Thursday, June 21, 2012

Registered French Antarctic Letter


There's nothing extra-special about this cover. There are no cachets or special postal markings other than the "Registered" label and "Alfred Faure Crozet" postmarks.

But to me, that's what makes the cover special. It's ordinary mail sent from the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, and in my collection, it stands out from all the others from the area that bear a multitude of cachets.
Plus it's franked with one of the most beautiful stamps – the large 1979 engraved-process dark blue-green, 4-franc airmail stamp (Scott #C47) picturing a sea lion and her cub. It's also co-franked with the 1.20-franc citron and indigo stamp honoring French Antarctic explorer R. Rallier du Baty (Scott #80) that was issued on Jan. 1, 1979.

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