posted 09-06-2007 01:11 PM               

144 Apollo 15 covers which were carried by Worden. 100 of these were especially printed with a cachet showing 15 phases of the moon and marked with the launch and recovery dates by F. Herrick, a philatelist and friend of Worden's, with the aid of Herrick's son. Herrick had advised the Apollo 15 crew to carry first-day covers and to then store them safely for some years, during which they would become valuable collector's items. On the USS Okinawa, the Apollo 15 recovery ship, the astronauts placed two eight-cent stamps purchased on board by Worden on each of these covers and they had the covers canceled by the shipboard post office. The astronauts later autographed these covers while flying back from Hawaii to Houston. Sixteen covers were torn or damaged and were destroyed. Worden gave away 28 of these covers to friends. He then gave 40 to Herrick (28 for himself and 12 for Herrick's son) and entrusted the remaining 60 to Herrick for safekeeping.

posted 09-06-2007 05:55 PM               

After doing some research earlier this year, I DO NOT think the covers have were flown. Information came to my attention that Herrick, or someone, had "several hundred" of these covers made up after the flight. If you really look at it, it would not be hard to do. Just get the covers printed and a few Moon Phase stamps made. The autographs could also be forged very easily.

When Worden filed suit against NASA to get his covers back, he got back 60 of these "Moon Phase" covers and 100 for the "Sieger" covers that were given to him by Dave Scott. (Scott and Irwin also got back these "Sieger" although they were not party to the lawsuit.) The covers that Worden got back will probably have a legal letter with them stating what they are. I think without that legal letter, there is a question, at least in my mind, if they are flown.

The covers I purchased were sold in good faith by the auction company and I am not going to go back on them. Both covers are still in my file cabinet.

posted 09-06-2007 06:02 PM               

Very little is known about these unflown covers, even along with other similar variations (at least two more), that I have seen. It is my belief, however, they were produced by the 100s perhaps by Herrick himself or someone in relation to his company as "souvenir" editions made to represent, or close to it, the real thing!

There is even another possibility, though remote at the time, that an unrelated European dealer had printed the "Herrick" lunar covers himself. That suggestion, however, may be the actual case — now — as I don't recall Herrick ever discussing any additional or similar lunar covers that were offered as "souvenirs" from his company throughout the 1970/80s.

In either case, they were probably made as "souvenir" covers, in my opinion. Another question that comes to mind are the signatures of the Apollo 15 crew on the so-called "souvenir" covers. Are they genuine, even though they appear to be... but?