Classic Arctic Covers from the US Navy and US Coast Guard 1949-Present

Beginning this collection is a Point Barrow Resupply Expedition from an uncommon vessel, the U.S.S. Oberon, AKA-14, a cargo vessel.

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This nice cover has a fanciful cachet from the USCGC Storis for 1957 DEWline Operations, which would make a great cover in and of itself.

However, what makes this Storis cover so desirable and valuable, (the fact of which is not clearly evident or notated on the cover itself) is that this cover had to have been on board the Storis, when she and her companion ships, the USCGC Spar and USCGC Bramble, escorted by the Canadian Icebreaker, HMCS Labrador, made the historic first-ever Northwest Passage by a U.S. ship, when they went through the Bellot Strait.  It was also the first circumnavigation of the North American continent.

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Also from 1957, a general cachet for the Military Sealift Transportation Service Arctic Operations, postmarked from APO 862.  Note that these were apparently a commercial venture of Washington Stamp Exchange, part of Washington Press; well known for producing White Ace albums and Artcraft cachets!  This cover was offered in their "Washington Bulletin" and thus singlehandedly introduced more U.S. collectors to the polar philately interest area than any other previous event, save perhaps the Byrd era.  I am told many polar collectors got started from seeing these series of covers from Washington Stamp Exchange.

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QSL.net/KG0YH page last updated 08-08-2002