This section is designed to highlight particularly interesting covers, especially those that have recently been sold on eBay or in another auction.
January 2011 RR Auction
A number of interesting Recovery Ship covers were sold in the January 2011 auction. Prices, in general, were higher than recent eBay prices. Some examples are (excluding 20% buyers commission):
- A MA-6 USS Enterprise cover signed not only by John Glenn, but also the Commanding Officers of the USS Randolph (designated PRS), the USS Noa (actual PRS) and the Recovery Commander. A very nice and rare combination. Sold for $217.
- A MA-7 USS John R. Pierce cover with an 'Aurora Seven' cachet and signed by Scott Carpenter. Sold for $152.
- A GT-6 unpostmarked Captain's cover signed by Schirra and Stafford as well as the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer of the USS Wasp plus the Recovery Force Commander. Sold for $168.
- A GT-11 Beck B684 GT-11 USS Guam cover signed by Conrad and Gordon as well as the Commanding Officer of the USS Wasp plus the Recovery Team Leader and a member of the Recovery Team. Sold for $150.
- An Apollo 12 USS Hornet cover signed by Alan Bean, Dick Gordon, and Charles Conrad. Also signed by the captain of the USS Hornet, the Admiral of the Fleet, and the recovery helicopter pilot. Sold for $200.
- An Apollo 14 USS New Orleans cover signed by Roosa and two members of the recovery force. Sold for $110.
- An Apollo 14 Beck 861 USS New Orleans cover signed by Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Ed Mitchell, and also signed by the captain of the USS New Orleans and the helicopter pilots responsible for recovering the crew. Sold for $220.
- An Apollo 17 USS Ticonderoga cover signed by Gene Cernan, Ron Evans, and Jack Schmitt. Cover was also signed by the ship’s captain, the Admiral, and the prime recovery helicopter pilot. Sold for $148.
Three interesting covers
sold on eBay during January 2011
This Goldcraft cover sold on eBay for EUR33
While this ASTP Crew cover sold for EUR52.50
This Beck cover with an extremely rare gold/brown postmark sold for a cheap $22.50!
Scarce ASTP Covers Sells
on eBay
This scarce Robert Boudwin cover, which was actually aboard the PRS, sold for EUR83.10.
Apollo 11 Captain's Cover
Sold on eBay during March 2011 for $178.
Gemini 6A Captain's Cover
This Captain's cover sold for $51 which was a good price for the buyer.
Hard to Find Skylab 4 Kunia
cover
This hard to find Skylab 4 cover sold for 21 Eur (US $29). This is 2.5 - 3 times what a standard Kunia cover would
sell for.
MR-3 Lake Champlain Cover
This cover was sold on eBay during March 2011 for $771
Two Signed PRS Covers sold
on eBay in April 2011
This cover sold for $52.75
This cover sold for $56
A Wonderful MA-9 Crew Cover
Sold on eBay for Euro 71.50 (almost US$100)
An Unusual MA-9 USS Kearsarge
Cover with Hand Cancel
Sold on eBay for Euro 61.50
The Difficult to Find USS
Severn from Gemini 11
This hardest to find SRS cover from GTA-11 sold on eBay for Euro 16.25
Prices are Rising for Project
Mercury Recovery Ship Covers
Recent prices (April 2011) show that prices for the so far undervalued Project Mercury recovery ship covers may be on the way up. Some recent sales :
MA-9 USS Frank Knox Euro 19.95 US $28.50 MA-8 USS Hunley Euro 15.75 US $22.50 MA-8 USS Lake Champlain Euro 22.00 US $31.50 MA-8 USS Dyress signed by Schirra Euro 28.00 US $40.00
More Good Prices for Project
Mercury Recovery Ship Covers
The price rises shown above continued with a later group of Project Mercury Recovery Ship Covers, especially for desired cachets such as Goldcraft.
A Goldcraft cachet that sold for Euro 32.76 (US$47)!
A surprising price of Euro 28.00 (US$40) was paid for this cover from a non-participating ship. This is the second time in two years that this cover has sold for a surprisingly high price.
This cover sold for Euro 12.75 (US$18)
Even covers without cachets and from non-participating ships brought reasonable prices :
MA-7 USS Lake Champlain Euro 8.50 US $12 MA-8 USS Wasp Euro 6.50 US $9 MA-8 USS Handcock Euro 6.55 US $9
Project Mercury Recovery
Ship Covers Bring Mixed Prices
The table below shows the difference in price between a prized cachet (USS Fox - Lorraine Carlson) and other lesser desired cachets (USS Gainard & USS Corry)
| MA-9 USS Myles C. Fox | Euro 18.75 | US $27 |
| MA-9 USS Gainard | Euro 9.50 | US $13.50 |
| MA-9 USS Corry | Euro 5.5 | US $8 |
Fake USS Wasp Cover
A lot of 2 fake GT-12 USS Wasp covers brought $56 on eBay recently. This is significantly more than is being asked for 2 actual GT-12 USS Wasp covers!
Two Rare Covers Sold on
eBay
The first is a Gemini 8 USS Boxer cover with the rare silver cachet. It sold for $44.
The second is a Gemini 9 USS Wasp cover with an inverted 1966 in the hand cancel! It sold for $61. This is the
first one seen on a Navy cacheted cover. Previously one had been found on a Beck B651 printed cover and another
on a Beck B651 cover.
A Very Unusual Apollo 12
Captain's Cover
This very unusual (possibly unique) Apollo 12 Captain's cover was postmarked in Pago Pago the day before the recovery.
It sold for $53 during mid 2011.
Another Gemini 8 USS Silver
Cachet
Another Gemini 8 USS Boxer cover with the rare silver cachet sold on eBay. It sold for $37. It's highly unusual for two such covers to become available so close together.
A Gemini 2 USS Lake Champlain
Beck Cover
A hard to find Gemini 2 USS Lake Champlain Beck B456 Cover sold on eBay for $39.
Several Covers recently
sold on eBay
An Apollo 13 USS Iwo Jima Crew cover signed by the pilot and co-pilot of the Prime Recovery Helicopter and recently sold on eBay for $124.50
An Apollo 6 PRS cover with an interesting cachet sold for $27
An Apollo 11 USS New Goldcraft cover sold for $35
A rare GTA-6 (abort) USS Wasp cover sold for GBP 72.50.
A Beck B881 cover with a USS Constellation pmk sold for $36 (along with an AP16 CC launch cover). First Beck cover seen with a USS Constellation pmk
Scarcer Covers bring Good
Prices on eBay
This very nice cover signed by 8 frogman went for $59
This is one of the harder to find and most desireable STS-51L covers. It sold for $62.55.
This cover, signed by Jack Lousma, the Captain of the PRS and the Recovery Helicopter pilot was sold for $76.57.
This Captain's cover has the scarcer machine cancel and sold for $83.
This hard to find Beck cover brought $61
More Scarce Covers bring
Good Prices on eBay
This nice MA-6 USS Randolph cover sold for $73
This Beck B520 cover sold for $31
Very Desireable Apollo 11
Captain's Cover
This Apollo 11 Captain's cover with a Type 2 machine cancel sold for $197.
Extremely Rare MR-2 Cover
This extremely rare USS Warrington MR-2 cover was sold on eBay for $250! No other Secondary Recovery Ship covers
are known from this mission.
Some Covers Recently Sold
on eBay
This Gemini 8 SRS cover sold for $14.49
This Mercury 9 cover sold for $22.50
More Covers Recently Sold
on eBay
This wonderful Admiral's Cover was sold for $188.50
This great Skylab 2 cover was sold for $57
These covers sold for $27
December 2011 RR Auction
Only a couple of notable items in this auction.
- An Apollo 15 PRS cover signed by Jim Irwin, RADM J B Hayward Commander of TF-130, the EO of the USS Okinawa and the Recovery Helicopter pilot. Also the cover is addressed to another Astronaut, Chapman! Sold for $144.
- A Skylab III PRS cover signed by the three Skylab 4 (III) astronauts, the Commanding Officer Capt. Ralph E. Neiger, the TF-130 Commander and the Recovery helicopter pilot. Sold for $120.
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Last modified on 3 January 2012
