Germany: FFC / Returned to Sender - Printable Version

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Germany: FFC / Returned to Sender - Hugh - 17-09-2025

Here is an interesting commercial First Flight cover prepared for Lufthansa's inaugural service on April 11, 1974 of LH656 'Frankfurt-Hamburg-Anchorage-Tokio'. Note the privately printed orange Torii Gate cachet printed on the left side of the cover and the blue box hand-stamp on the right. 

[attachment=195]

There is a pictorial CDS, in black, tied to a 40Pf Deutsche Bundespost 'Environmental Protection' 1973 stamp (Mi.Nr. 776) and a 1972 Berlin 10Pf 'Grunewaldsee' (Mi.Nr. 423).

It was addressed to Hermann E. Sieger, Anchorage (Alaska) / U.S.A. / Airport poste restante.

Their return address, in Lorch (Germany)  is printed on the back flap of the envelope. 

Auxiliary marking included Air Mail Luftpost Par Avion and Drucksache both printed in black ink on the top of the cover.

The Drucksache (Printed Matter) foreign airmail rate in 1974 would have been 50Pf ... 30Pf was the standard printed matter rate and 20Pf would have been the airmail surcharge. This cover has mixed franking ... FRG and Berlin. My understanding is that this was allowed only if the item was mailed in West Berlin. Based on the CDS, this FFC was mailed in Frankfurt-am-Main. In West Germany, Berlin stamps had no postal validity. They were tolerated as a decorative mixed-franking but postal clerks were supposed to ensure that the rate was covered by the non-Berlin stamps.

So, in theory, this item was under-franked. 

As well, the cover was addressed poste restante, to Anchorage (Airport). This was, I understand, a common 'trick' to try to get an arrival or transit marking at an intermediate stop before the piece was returned. 

In this case, it didn't seem to work. 

What makes the cover interesting is the purple hand-stamp, in English, that was applied when the cover reached Anchorage. 

RETURN TO SENDER
PHILATELIC SERVICE
NOT AUTHORIZED

This is a U.S. postal message used when an airport or station does not provide philatelic holding services [poste restante / general delivery] for souvenir covers. In other words: the Anchorage airport postal unit wasn’t going to hold, back-stamp, or hand-back collectors’ mail. 

Therefore, they used the above hand-stamp and returned the item to Sieger at the return address on the back flap.

Producing large runs of souvenirs covers was a big part of their business. (Sieger was also the firm famous for the Apollo 15 'Sieger Covers'). So, while they didn't get the Anchorage transit cancel they wanted, they did get this NOT AUTHORIZED hand-stamp. Probably a lot of them (smile).

Maybe even a better deal. 

Cheers, Hugh

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