2019-03-05 Tue

Cherrystone auction is going to offer an airmail cover carried and signed by aviator Amelia Earhart in 1935 in Mexico. The flight details are also mentioned on the cover as “Carried by Air, Mexico, D.F.-New York, May 8, 1935.”. The mail was written with a typewriter and was addressed to her husband, publisher G.P. Putnam. The registered mixed-franking cover will be auctioned on 12th and 13th March at Cherrystone’s New York City galleries at a starting bid of $7,500.

Earhart had carried a total of 40 covers on her solo flight from Mexico City to New York. The cover has a 1935 20-centavo lake Eagle Man airmail stamp with Amelia Earhart commemorative overprint and one 1930 40c olive brown and deep blue airmail Official stamp. A 1922 15¢ grey Statue of Liberty and a 1932 3¢ purple George Washington stamp, both with a May 8 Newark, N.J., postmark, is also attached on the cover. Transit and arrival markings appear at the back.

This was the first solo trip from Mexico City to New York and was reportedly completed in 14 hours and 22 minutes. Amelia Earhart got married to G.P. Putnam on 7th February 1931. She had also attempted to fly around the globe with flight navigator Fred Noonan in 1937. However, this turned out to be her last flight as she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on 2nd July 1937.

Two examples of the 1911 3¢ deep purple George Washington coil stamp, known as the Orangeburg coil, are also going to be offered during the auction. Both the stamps feature a wavy line cancellation. It is rare to find these stamps in good condition as they were used to parcel heavy pharmaceutical samples. One of the examples offered during the auction is in very good condition while the other has a minor crease in the corner and two little tears. The stamp in good condition has a starting bid of $10,500 while the other one has a starting bid of $4,000.

A rare and unused Marshall Islands 30-pfennig orange and black Kaiser’s Yacht stamp with a New Britain 1914 3-penny surcharge and “G.R.I. 3d” Inverted surcharge will be offered with an opening bid of $7,500. Experts believe that there are only five existing unused examples of this stamp with an inverted surcharge.

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Image Courtesy: Cherrystone Auction