. Thank you.

posted 06-27-2025 03:29 PM               

On a side note, I have a theory on the Glenn covers. Maybe Joe Fitzpatrick used these self-service covers himself before he offered them for sale. According to Chuck's book, Joe was fascinated by John Glenn's launch. He produced many special covers for the flight as well as for post-flight events. Maybe he used these self-service covers simply for his own collection.

posted 07-04-2025 07:41 AM               

From a point of sales approach: re-reading the adverts in the Explorer that Joe Fitzpatrick posted, it would seem that all three were printed in roughly equal quantities, and all three types distributed on that basis - I don't think Fitzpatrick gave anybody the option of which type they received, although given basic human nature some clients may have demanded/requested specified types.

From a user perspective: the vast majority of these covers seem to have been posted for missile launches (Minuteman, Polaris, etc) and suborbital sounding rockets (Aerobee, Nike-Cajun etc.). I have seen very few for satellite launches or manned missions. None of the three designs really 'hit the nail on the head' for missile and sounding rocket topicality (although the black just nudges ahead for relevance for missile launches).

It is my personal view that this is the reason why the covers were only available for a short period - they missed the point and were a commercial failure.

Given that, from a user point of view, I would think that all three would be equally popular (or is that unpopular?).

Thirdly, and finally, from a collector's point of view, you will have a bias towards which type you prefer. As I have noted, I much prefer the reds, although that preference does not stop me collecting the other types...

I will do a census on my collection and return the results shortly.

[EDIT, update] OK the results are in. It would seem I underestimated the amount used for satellite launch events and overestimated the number of sounding rocket events.

I have 19 black, 15 red and 6 blue in total.

• The black split 3 sounding, 10 missile, and 6 satellite.
  
• The reds split 3 sounding, 7 missile, 4 satellite, and 1 manned mission.
  
• The blues split 1 sounding, 3 missile and 1 satellite.

posted 07-04-2025 12:28 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Axman:
I don't think Fitzpatrick gave anybody the option of which type they received, although given basic human nature some clients may have demanded/requested specified types.

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Due to many requests we will mix designs on any size orders