A few years back, when a stamp honoring Lewis & Clark was issued, I was asked to speak at the ceremony near St. Louis. I pointed out that just a day after the explorers had begun their expedition they realized they had forgotten something. A group was sent back to their base camp to retrieve it.
In that respect my wife and I are like Lewis & Clark. Usually, when we set out on vacation, after a few miles of driving we realize we have left something and need to turn around to get it. A new US stamp helped me realize how much we are also like the Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower....
Dial the clock back 400 years to September, 1620. You’d find that tiny (barely 100-foot long) vessel about to depart its port in Plymouth, England bound for the “New World.” Originally built to haul only freight, onboard were 26 crew members plus 102 passengers crammed below deck in an area less than 5-1/2 feet tall. Those Pilgrims were 51 men; 21 boys; 20 women and 10 girls. Having been built for cargo, I can’t fathom the toilet facilities or what happened when seasickness set in.
The planned destination was the mouth of the Hudson River – later to become “New Amsterdam.” In 1664, it was renamed New York when ceded to the British.
Not unlike Lewis & Clark or my wife and me, the Pilgrim’s trip took an unexpected turn. During two perilous months and 2,750 miles at sea (averaging a paltry two miles-per-hour), storms blew the ship 200 miles off-course. That resulted in their landing at Cape Cod, Massachusetts much farther north than the Hudson.
During the first freezing winter in the northeast bay, the new arrivals spent those months onboard awaiting spring to build homes on land. That winter didn’t go well. Of the contingent, only 53 settlers and 12 crew survived. Nevertheless, the spring held new hope.
By April, those still alive went ashore to build their new village receiving substantial assistance from the natives who helped show them how to plant and farm in their new climate. The exact location of the first town is still being researched though a faithful and detailed reconstruction called “Plimoth Plantation” exists some 30 miles south of Boston and is open to the public.
The new 55-cent “Forever” stamp – valid for one-ounce First Class postage – features the Mayflower sitting placidly in Plymouth Harbor after its 1620 voyage. The British Union Jack flag flies atop the main mast with the glow of an orange sunrise in the background. It’s a big improvement over an unimaginative six-cent stamp issued in 1970 for the 350th anniversary and another one-cent stamp released for the 300th in 1920. A highly collectible Pilgrim Tercentenary silver half dollar now worth upwards of $3,000 in top condition was also minted in 1920.
The stamp hit post offices on September 17, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Special First Day of Issue cancels are available by mail. To receive one, purchase the stamp at a local post office, affix it to a self-addressed envelope and send that inside of a separate mailing envelope to: Mayflower Stamp, USPS Fulfillment Services, 8300 NE Underground Dr. Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64144-9900. There is no cost for the cancel and envelopes will be returned via regular mail. All requests MUST be submitted no later than January 17, 2021.
To make one of the First Day envelopes more valuable, just get one or more descendants of those who sailed on the Mayflower to sign it. It’s easier than you might think.
For the ultimate lesson in reproductive compounding consider this…when first settled, the village of Plymouth had under 100 residents. By 1691, it had multiplied to 3,000.
Today, 400 years later, over 35 million people in the United States are descended from those original 100 Pilgrims. With 325 million people now in the US, that means one in ten is a descendant. Are you? A good place to start finding out is at: www.MayflowerHistory.com.
For more collecting advice, visit www.peterexford.blogspot.com