The thrill of finding small covers

U.S. Stamp Notes by John M. Hotchner

In the June 12, 2023, issue of Linn’s, I asked readers to come up with tiny covers, specifically covers sent abroad from the United States, sent to the United States, and in the category of U.S. government fees-paid mail.

Readers responded by sending their smallest covers, not necessarily examples of the categories noted above.

Only one cover submitted beat any in those categories. The new record holder for the smallest cover sent to the United States is shown in Figure 1. This 1937 airmail cover sent from Hong Kong to San Francisco measures 27/8 inches by 1¾ inches.

This cover was sent in by Bruce Hecht of New Hyde Park, N.Y.

The outgoing cover record holder remains the 1945 censored cover to France shown in Figure 2. It measures 3½ inches by almost 211/16 inches. Beat it if you can.

In the Official mail category, one cover slightly larger than the record holder deserves a mention. I found it recently at a dealer booth at a show and ...

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