The panes were perforated with 11 gauge perforations. ![]() The Bureau of Engraving and Printing created plates of two hundred postage stamps divided into four panes of fifty stamps each. Post Office agreed to issue the stamps anticipating that most of the stamps sold would be to stamp collectors eager to add the new stamps to their stamp collections, and consequently would be retaining all of the revenue generated from those sales. The German Zeppelin Airship Works would receive most of the profit for those stamps that were actually used to pay postage and were carried by their airship. Post Office would receive only a small profit of 6.5% of the stamps' denomination for letters that would actually be carried aboard the Graf Zeppelin. The stamps were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which had only six weeks to design, print and distribute the issues to customers for use on mail to Germany in time for the departing flight. The week-long flight of the Graf Zeppelin extended from Germany to Brazil and on to the United States and then returned to Friedrichshafen. Mail franked with the Zeppelin stamps was forwarded to Germany by boat where it was picked up at Friedrichshafen and put aboard the Graf Zeppelin. The round trip letter rate was $3.90, the exact amount which could be paid with the $2.60 and $1.30 stamps. The $1.30 and $2.60 stamps paid the postage for postcards and letters, respectively, that were carried on the round trip flight via Friedrichshafen or Seville. ![]() The 65-cent and $1.30 values were used to pay postage for postcards and letters, respectively, that were carried on the last leg of the journey from the United States to Seville, Spain and Friedrichshafen. The Graf Zeppelin departed from Friedrichshafen, Germany on May 30, 1930, and returned on June 6. The stamps were placed on sale at other selected post offices on April 21, 1930. ![]() on April 19, 1930, one month before the historic trans-Atlantic first flight was made. All three stamps were first issued in Washington, D.C. The three stamps all featured the Graf Zeppelin in various configurations. Mail would be carried and delivered from Germany to points in North and South America and back again. In an agreement with The German Zeppelin Airship Works and as a goodwill gesture toward Germany, the United States Post Office produced a set of three airmail postage stamps that commemorated the Graf Zeppelin and the coming transatlantic flight, which were used to pay the postage for mail carried aboard the Zeppelin, a rigid airship that was over 775 feet (236 m) long. In honor of its achievements, the Zeppelin Company planned for the Graf Zeppelin to fly to Rio de Janeiro. In 1928 the Graf Zeppelin debuted and set new long-distance airship records. 60 zeppelin issue, where airship number "LZ-127" can be discerned on the Zeppelin image Graf Zeppelin LZ-127, 1928This particular airship was used as the model for the engraving of this 2. Consequently, only about 227,000 of the stamps were sold, just 7% of the total printed, making them relatively scarce and prized by collectors. Due to the high cost of the stamps during the Great Depression, most collectors and the general public could not afford them. The remainder of the stock was destroyed by the Post Office Department. The three stamps were used briefly and then withdrawn from sale. The stamps were issued as a gesture of goodwill toward Germany. 93.5% of the revenue generated by the sale of these stamps went to the Zeppelin Airship Works in Germany. Although the stamps were valid for postage on mail sent on the Zeppelin Pan American flight from Germany to the United States, via Brazil, the set was marketed to collectors and was largely intended to promote the route. The 1930 Graf Zeppelin stamps were a set of three airmail postage stamps, each depicting the image of the Graf Zeppelin, issued by the United States Post Office Department in 1930 exclusively for delivery of mail carried aboard that airship. Graf Zeppelin airmail stamps, first issued in Washington DC, April 19, 1930 Mail carried aboard the Graf Zeppelin airship bearing three U.S.
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