First Day Covers (FDC) — 2012 Ordering Calendar

What are First Day Covers? | Collecting First Day Covers | Obtaining First Day Covers

FDC 2012 Ordering Calendar

January 3 — Spectrum Eagle
Spectrum Eagle Stamp, Postmaster, 1000 Progress Drive, Liberty, MO 64068-9998. 
FDC deadline March 5

January 6 — New Mexico Statehood
New Mexico Statehood Stamp, Postmaster, 120 South Federal Place, Santa Fe,
NM 87501-9999.
FDC deadline March 6

January 19 — Aloha Shirts 
Aloha Shirts Stamp, Postmaster, 3600 Aolele Street, Honolulu, HI 96820-9998
FDC deadline March 19

January 19 — Glacier National Park Montana 
Glacier National Park Montana Stamp, Postmaster, 350 N Meridian Road, Kalispell, MT 59901-9998
FDC deadline March 19

January 20 — Dogs at Work 
Dogs at Work Stamp, Postmaster, 8409 Lee Highway, Merrifield, VA 22116-9998
FDC deadline March 20

January 20 — 65¢ Baltimore Checkerspot (Butterfly) 
Baltimore Checkerspot (Butterfly) Stamp, Postmaster, 8409 Lee Highway, Merrifield, VA 22116-9998
FDC deadline March 20

January 20 — Birds of Prey 
Birds of Prey Stamp, Special Cancellations, PO Box 92282, Washington, DC 20090-2282 FDC deadline March 20

January 20 — Lancaster County, PA 
Lancaster County, PA Stamp, Postmaster, 1400 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster, PA 17604-9998
FDC deadline March 20

January 20 — 65¢ Wedding Cake 
Wedding Cake Stamp, Postmaster, 1100 Wythe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-9998
FDC deadline March 20

January 20 — Weather Vanes 
Weather Vanes Stamp, Postmaster, 495 Falls Road, Shelburne, VT 05482-9998
FDC deadline March 20

January 20 — Sailboat Card
Sailboat Stamped Card, Postmaster, 1 Shore Avenue, Oyster Bay, NY 11771-9998
FDC deadline March 20

January 23 — Lunar New Year: Year of the Dragon 
Lunar New Year: Year of the Dragon Stamp, Postmaster, 180 Steuart Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-9992
FDC deadline March 23

January 23 — Purple Martin Envelope
Purple Martin Stamped Envelope, Postmaster, 2000 Mulford Road, Mulberry, FL 33860-9998
FDC deadline March 23

January 23 — Bonsai 
Bonsai Stamp, Postmaster, 2000 Royal Oaks Drive, Sacramento, CA 95813-9998
FDC deadline March 23

January 31 — John H. Johnson 
John H. Johnson Stamp, Postmaster, 433 W. Harrison Street, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60699-9998
FDC deadline March 31

February 9 — Heart Health
Special Cancellations, P.O. Box 92282, Washington, DC 20090-2282
FDC deadline March 9

February 14 — Love Ribbons 
Love Ribbons Stamp, Postmaster, 201 E. Pikes Peak Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903-9998
FDC deadline April 14

February 14 — Arizona Statehood 
Arizona Statehood Stamp, Postmaster, 4949 E. Van Buren Road, Rm. 187, Phoenix, AZ 85026-9998
FDC deadline April 14

February 16 — Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas Stamp,   Postmaster,   555 South Third Street, Memphis, TN 38101-9998
FDC deadline April 16

February 22 — Four Flags
Set of four (Freedom, Liberty, Equality, Justice), Special Cancellations, P.O. Box 92282, Washington, DC 20090-2282
FDC deadline March 22

What Are First Day Covers?

First Day Covers are envelopes that bear a stamp cancelled on the first day it was issued.

Over the years the form that these covers take has changed. Covers that come down to us from the 19th century would have been those that happened to be commercially used—that is not prepared by collectors—on the first day the stamp was issued.

In many instances, even into the 20th Century for some stamps, the precise date of issue is not known, so Earliest Known, or Documented, Usages become the next best thing to FDCs.

As they were not intended to be collectibles, those early FDCs do not bear the First Day Cancellation that we see today. Instead, we see whatever cancel happened to be used where the cover was processed.

Those covers also would have come from whatever city the stamp might have been available, as opposed to the “Official First Day of Issue” sites that have become customary for most issues.

(Even today, some collectors who prefer postally used FDCs seek commercially used covers instead of those cancelled by the USPS.)

Collecting First Day Covers

As FDCs became a popular collecting area, the Post Office Department began producing special First Day of Issue cancellations, and arranged for collectors to send in their covers to receive the FDOI cancel. Those early FDOI cancels did not bear an illustration; today, the cancellation incorporates a design that is related to the stamp subject.

At first, collectors were required to send in the covers before the stamp was actually issued. Those rules were later relaxed so that today for most stamps, collectors have 60 days after the date of issue in which to submit their requests. However, those covers must bear the stamp(s) to which the FDOI cancel is to be applied.

The U.S. Postal Service also now sells its own FDCs for a modest premium over the face value of the stamp(s); however, those covers are blanks, and do not have the cachets—that is the designs printed or painted on the left side of, or all over, the cover—that most collectors prefer. Such cacheted covers may be obtained from Stamp News First Day Cover advertisers.

Another wrinkle added by the USPS are digital color cancels. For an extra $1.50 collectors can have a specially designed color cancel instead of the standard, free, black cancel that most collectors still use.

Obtaining First Day Covers

To obtain the FDOI cancellation on a cover of your choosing, you must send the cover with the stamp affixed in the upper right, or in a position allowing enough room to fit the cancellation on the cover. The preferred envelope size is a #6 (6-3/4" wide) and should be a sturdy, acid-free stock.

The cover also will need an address to which it should be returned. Since unaddressed covers are the standard collecting form for FDCs, a peelable label is the suggested form.

To send the cover to the address to which it must be sent for the FDOI cancel, your FDCs should be sent in an outer envelope.

Nowadays, to prevent an additional cancellation’s being applied in transit, or other damage to the cover, some collectors send along another return-addressed envelope in which the FDC can be returned by the USPS. If a cover is damaged, or if you do not receive all of your covers, submit a full description of your request to Stamp Fulfillment Services, Cancellation Services, P.O. BOX 499992, Kansas City, MO 64144-9992. The description should include the stamp issue, a description of the envelope, the number and placement of stamps, quantity of covers, and any other information that may assist in locating or replacing your covers. Requests for exchanges or claims must be received within six months of the issue date. Damaged covers, and claims for non-receipt should be sent to:

Covers sent for cancellation must be sufficient postage to cover the First Class rate. This is important for stamps with a denomination less than that First Class rate.

In addition to the new issue for which the FD cancel is being sought, you can place other stamps adjacent to that stamp. Even used or foreign stamps are acceptable, as long as there is sufficient unused postage to cover the First Class rate, and those used or foreign stamps are affixed in such a way that they will not be cancelled by the FDOI cancellation.

Each cover must have inside a filler card of index or postal card thickness, with the envelope either sealed or with the flap tucked in—the latter being the preferred.

The addresses to which covers should be sent are supplied by the U.S. Postal Service. They are published in Mekeel’s & Stamps as they are received, and they are posted to our online: USPS New Issues Calendar.