posted 10-15-2023 10:21 AM               

Space Cover 723: Sally-Amy-Moe Zero over One

The "clean" Port Canaveral cancel that appears on early space covers by Clyde Sarzin has been written up in other collectSpace topics. But here is another interesting twist for a Sarzin cover.

The flight was a launch of three black mice – named Sally, Amy, and Moe - in an Atlas missile nose cone that flew 650 miles into space on October 13, 1960, along with liberal rations of oxygen, oatmeal, peanuts and gelatin and a variety of scientific instruments. During the ride, the mice rode into the perilous inner Van Allen radiation belt and were also treated to ten minutes of weightlessness; then they survived a blazing dive back through the earth's atmosphere to a landing 5,000 miles downrange. The genetic lessons learned from radiation effects were valuable for putting humans into space in the upcoming Project Mercury flights.

As can be seen in the top image, Sarzin obtained a number of Port Canaveral cancels using the "smeared" version of the postmark for the launch date of October 13, 1960.

The middle image shows another Sarzin cover for the same launch, but it uses the "clean" version of the postmark. In addition, the "clean" postmark used the year 1961 instead of 1960. There was an attempt to "correct" the postmark date by stamping a "zero" over the "one" in 1961 as can be seen in the magnified image. The "one" can definitely be seen under the "zero."

There is seemingly no reason for 1961 to be in the cancel at all if the covers were cancelled even months after the launch date in October 1960. The Sarzin covers are the only ones known to have the 1961 strikes of the postmark.

Another interesting observation is the cachet itself – in all the covers I've seen with the smeared Port Canaveral postmark, the rocket is pointing to the 10 o'clock position. In all the covers I've seen with the clean Port Canaveral Zero over One covers, the rocket and mice have rotated to the right – with the rocket pointing to the 2 o'clock position.

posted 10-15-2023 11:26 AM               

There is one other major difference between the two versions: the strange hieroglyphic to the left of the left hand 1961 mouse (which doesn't exist beneath what was the bottom mouse in the 1960 version).

My cover (a smeared version - the supposedly non-suspect authentic version, as opposed to the definitely suspect version) has the U.S. #1167 4¢ Camp Fire Girls stamp, which I am reliably informed was issued on November 1st 1960, which raises all kind of issues for a 13th October 1960 launch day cancellation!!!

posted 10-15-2023 01:30 PM               

And looking at Yeknom's "smeared" cancel above, the stamp is the Baron Gustav Mannerheim Champions of Liberty issue, Sc #1165. Scott's lists this as issued on October 26, 1960, thirteen days after the flight...

The "smeared" cancel Sally, Amy, Moe in my collection has the Credo issue on it, Sc #1142 issued on September 14, 1960, almost a month before the flight. See below:

posted 10-16-2023 09:35 AM               

Did Sarzin have one bunch of genuinely postmarked covers (the smeared), and another set of faked covers (the crisp zero over ones) to cope with an overabundance of orders? Or are the zero over ones an intended anniversary cover, that someone manipulated (forged) back into a launch cover?

Or are some of the "smeared" actually real; but a really really good forger has reproduced a set using 'contemporaneous' stamps without properly checking the issue dates of those stamps? Or are all early Sarzins backdated cancels?

And if the last, then not only the 'crisp' cancels are backdated, but the 'smeared' are too!

posted 10-16-2023 12:42 PM               

However. Having quite closely compared the two 'smeared' examples shown (mine with the Camp Fire Girls stamp and Tom's with the General Mannerheim stamp, both of which (the stamps) were issued post the launch/cancellation date it seems obvious that they aren't modern computer printed forgeries over the top of near contemporaneous stamps applied to clever fake covers.

I say that because although the cancellations are very very similar, as you'd expect, they aren't exact reproductions. And, more to the point, the angle of attack for each cancellation is slightly different; which would preclude almost all pre-2020s Photoshop attempts at forgery.

So, almost (99%) without doubt, Tom's and mine are not reproduction modern forgeries but almost certainly were backdated cancellations at or around the timeframe of 1960/1.

posted 10-19-2023 04:41 PM               

Time slug. Most of smeared PC Oct 13, 1960 bear P.M. time slug.

Almost all Sarzin covers I have seen for this date bear a P.M. time slug. Dennis showed a cover that could be an exception. And for this, it is more valuable for me.

However, and casually out of Sarzin covers, other covers for this same launch with smeared PC postmark bear normally an A.M. time slug.

Here again two examples of two covers that I had shown previously in Aug 2018 inside SCOTW 457.