GRAF ZEPPELIN

 

On August 8, 1929, the Graf Zeppelin began its most famous flight.  It took off in Lakehurst, New Jersey and was the very first flight to carry passengers around the world.  Aboard the ship were 60 men and one woman, including journalists, American naval officers, a polar explorer, representatives of Japan and the Soviet Union and more.  Thousands of people around the world looked to the skies to watch the Graf fly over their homes.

The popularity of this trip created “Zeppelin Mania” and inspired several later flights.  The

The Graf Zeppelin flying over New York

following year, the Graf Zeppelin made another trip across the Atlantic, and the US issued three stamps to frank mail on that flight.  These famous stamps are artifacts from that exciting time in postal history. The Zeppelin airmails are also really scarce.  They were on sale for only five weeks, and very few sold.  All leftover stamps were destroyed!  And with the passage of almost a century, their scarceness has only increased.  Serious collectors around the world dream of owning them.

US #C13 1930 65¢ Zeppelin Over Atlantic Ocean US #C14 1930 $1.30 Zeppelin Between Continent US #C15 1930 $2.60 Zeppelin Passing Globe

On October 2, 1933, one of my favorite US stamps was issued in New York City – #C18.  The stamp had a total of five First Days of Issue – one at each city the Graf Zeppelin stopped at from New York to Chicago.  Today, stamps have only one First Day of Issue, so this was quite unusual!  Only about 32,000 of the 324,070 #C18s printed were sold.  That means the remaining 90% of the Post Office Department’s stock was destroyed, making #C18 scarce today in any condition. US #C18 1933 50¢ Zeppelin Century of Progress Issue

...