The Stamps That Fell To Earth - Competition Winner! ...1 Question though,....

Hi ATS, it's been a while!

Recently, I was lucky enough to correctly guess where 52 sets of David Bowie stamps sent up into the stratosphere landed when they came back down to Earth, and won one of the sets. These sets are Royal Mail first day covers (FDC) that carry a special limited-edition red handstamp postmark depicting the famous lightning bolt from Bowies Aladdin Sane.



Anywho, it's come to my attention that the certificate of authenticity should be numbered, which mine is not. Are there any amongst you fine folk who might know if this missing number is likely to detract from collectors value, or even add to it? Here's a photo of the certificate of authenticity, the empty hexagon inside the red circle on the bottom right is where the issue number should be;



...here's the other side of the certificate for those interested;



...and here's the stamps themselves with the limited-edition red handstamped postmark, for anyone who fancies a ganders;



This is a short (3:00 mins) video showing some behind the scenes action with some incredible inflight footage from the flight;



I've tried searching about online but keep drawing blanks, so many thanks in advance for any information or advice!

Either way, I'll be chalking this one up as a definite win, cheers!

I'm trying to understand, the 'certificate' doesn't look like the 'stamp' that actually made the journey...

Or am I missing something?

a reply to: intrptr

Hi intrptr, cheers for the reply,

The 'stamp' in the pictures with the Earth behind it isn't actually a stamp; sorry, I should have been more clear on that. It's a slightly blown-up image of one of the stamps simply used as a focal point for the onboard images and footage. The actual stamps affixed to the first day covers (with the red handstamps) were stowed away inside an onboard capsule, I'm guessing behind the camera along with the GPS tracking gear and what-not.

My concern is that the certificate I was provided with isn't numbered, and I'm interested to know from others with knowledge of philately how, or even if, this would/could affect their desirability among collectors.

a reply to: MerkabaTribeEntity

The actual stamps affixed to the first day covers (with the red handstamps) were stowed away inside an onboard capsule, I'm guessing behind the camera along with the GPS tracking gear and what-not.

I didn't see that in the video?

Anyway, if your certificate isn't numbered, then guess what, there is no verification possible.

a reply to: intrptr

Are you calling the Royal Mail liars? lol

Anyway, if your certificate isn't numbered, then guess what, there is no verification possible.

...apart from the unique red handstamp on the first day cover, the handstamped letter from the PR Manager for Royal Mail's Special Stamps Programme Natasha Ayivor, and the simple fact that all I need to do is send a SAE to the Royal Mail and they'll send out a list of competition winners, with my name on it.

It looks like I wasn't the only one they messed up with...

This guys' cover letter says he won 32/52, but his certificate says 10/52. It looks like they managed to sort it out between them in the end;

Different winner, different forum, same kind of problem,...

Ironically, I've just received this email about half an hour ago from my local Post Office Philatelic Bureau;



ETA for context, I'd asked my local Post Office whether or not a missing issue number would affect collectability or value.

I'm not too worried at the end of the day, it's just nice to have the opinion of someone more familiar with this kind of thing

a reply to: MerkabaTribeEntity

Well yah okay, ding ding, you WON!

Still doesn't mean your stamps went to space.

a reply to: intrptr

I guess the answer to my earlier question would be a 'yes' then, you are calling the Royal Mail liars

a reply to: MerkabaTribeEntity

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

What a great prize to win. Some very serious Bowie fans will be very jealous and it's easy to imagine a very high value in years to come. It's not a bad idea to hedge your bets and do whatever else it takes to get the provenance really locked down in case fakes come out.

originally posted by: MerkabaTribeEntity
a reply to: intrptr

I guess the answer to my earlier question would be a 'yes' then, you are calling the Royal Mail liars

The 'lie' is that stamps have any real intrinsic value.

Might I suggest investing in precious metals?

Cheers Kandinsky, I definitely will be!

For sure intrptr, I get that. For some collectors though, these stamps will be viewed as gold dust, but as I won them in a competition they didn't cost me a penny. You're incredibly bang-on the money with your suggestion, the plan all along was to sell to the highest bidder and drop it on some rounds or sov's.

a reply to: MerkabaTribeEntity

Congrats! I too was a winner. Did you receive a letter with your number on it in addition to your certificate?