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U.S. Stamps: Zeppelin Scott #C13-15 1930 [171379]

Currency:USD Category:Stamps / United States Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
U.S. Stamps: Zeppelin Scott #C13-15  1930  [171379]

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1930 Zeppelin Issue complete Scott #C13-15, very lightly hinged, exceptional centering, VF++. In 1930, a new issue of airmail stamps was announced. These three stamps were to be used exclusively on mail carried via Graf Zeppelin on its European Pan American flights.
" On April 19, 1930, the U.S. Post Office issued three stamps, each with a different design and for a particular amount. The first, a 65-cent stamp, was green, and showed the Graf cruising eastward above the sea. This stamp would get a postcard over the ocean once, from the U.S. or Brazil to Spain or Germany. The second, a $1.30 stamp, was brown, and featured the zeppelin heading west over a cropped map of the world labeled with the tours three main cities (although New York, here, stands in for New Jersey). That one would get a letter across the sea. The last stamp, in a bright sky blue, cost $2.60, and displayed the Graf high in the clouds, superimposed over a small globe. This one was more fun than practical it would get your letter round-trip, over to Europe and then back again. The joke, though, was on the post office. The economic hardship that led so many Depression-era Americans to be buoyed by the sight of a massive airship also made it difficult for any of them to pay $4.55. 50 times the cost of a loaf of bread for a set of three collectible stamps. The U.S. printed 1,000,000 of each color, but only sold about 227,000 zeppelin stamps total, most of which actually did end up on mail delivered by the Graf. The Post Office eventually destroyed the remainder of the stamps, making collectors, who quickly accused them of creating artificial scarcity, even angrier. " -- Atlas Obscura. All 3 stamps: Nice centering . Formerly hinged. Full gum.