First Day Covers. [059]
A First Day of Issue celebrates the birth of a new stamp, be it commemorative or definitive. Covers posted on the First Day usually have special cancels and special cachets. The General Post Office, and its successor, An Post, kept this tradition alive by providing cacheted covers to collectors. Covers can also be found with artistic cachets created by private artists. This is a very popular collecting area. Depending on the time frame, Irish FDC’s may be found in four general types:
1. No cachets or markings. (Figure 1)
2. First Day Mailing. (Figure 2)
3. Post Office marking of First Day of Issue. (Figure 3)
4. Post Office prepared cachets. (Figure 4)