Aerophilately and the Famous Graf Zeppelin Stamps

Aerophilately is the study of airmail stamps - stamps specifically designed to pay postage for the transport of mail by airborne mail carriers. Some early airmail was carried by balloons, while other airmail was carried by zeppelins, rockets, and later by fixed-wing aircraft, both propeller planes and jet aircraft. These different modes of air transportation result in different sub-specialties of aerophilately: balloon mail, zeppelin mail, rocket mail and so on.

Zeppelin mail, carried by lighter-than-air German airships similar to dirigibles, is a fascinating and popular division of aerophilately. Zeppelins were first used to carry mail in 1908. Most carried mail on every flight, and the covers received special postmarks applied on board the zeppelins in their own small post office areas. Many countries, including the US, issued airmail stamps to be specifically used for zeppelin mail. The US zeppelin stamps feature the famous Graf Zeppelin airship, named after its designer.

Zeppelins captured the public's imagination with their successful trans-Atlantic flights, at least until the tragic explosion of the Hindenburg in 1937. Some flew for a few more years, but not long after the Hindenburg disaster they fell into disuse.

The relatively short window of their use, together with the popularity and mystique of the zeppelins and the relatively small quantities of zeppelin stamps that were issued, makes zeppelin covers and the stamps themselves popular with collectors.

The US Graf Zeppelin stamp set is one of those magical stamp sets that fetch very high prices when they're sold.

Desirable US Stamp Sets

Two of the most desired commemorative sets in all of United States philatelics are the Columbian Exposition stamps of 1893 and the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition set (the stamp set that includes the famous cattle in the storm stamp). I've read that when the Columbians came out, they were greatly disliked, and that the same was true for the Trans-Mississippi set - because it was supposed to be bi-colored, and when it wasn't, collectors were disappointed. Perhaps part of the reason for the high value of both sets today is that they were not as widely collected as they might have been when issued. Another reason is that even one of the high value stamps of those sets probably represented about what a person in those times made in a day.

The Graf Zeppelin set of airmail stamps is no doubt the most desired - and by far the most expensive - of all the U.S. air post stamps. They are Scott # C13, C14, and C15. Issued in 1930, each features a depiction of the Graf Zeppelin dirigible or airship. If you don't want to spend the bucks for these (a complete set will cost well over a thousand dollars), you can get the "Baby Zep" - Scott # C18 - for far less money.