Author
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Topic: Jim Irwin certified flown moon-phases cover
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cosmos-walter Member Posts: 691 From: Salzburg, Austria Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 04-15-2017 10:05 AM
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 Member Posts: 312 From: Boston, Mass. Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 04-15-2017 09:27 PM
Can you provide a link to the cover? Unable to find it. |
cosmos-walter Member Posts: 691 From: Salzburg, Austria Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 04-17-2017 10:19 AM
It is Lot 6239.
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NAAmodel#240 Member Posts: 312 From: Boston, Mass. Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 04-18-2017 02:35 PM
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 Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-18-2017 03:14 PM
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 Member Posts: 312 From: Boston, Mass. Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 04-21-2017 07:57 PM
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.
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cosmos-walter Member Posts: 691 From: Salzburg, Austria Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 04-22-2017 04:36 PM
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 Member Posts: 312 From: Boston, Mass. Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 05-02-2017 07:20 AM
Agreed that those with government initials on the back were flown. Are you suggesting the one pictured is one of those? |
cosmos-walter Member Posts: 691 From: Salzburg, Austria Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 12-04-2017 08:03 AM
The cover pictured abave is not a seized one. There are neither a number and no initials of Hosenball on the flap. |