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Story: Postage stamps

First day cover

First day cover

First day covers are stamped envelopes that are postmarked on the first day of the stamp's issue. This set of health stamps on a first day cover from 1950 featured Princess Elizabeth (who became Queen Elizabeth II in 1952) and her son Prince Charles, who had been born in 1948.

Courtesy of New Zealand Post

Using this item

Carl Walrond

Reference: 1950 Health Stamp stamp issue

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Postage stamps – Stamps, 1855 to 1940, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/postage-stamp/32060/first-day-cover (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 29 September 2011.

Comments

Sandra Hart
11 April 2018
As a child I collected and had a scrapbook of postage stamps which included a 1952 First Day Cover of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth I had obtained at 12 years old. I later gave the scrapbook to my teenage son. When he moved to Forest Hills, CA he lost it behind a refrigerator. The collection was valuable to me and had stamps from all over the world. It included the well renowned stamp with painting of nude by a famous artist. Is it possible to replace the1952 First Day Cover at least?