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WYD FDC
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<img height='400' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/stamplist/covers/2023-05-16,jpg'> 
First Day Cover Featuring the Recalled World Youth Day 2023 Stamp (Scott 1828)</center>
 
There have been a number of entries on the VPS Chat Page asking about the existence of first day covers for the recalled World Youth Day stamp, issued on May 16, 2023, and recalled on May 18, 2023. Given the limited sales period, and the low number of stamps reportedly sold (estimated at 2000), one can imagine the number of first day covers, created either philatelically or through postal use, would be very rare.
 
Once again, we have Dan Bayer from Penny Black Stamp Company to thank for providing the image above, showing a first day cover for the recalled stamp. Produced by cover maker Geocover, the cachet shows an image of the controversial Monument of the Discoveries in Lisbon, Portugal. Beneath the cachet appears “G.M.G. Lisbona 2023” (meaning “World Youth Day Lisbon 2023”). The cover producer’s name is printed along the left-hand side of the image. The recalled stamp is cancelled with the special first-day cancellation for the stamp, and a second cancellation also appears on the envelop. In the bottom right-hand corner appears the logo for the producer, Geocover.
 
We do not know how many of these covers were produced by Geocover, and we would have no idea how many of the recalled stamps were actually used in the regular daily mail on May 16, 2023. The number must be extremely low, making these first day covers rare and valuable.
 
Again, many thanks to Dan Bayer for providing the images found in today’s two emails, and for his many contributions to VPS.

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