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Author
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Topic: Top 10 Astrophilatelic rarities of the world
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yeknom-ecaps
Member Posts: 999
From: Northville MI USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 08-27-2026 11:02 AM
   
What do you think should be included in the top 10 Astrophilatelic rarities of the world?Thought starters... - First "outer space mail"
- First "missile mail"
- V-2 flown cover
- Apollo 11 cover cancelled on the way back from the Moon
- Apollo 15 cover cancelled on the Moon
- Apollo 11 flown to the Moon cover
- Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 EVA flown cover
- Enos recovery USS Stormes
- ASTP flown cover signed by all cosmonauts/astronauts
- first rocket mail cover
- first rocketplane flown cover
- first private mail from space
- Felix cat launch
What would be in your list? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56979
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-27-2026 11:29 AM
How about the 4-cent Project Mercury stamp first day cover(s) from the post offices missing examples? |
Axman
Member Posts: 959
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 08-27-2026 11:49 AM
I shall have to think about it carefully, but I have others that could go on the list (especially as I own them) and a couple on yours (which even though I own them too) I would demote.I'll get back with my definitive list. |
yeknom-ecaps
Member Posts: 999
From: Northville MI USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 08-27-2026 12:31 PM
Thanks Alan - my posted list (which actually has more than 10 items in it.  ) was just to give some thought starters for everyone to think about. quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
How about the 4-cent Project Mercury stamp first day cover(s) from the post offices missing examples?
I would say the official cities with only a few known examples could qualify but you can't picture something that only MAY exist as it might not exist at all! |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56979
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-27-2026 02:37 PM
Good point. (And it makes me think that I do not know if I have ever seen a list of the post offices organized by the number of known covers to exist.) |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1573
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 08-27-2026 02:40 PM
Some more: - Flown USPS STS-8/Challenger cover w/all five astronaut signatures. Only 10 known to exist, for official presentations. Thornton refused to sign other covers in private hands.
- Early flown shuttle/ISS cover and letter before Expedition 1 began permanent habitation. Written by Cosmonaut Yuri Usachev of STS-101 crew aboard ISS.
- X-15 covers for FAI-certified flights above 62 miles signed by pilot Joe Walker (only one to fly beyond the Karman Line, twice).
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Axman
Member Posts: 959
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 08-28-2026 08:08 AM
My thoughts after a bit of consideration. I won't rank them 1 to 10 because that becomes far too subjective, so I'll just list them all as being in my top ten rarest astrophilatelic covers.But firstly a few words on some covers I've eliminated from my list. Just because something is expensive and highly sought after doesn't make it rare. So let's eliminate Apollo Insurance covers, first missile mail, etc. I also think that autographed covers shouldn't feature, as strictly speaking they are a different category to astrophilatelic matter (which doubly eliminates Apollo insurance covers for example). So I am left with a list of those I have found incredibly difficult to have obtained with a few mixed in that despite my best efforts I still do not own. Of the ones in my top ten I have five and a half in my collection. I found all of them incredibly difficult to find, and indeed cannot believe the amount of luck which was necessary to have found them at all. So here we go (a ✓ means I have one): - Fishermans Bend, Australia Rocket mail 1936 ✓
- John Glenn's USS Noa February 20th 1962 postmark ✓
- Scott Carpenter's recovery ship John R Pierce ✓
- Scatback monkey launch cover 20 December 61 ✓
- Cat Felix launch from Hammaguira ✓
- Alan Shepard USS Lake Champlain Captain's cover (✓)
- Ohsumi satellite launch cover, Uchinoura postmark
- Gagarin blue 3 kopeck stamp FDC Moscow 17/Apr/61
- Javelin ArgoD4 3May62 Wallops US-Japan
- V2 WSMR flown cover
There are others worthy of consideration for the top ten, e.g. Chimp Enos USS Stormes, USS Decatur and Schmiedl's V7 cover, but for now I'll stick with my list for top 10 rarest. |
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