24c Carmine Rose & Blue, 1918 Air Post, Grounded Plane Variety (C3 var). Strong Grounded Plane variety with the wheels of the plane shifted to the midpoint of "Cents", tied by "City Hall Sta. N.Y. Jul. 1, 7-AM 1924" machine cancel on Nassau Stamp Co. corner card cover to Elko Nev., purple "Via Air Mail" rectangular handstamp, additional New York duplex on back of July 1, Elko receiving backstamp of July 2

EXTREMELY FINE. A FRESH AND EXCEEDINGLY RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 1918 24-CENT AIR POST GROUNDED PLANE VARIETY ON COVER.

According to a 1956 article by Henry M. Goodkind in Aero Philatelist Annals and additional research by Joe Kirker (most recently in the 2014 Air Post Journal), one sheet containing examples of the Grounded Plane variety was acquired by J. Klemann of the Nassau Stamp Company. As there was little demand for the variety, he decided to use some on covers for the July 1, 1924 first transcontinental night flight from New York to San Francisco, with stops in between. It is not known how many he used, but he posted the covers to six cities in western states on the route.

Joe Kirker's census, first published in 2005 and updated in 2014, records only 15 examples on cover, all from the Klemann mailing. The cities Kirker lists are as follows: two to Rawlins Wyoming, three to Rock Springs Wyoming, three to Salt Lake City Utah, three to Elko Nevada (including the cover offered here), three to Reno Nevada and one to San Francisco.

With 2003 P.F. certificate

Image Magnifier / Download

Power Search for Comparables