As a kid, I collected stamps along with coins. Though I drifted away from stamp collecting, I still occasionally add certain philatelic items to my collection. This post is about one such item.
The surcharges collected from sales of the gold, silver and CuNi clad coins that were part of the massive 1995-96 Atlanta Olympics commemorative coin program were paid to Atlanta Centennial Olympics Properties which then distributed the funds evenly between the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Inc. (ACOG) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). Coin program related expenses incurred by Atlanta Centennial Olympics Properties were reimbursed prior to the 50/50 split between ACOG and the USOC; the Properties group was established to market and license the logo and other emblems of the Atlanta Olympic Games.
Read More: Commems CollectionThe authorizing legislation, however, did not restrict either the ACOG or USOC from striking deals with third parties for products that featured the coins; such "extra" deals could generate additional funds that did not need to be shared. The USOC struck such a deal with Fleetwood, the first day cover folks, to produce a philatelic-numismatic cover (PNC) that generated funds specifically for them.
The PNC includes an uncirculated version of the 1996 High Jump silver dollar. The coin's obverse was designed by Calvin Massey and depicts a high jumper in mid-jump using a jumping style popularized by Dick Fosbury at the 1968 Mexico Olympics - the Fosbury Flop. The reverse of the coin features the ACOG logo and required inscriptions; it was designed by
Thomas D. Rogers.
The coin was struck in Denver and had a final mintage of just 15,697; it originally sold for either $27.95 (Pre-Issue) or $31.95 (Regular). The coin carries a premium in today's secondary market, with most sales closing at $90 and up.
The philatelic component of the cover features two stamps - a 5-cent Olympics stamp from 1932 (one of the first Olympics-themed stamps issued by the US Post Office) and a 1996 32-cent stamp of similar design. Each of the stamps features a depiction of the
Discobolus, a Greek sculpture of a discuss thrower that dates back to circa 450 BC. The cover also features a custom postmark that cancelled the two stamps on July 19, 1996 - the date of the opening ceremonies for the Atlanta Olympics.
The PNC provided a double dip for the USOC - they received 50% of the surcharge funds collected via Fleetwood's original purchase of the silver dollars from the US Mint plus additional licensing fees from Fleetwood in exchange for authorizing them to issue and market an "Official Silver Dollar Coin First Day Cover."
I find PNCs such as this a nice supplement to my US commemorative coin collection.
Shown below is the front and back of the full-color cover
Posted 11/04/2018 07:46 am
