This 1968 First Day Cover features the 6¢ Grand Union Flag stamp issued on July 4, 1968, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Art Craft cachet depicts Continental Army soldiers presenting the historic flag in a Revolutionary War encampment scene, with the stamp design and postmark tying the cover to the first-day event.
The Grand Union Flag, also known as the Continental Colors, served as the unofficial national flag of the Thirteen Colonies beginning in late 1775. General George Washington ordered it raised on January 1, 1776, at Prospect Hill in Cambridge, Massachusetts, marking the first time the colonies flew a unified standard under the Continental Army.
Art Craft’s Historic Flags Series is noted for its detailed black-and-white illustrations and informative text panels; this cover includes a small color reproduction of the flag and explanatory copy about its adoption as the standard of the Continental Army.
A fine addition for collectors of U.S. flag stamps, Revolutionary War postal history, or Art Craft cachets, this cover remains in excellent condition with a crisp Pittsburgh, PA first-day cancel.
