First Day Cover

First Day Covers

What is a First Day Cover? Cover refers to the envelope, which hundreds of years ago, people didn't use and would fold up their letters to send. Today we pop our letters into envelopes (much safer!). First Day relates to the date the stamp that has been issued, for example the new Tutankhamun stamps are issued on the 24th November 2022. When the stamp is affixed to the envelope and postmarked on the first day of issue, the envelope becomes a First Day Cover (FDC).

Collectors have been interested in stamps on envelopes for over 150 years. At some point in history it became popular to collect covers which had been postmarked on the first day of issue, and they sent them through the post on purpose to obtain this. Certainly in 1870, many of the new halfpenny postcards were sent to be kept. Collecting them became a philatelic hobby, and with this hobby gaining more and more interest (for example, over 400 different covers were produced for the 1937 Coronation stamp), First Day Covers became something worth collecting; not only did they pay homage to the stamp issue, but they also became beautifully illustrated and were like pieces of art depicting special times in history.