Long ago in what, to me, seems like a galaxy far, far away, I dated a girl who loved going to the movies. Who doesn’t? The thing was, she absolutely had to see the movie as soon as it came out. Not the first week – the first night. If a movie was showing on the weekend and it opened on Friday, for her, seeing it Saturday night didn’t work. It had to be Friday. Our dating history wasn’t long.
Fans of science fiction are much the same. When something in that genre is released or takes place, be it a movie, comic book or convention, Sci-Fi fans have to be first-in-line. Many scenes from the popular TV show The Big Bang Theory illustrate that phenomenon.
It’s a sure bet the futuristic aficionados of the Star Wars film franchise are sure to be queuing up early to collect the new series of First-Class postage stamps featuring an array of the iconic “Droids” from the various movies. The sheet of stamps is slated to be released in just over a month.
Featured on the sheet of 20 “Forever” stamps are two each of the, more often than not, endearing robotic entities. Front and center are the two droids that appeared on screen even before humans in the very first Star Wars film – the iconic R2-D2 and C-3P0....
The images on the new stamps are also a nod to the commitment of the franchise creator Lucasfilm and its parent company Disney to the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) educational initiative. Benefitting at the same time is the non-profit FIRST program – an acronym for, “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.”
Traditionally, new stamp issues are accompanied by a First Day of Issue ceremony. This will be no exception and is sure to be a massive draw for the legions of the movie’s devotees. Because of the Covid pandemic the ceremony will be virtual. Of course, maybe that will be a plus given that most people will participate in the ceremony via a computer – arguably the closest thing we have to a Droid. So, I suppose it’s a win-win.
By the way, modern First Day of Issue cancels on the envelopes at the ceremonies rarely have much added value. The exceptions are envelopes signed by individuals significantly affiliated with the stamp’s images such as George Lucas – director of the original film – or any of the film’s famous actors. That would surely include Anthony Daniels who played C-3PO inside metal costume.
It’s hard to say just how much such a philatelic item such as that might be worth but, just over a month later, all collector eyes will be on New York when Sotheby’s auction firm puts some of the rarest stamps of all time up for sale. Those include the fabled one-cent magenta 1856 stamp from British Guiana and a block of four of the renowned 1918 24-cent inverted Jenny Air Mail stamps.
In 2014, the inverted Air Mail block set a record for the most valuable philatelic item when it was hammered down for a whopping five million dollars. But, wait! That same year, the one-cent magenta stamp (which is honestly quite unattractive) sold for a mind-boggling $9.48 million.
Clearly, be it from sports stars, actors, business executives or Internet moguls, there is money aplenty for notable collectible rarities. Perhaps, one day, some of those Star Wars stamps on First Day of Issue envelopes will have celestial value. For now, the issuance of the stamps in early May is barely a month away. For ordering information of the First Day of Issue cancels, keep posted on www.USPS.gov.
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