Here’s another peek into my collection of which is the cover presented below Front and back respectively.

This cover franked with a single Graf Zeppelin $2.60 stamp struck with a Duplex Cancelation in Lakehurst New Jersey dated April 30^th, 1930 was sent via the Rigid Airship LZ127 Graf Zeppelin on a round trip back to Lakehurst New Jersey, as indicated by the ornate CDS in green dated May 31^st, 1930 on the reverse side of this cover.  This cover was delivered upon the LZ127 Graf Zeppelin’s first Europe Pan-American Flight.

According to Michel Zeppelin Specialized Catalogue 2003, US Mail such as this example was transported by the steamers “Albert Ballin”, “New York”, and “Olympia” arrived at Friedrichshafen just in time for the flight.  Which steamer this cover was carried upon, I know not. 

Here’s a little about the Airship itself as well as the Graf Zeppelin Stamp Issues:

LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin (Deutsches Luftschiff Zeppelin 127) was a German passenger-carrying Hydrogen-filled Rigid Airship that flew from 1928 to 1937.  It offered the first commercial Transatlantic Passenger Flight service.  The ship was named after the German airship pioneer Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a count (Graf) in the German nobility.  It was conceived and operated by Hugo Eckener, the chairman of Luftchiffbau Zeppelin.

LZ127 Graf Zeppelin made 590 flights totaling almost 1.7 million kilometers (over 1 million miles).  It was operated by a crew of 36 and could carry 24 passengers.  It was the longest and largest airship in the world when it was built.  It made the first circumnavigation of the world by airship, and the first nonstop crossing of the Pacific Ocean by air; its range was enhanced by its use of Blau gas as a fuel.  It was built using funds raised by public subscription and from the German government, and its operating costs were offset by the sale of special Postage stamps to collectors, the support of the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and cargo and passenger receipts.

The Europe-Pan American flight was largely funded by the sale of special stamps issued by Spain, Brazil, and the US for franking mail carried on the trip.  The US issued stamps in three denominations: 65¢ (US Scott # C13), $1.30 (US Scott # C14), and $2.60 US Scott # C15), all on April 19^th, 1930.  With the US in the depths of the Great Depression, only about 7% of the stamps had been distributed when the issue was withdrawn from sale on June 30^th, 1930.  The unsold stamps were destroyed by the US Post Office, making the remainder of the three Graf Zeppelin issues by far the USPOD’s smallest quantities of these stamps in circulation of the 20th century.  Despite the poor sales, the US Post Office Department paid Luftschiffbau Zeppelin $100,000 (equivalent to $1,927,000 in 2025) for the carriage of US franked mail on this flight.

Now let us get into the stamp’s specifics:

This stamp (US Air Mail Scott # C15) is one of three stamps issued (as mentioned above) for use on mail carried on the first Europe-Pan-American round-trip flight of the Graf Zeppelin in the month of May 1930; they were later withdrawn from sale on June 30^th, 1930.

The Designers of this stamp were Alvin Richard Meissner & Clair Aubrey Huston.  It depicts a Zeppelin passing a globe, Unwatermarked, Perforation 11.  Using Flat Plates (#’s 20090-2 & 20095) in Intaglio (Engraved) by the Bureau of Engraving & Printing.  Estimated quantity in existence is 61,296

The Zeppelin stamp issues were issued solely for use on the Graf Zeppelin. The high cost of the postage was to pay for the increased expense of carrying mail via the Zeppelin.  The $2.60 stamp was for letters making the journey both ways.

If you utilize other Catalogues in lieu of Scott, here are the most popular Catalogues out there along with this stamp’s Cat # for your reference…

Michel # 328

Stanley Gibbons # A689

Yvert et Tellier # PA15

I hope the above peek into my collection has inspired other to share what they have within their collection.