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When a new stamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), it is offered for sale in (usually) only a single U.S. city on one day and then throughout the country on the second day and thereafter. That date of sale in a single city is designated as the "official" First Day Of Issue. Envelopes (known in stamp collecting as "covers") postmarked with the new stamp with this first day date are known as "First Day Covers". This postmark is a special cancel that is applied to the new stamp. These cancellations can never again be duplicated after the grace period allowed by the USPS to secure such postal markings. Thus, first day covers are a limited edition piece of postal history and are sought after by collectors around the world.

Many first day covers consist of special envelopes called cachets. A cachet is a design of words and/or pictures which refers specially to the new stamp on the FDC (First Day Cover). Designs are usually found on the front, left side of the envelope (cover). They can be printed, rubber stamped, individually hand created, or pasted-on. The purpose of a cachet is to enhance the meaning and appearance of the cover.




		First Day Covers and Caches


	When a new stamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), it is offered for sale in (usually) only a single U.S. city on one day and then throughout the country on the second day and thereafter. That date of sale in a single city is designated as the "official" First Day Of Issue. Envelopes (known in stamp collecting as "covers") postmarked with the new stamp with this first day date are known as "First Day Covers". This postmark is a special cancel that is applied to the new stamp. These cancellations can never again be duplicated after the grace period allowed by the USPS to secure such postal markings. Thus, first day covers are a limited edition piece of postal history and are sought after by collectors around the world. Many first day covers consist of special envelopes called cachets. A cachet is a design of words and/or pictures which refers specially to the new stamp on the FDC (First Day Cover). Designs are usually found on the front, left side of the envelope (cover). They can be printed, rubber stamped, individually hand created, or pasted-on. The purpose of a cachet is to enhance the meaning and appearance of the cover.

First day covers or cachets with golf themes are fun to collect and don’t require a lot of storage space. Four different golf cachets were issues in Augusta, Georgia between 1933 and 1953. An ongoing series of commemorative covers with special cancellations were issued by the British Royal Mail at the British Open from 1968 to 1993. When Arnold Palmer flew around the world in 1976 attempting to set a speed record for a small corporate jet, he carried commemorative covers produced by the Aviation Historical Foundation. They showed Palmer’s plane and route and were autographed by the famous golfer. The Isle of Jersey in the English Channel commemorated the 100^th anniversary of the Royal Jersey Golf Club in 1978 by honoring Harry Vardon with a series of four stamps and a special cover. Bobby Jones’ Grand Slam in 1930 was recognized fifty years later in 1980 with a set of five illustrated covers depicting his major championship (and Walker Cup Team) wins. The privately marketed cachets were postmarked in each city where the championships were played. Although governments around the world print first day and commemorative covers, those sold in the U.S. are printed by private parties, rather than the U.S. Postal Service. When the Bobby Jones, Babe Zaharias, and Francis Ouimet postage stamps were issues by the Postal Service, hundred of different cachets were forwarded by dealers to the specific issuing post office to receive first day cancellations.