This Art Craft official first day cover features the 10¢ Veterans of Foreign Wars 75th Anniversary stamp, postmarked Washington, DC on March 11, 1974. The cachet depicts three soldiers from successive eras carrying rifles, with the VFW cross medal prominently displayed.
The VFW was founded in 1899 by veterans returning from the Spanish-American War. By its diamond jubilee in 1974 the organization had become the nation’s largest combat-veterans group, advocating for benefits earned in the Spanish-American War, both World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam.
A notable detail is the dual “OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF ISSUE” inscription at top left and the matching text on the stamp itself, confirming this Art Craft cachet was produced in cooperation with the U.S. Postal Service for the Washington ceremony.
Collectors will appreciate the crisp strike of the March 11, 1974 Washington, DC cancel, the clean unaddressed cover, and the strong topical appeal for military and veterans-of-foreign-wars collections.
