So far I have posted on each successful satellite launch during the IGY to note the launch anniversary dates, and separately posted more information when articles become available in the IGY Bulletin. Today I want to honor (belatedly) the March 26, 1958, launch of Explorer 3 (which was my father's 52nd birthday).
I will save more technical information on this satellite until I get to the relevant article in the May 1958 issue of the IGY Bulletin.
Explorer 3 was the third successful U.S. satellite launch of the IGY, after Explorer 1 and Vanguard 1. According to JPL, "data from Explorer 3 - combined with earlier measurements from Explorer 1 - confirmed principal investigator James Van Allen's theory that radiation belts trapped by Earth's magnetic field exist around the planet." That discovery ranks as one of the most important of the IGY, becoming the basis of what we now call space weather.
So, I tried to find a U.S. cover commemorating that mission. I found two on eBay with Explorer 3 cachets that were postmarked on the date of the launch. These each cost over $100, so I decided not to spring for those yet. You'll find nine U.S. covers with Explorer 3 themes listed in the wonderful database on satellite stamps compiled by Garry Toth and Don Hillger.
I did find a nice set of 2008 stamps from Antigua marking the 50th anniversary of the launch. According to the same database, these are the only postage stamps from any country specifically featuring Explorer 3. I've just bought them on eBay, so I show images (taken from Toth and Hillger) of them below, soon to become a part of my physical collection.
When collecting philatelic items about American achievements during the IGY, I focus on collecting U.S. stamps and covers. I am not sure if the island of Antigua and Barbuda falls into this category, but there are smaller countries (and heck, even the U.S. with that Elvis stamp) that issue stamps on popular topics, like space and cute animals, fully expecting most stamps to be bought by collectors. These will never be used to mail anything and pay for postal services, meaning extra income for the country. Such stamps tend to be attractive, and of interest to topical collectors (Hayward, 2008).
Listverse, a website of lists, in a piece on 10 Bizarre Ways That Tiny Countries Make Money, includes #5, The Islands Where Postage Stamps Are The Main Export. This piece highlights the islands of Ascension, Saint Helena, and Tristan da Cunha, together comprising a British Overseas Territory on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Ascension (current population of 1,000) issues five sets of stamps every year, for which 400 collectors maintain standing orders. The island itself is so small (34 square miles) that mail delivery is infrequent, and there is no national postal delivery service. Tristan da Cunha, the world’s most remote permanent settlement (population of 264, area 71 square miles) has been financially self-sufficient since 1980 thanks to a crayfish factory and the local post office, which sells its stamps around the world.
One of my books, Stamp Collecting (1992), by Charles F. Adams, includes a section on Bhutan - The Kingdom of Fanciful Collecting (pp. 155-156). To quote: "When serious philatelists hear the mention of Bhutan, they instantly roll their eyes. No one really takes the stamps of Bhutan seriously, they say. Those aren't really stamps: they're junk, silly, ridiculous junk." Apparently some stamps are rather gimmicky, like miniature phonograph records, and "debate rages as to whether any of these 'stamps' have ever actually been postally used. But "even though they may be worthless, they sure are fun." And what could be wrong with having fun?
No comments:
Post a Comment