US POSTAL HISTORY BLOG

Envelopes and postcards postmarked on and mailed from a navy ship are commonly referred to as naval covers. The U.S. Navy has been a rich source of covers since the beginning of the 20th Century when Congress authorized the creation of shipboard post offices. In addition to outgoing and incoming mail for the sailors, these Navy post offices became to receive envelopes from collectors who wanted a to cancellation add to their collection. (This is can be achieved today for little more than the cost of a stamp for the cover and a stamp to mail it to the ship.)
 
By 1920, printed, stamped and hand-drawn designs were added to naval covers. These designs (cachets) quickly became both popular and collectible. The design may be generic in design or specific to a ship. However many event covers were created to commemorate keel layings, commissionings, and launches.
 
Morris Beck, a prolific and popular designer, created a cover of the 1943 launch of the USS Ticonderoga, for example. Beck was still in high school when he created the Ticonderoga. The dedicated artist continued developing designs until the late 70’s. It is believed that he created more than two thousand different naval and event covers during his 30-year career.
 
While not event covers per say, naval covers from ships stationed at Pearl Harbor are historically significant, as well as popular. Covers from fleet ships dated before the ‘date that will live in infamy.’ are plentiful and relatively low priced. However, covers from any of the ships postmarked near December 7, 1941 are quite rare and, as such, expensive. Naval covers from the USS Arizona are especially sought after.
 

Let’s start with the past. Naval cancels first appeared in 1908, but little was written or known about them (and there were few collectors) prior to the 1920’s. It was at that time that Lieutenant Commander Francis E. Locy wrote an article on the subject, and shortly thereafter he created a system for classifying navy ship cancels.
 
Naval Cancels Then and Now
Covers from naval vessels that have been de-commissioned or destroyed (like those from the Pearl Harbor fleet) may be purchased through auctions (like mine) or made by traded for between private collectors. The number of available covers is limited, of course, which increases their cost.

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Lieutenant Commander Francis E. Locy is the father of the Locy System, a basic set of illustrations of the general form of cancels and a list of code letters that are used to describe variations from the standard format unique to various naval vessels.
 
A standard U.S. Navy cancellation consists of a dater circle — sometimes referred to as ‘the dial’ The dial is positioned at the left, with the ship’s name molded into it around the circle. There are also slots in the center into which slugs can be inserted for the date. To the right, a ships cancellations has bars or other devices that deface the stamp so that it cannot be used again. These devices are called “killers,” and are often straight lines.
 
Most of the variations in cancellations are changes or rearrangements of the wording the dial, or variations in the killer.