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USS New Orleans LPH-11 Prime Recovery Ship, Apollo Souyz, July 24, 1975 The ASTP covers actually did NOT go to the USS New Orleans, EXCEPT for this one postmarked on July 25, 1975. this is the first day the post office on the ship was open. See below.
The significance of the Beck cover shown here is that it WAS on board the USS New Orleans to receive this specific postmark. Beck printed a few extra envelopes for the Navy and a couple of dealers. A few of those covers found their way to the ship. They were either hand carried by someone in the media or member of the Navy crew. They also could have been mailed directly to a crew member of the ship for postmarking. The cancelled covers probably did not go through the mail system after postmarking, so that means it is one of the very few actual covers on board. Please refer to Ray Cartier’s excellent book on recovery ships for more information on the other covers for this event. The cover shown here is a Morris W. Beck cover and this cover is a very important cover for Beck collectors. I have only seen a few examples of this cover and I estimate the value of this cover to be $125-150. It could easily sell for more on eBay once space collectors realize what its significance is. Also see the examples of the cachet design used by the Navy as a single color rubber stamp cachet that was postmarked on the USS New Orleans each day of the flight. Click HERE
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