Globe & Wing Airmails (1951 - 1963)

By 1958 a need had arisen for other denominations to reflect rate changes, so on August 16 of that year a second group of Globe and Wing airmails (Scott C27-31) was issued to catch-up with some of the changes. For example, on August 1 the basic airmail rate to the U.S. had increased to seven cents (Scott C28) and postcards to five cents (Scott C27). The ‘cumulative’ or ‘compound’ rates to the rest of the world were halted at that time, and so the 25-cent issue (Scott C30) became the one used on letters to Europe. A thirty-five-cent rate (Scott C31) was instituted for letters, and fifteen- cent rate (Scott C29) for postcards and aerograms or air letter sheets to Australasia, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa at that time. The fifteen-cent postcard/aerogram rate also went into effect to Europe and the Mediterranean.

These two groups of Globe and Wing airmail were printed on what are known as ‘flat plates.’ The first group (except for the 31-cent) is found on both ‘wet’ printings (distinguished primarily by the richness of the color and yellowish, crackly gum), as well as ‘dry’ printings (with a clearer color and smooth gum). The 8-cent issue is a product of the rotary press, easily noted by the ridges on the gum.

The last of the Globe and Wing airmails, an 8-cent rotary press stamp (Scott C34) was issued on January 7, 1963, to meet the new airmail rate to the United States.

These stamps were printed in fairly large quantities, many of which sold-out in the course of business. Others were destroyed when their use was reduced to almost nothing by rate increases. All are common because many were saved. First day covers are also well known, and postal usages are always popular among collectors. Issues such as the 35-cent and 80-cent are quite scarce on cover.

Robert J. Karrer

The 4-cent Globe and Wing airmail (Scott C21) was issued on July 16, 1951, as one of a six-stamp series replacing the old Gaillard Cut permanent series with a more modern depiction of a winged airmail allegory. The image is superimposed on a depiction of part of the Americas centered on the Canal Zone. Since the Panama Canal was a major tourist attraction, Panama Canal postcard views were very popular. The stamp paid for an airmail postcard to the U.S. at a time when a surface rate postcard was still only one cent. The 4-cent Globe and Wing replaced the 4-cent Gaillard Cut airmail in use only since January 3, 1949.

The initial printing of 300,000 was sold out, and other printings were necessary in both ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ methods, for a total of some 1,315,000. By the time the five-cent rate went into effect in 1958, all of the 4-cent values had sold out. The stamp depicted in the illustration is a ‘dry’ printing with typical clear colors and smooth gum.

Picture postcards franked by the 4-cent Globe and Wing airmail are common, but examples in combination with other stamps are not often seen. First day covers, most frequently created by the best known isthmian cachet artist of the time, Jack Reinig of Pedro Miguel, are fairly common. Almost all of these contain the complete set. A few U.S. artists also produced some cachets, but these are uncommon.

Robert J. Karrer

The 5-cent Globe and Wing airmail stamp (Scott C27) was issued on August 16, 1958, as part of a five-stamp series reflecting the new postage rates initiated on August 1 of that year. Its purpose was to pay the five-cent rate on an airmail postcard to the United States. As a major tourist attraction, the Panama Canal has long been the inspiration for countless such postcards, and this stamp is normally found in such a usage.

First day covers, usually in combination with the other stamps in this new series, are common, and almost all of them were prepared by the local cachet artist/producer Elmer Smith. However, there are numerous first day examples of this stamp used singly on a picture postcard or on a cacheted card designed by producers in the United States. Non-philatelic usages of this stamp in combination with others are not frequently seen.

Robert J. Karrer

The 6-cents Globe and Wing airmail (Scott C22) was issued on July 16, 1951, as one of a six-stamp series replacing the circa 1931 Gaillard Cut permanent series with a more modern rendition of a winged airmail allegory superimposed on a global depiction of part of the Americas centered on the Canal Zone. It paid the single weight airmail rate from the Canal Zone to the U.S. that had been in effect since October 1, 1946.

The initial printing of 2,000,000 was frequently reordered in both the ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ methods, with a total of 22, 657,000 run off by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The last remainders were withdrawn from sale on January 31, 1966, over seven years after airmail rates had increased to 7-cents and over two years after they had risen again to 8-cents. After their withdrawal from sale these remainders were destroyed. The stamp depicted in the illustration is a ‘dry’ printing with typical clear colors and smooth gum.

Airmail letters to the U.S. with the 6-cents Globe and Wing airmail are very common. It is often seem in combination with other airmail and regular stamps to make up a rate, and many of these are often seen too. The more strange usages are a source of much collector attention though. First day covers are fairly common and usually seen with the other stamps of this series, more often than not on a cacheted enveloped produced by Jack Reinig, the premier Canal Zone-based cachet producer of the times. A few are seen on what is believed to be Elmer Smith’s first cachet; Smith was soon to become Number One on the Isthmus with Reinig’s retirement and return to the U.S.

Robert J. Karrer

The 7c Globe and Wing airmail stamp (Scott C28) was issued on August 16, 1958, as part of the five-stamp series reflecting the new postage rates effective on August 1st. Its purpose was to pay for an airmail letter to the United States.

First day covers, usually on envelopes prepared by local cachet artist/producer Elmer Smith, are quite common. There are others produced in the United States especially for the new 7c airmail rate; interestingly, most of these are really intended for the new United States stamp of the same denomination. However, a goodly number were also used for the Canal Zone's 7c Globe and Wing. This stamp is commonly seen on letters to the United States during its period of use, but examples in combination with other stamps are not common.

Robert J. Karrer

The last stamp of this long series, the 8-cent Globe and Wing (Scott C34) was issued on January 7, 1958, to cover the new postage rate for letters to the United States effective that date.

First day covers are quite common, with almost all of them serviced by the local cachet artist/producer Elmer Smith. Covers with the 8-cent Globe and Wing reflecting the eight-cent airmail rate are common, but this stamp used in conjunction with others is not often seen.

Robert J. Karrer

The 10-cent Globe and Wing airmail (Scott C22) was issued on July 16, 1951, as one of a six-stamp series that replaced the old Gaillard Cut permanent series. The new series offered a more modern depiction of a winged airmail allegory. The image was superimposed on a global depiction of the Americas centered on the Isthmus of Panama. At the time it paid the half-ounce airmail rate to Latin America and the Caribbean, a rate instituted on October 1, 1946.

There was an initial printing of 500,000, and 1,049,000 were eventually printed in both the ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ methods. There were still some on sale at close of business January 31, 1966, when they were withdrawn. These remainders were burned on April 22, 1966. The stamp in this illustration is a ‘dry’ printing with typical clear colors and smooth gum.

Airmail letters franked with the 10-cent Globe and Wing airmail are frequently seen addressed to its intended destination. It is less frequently seen in combination with other stamps in a ‘make-up’ rate situation. Collectors and postal historians enjoy these. Combination first day covers with the other stamps of this series are not uncommon. These were frequently created by Jack Reinig of Pedro Miguel, with a few by Elmer Smith. Since this stamp was on sale at all Canal Zone post offices on July 16th, collectors try, usually unsuccessfully, to acquire examples from all of them.

Robert J. Karrer

The 15c Globe and Wing airmail stamp (Scott C29) was intended for use on airmail postcards and aerograms to countries outside the Americas. It was issued on August 16, 1958, as part of the five-stamp series created to be used on mail sent after the new airmail rates were put into effect on August 1st.

The 15c Globe and Wing is normally seen with the other stamps of this series on cacheted first day covers by the local artist/publisher Elmer Smith. Non-philatelic usages of this stamp as a single are quite uncommon and it is not often seen even in combination with other stamps.

Robert J. Karrer

The 25-cent Globe and Wing stamp (Scott C30) was issued on August 16, 1958, as one of a five-stamp issue intended to cover the new airmail rate on letters to Europe.

First day covers, usually produced by the local cachet artist Elmer Smith, appear, and this stamp is usually seen fulfilling its intended task on letters addressed to Europe. However, even these are not often seen, and usages with other stamps in a make-up rate situation are particularly uncommon.

Robert J. Karrer

The 31-cent Globe and Wing airmail (Scott C25) was issued on July 16, 1951, one of a six-part series replacing the outdated Gaillard Cut permanent series with a more modern view of a winged airmail allegory over a global vista of the Americas focused on the Panama Canal. This is an interesting rate because, at the time, airmail letters from the Canal Zone were rated on a cumulative basis of the various routes over which a given letter traveled. In the case of a letter needing thirty-one cents postage, this would represent the six-cent airmail fee to the U.S. plus an extra twenty-five-cent fee for airmail to a country such as New Zealand, Japan, or Angola, for a total of thirty-one cents.

There were 200,000 of the 31-cent Globe and Wing stamps in the initial order, with a total of 375,000 in all. Not all were sold because remainders were withdrawn from sale at close of business on October 31, 1963, and later burned. Of the 1951 airmails, this is the only one that was not printed in the 'dry' printing method, and all examples are 'wets'.

There is one very significant error associated with this stamp. In 1954, it is believed, two panes of one hundred stamps were discovered with no perforations on the vertical axis. Almost all of these were saved for collectors, and they are a highlight of almost any Canal Zone stamp collection. A contributing factor in establishing their scarcity is that such partially imperforate stamps are necessarily collected in pairs, so in reality there are but ninety-eight possible pairs. There is no record of the other two panes, and some believe they were destroyed after the remainders were withdrawn from sale in 1963.

The 31-cent Globe and Wing is normally seen on airmail covers to Australia or New Zealand and rarely seen to other destinations. When one appears, it is subject to intense competition. There are many destinations, especially in Africa, from which there are no recorded copies on cover. First day covers are usually seen on Jack Reinig cacheted envelopes, but examples from the smaller Canal Zone post offices are scarce-to-rare.

Robert J. Karrer

The 35-cent Globe and Wing stamp (Scott C31) was issued on August 16, 1958, as part of a five-stamp group reflecting the new postage rates of August 1, 1958. Its primary use was on letters addressed to Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

First day covers of the 35-cent Globe and Wing stamp are common, almost always seen on cacheted envelopes by the local artist Elmer Smith. Examples of this stamp used as a single are very rare, and usages in combination with other stamps are equally so.

Robert J. Karrer

The 80-cent Globe and Wing Airmail (Scott C26) was one of a six-part series issued on July 16, 1951. The 80-cent stamp offered a modern view of a winged airmail allegory superimposed on a global view of the Americas centered on Panama.

Since no real airmail rate existed for the 80-cent stamp, patrons used it as a make-up rate on high value and/or heavy parcels. One possible use, for example, was on mail sent to the US weighing in excess of eight ounces at the eight-cent per pound rate then in effect.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced 828,000 of this issue, with 200,000 coming from the first printing. Not all were sold, and officials burned the remainders on April 22, 1966. They had been withdrawn from sale at close of business January 31, 1966. Like most of the stamps in this initial 1951 group, the 80-cent Globe and Wing was printed to fulfill both 'wet' and 'dry' orders. The example depicted for this stamp is one of the so-called 'dry' printings, with a typically clear image and smooth gum.

The 80-cent Globe and Wing rarely appears on anything but a first day cover in combination with the other stamps of the series. Cacheted first day covers are most often by Jack Reinig.

Stamps from the smaller Canal Zone towns rarely appear, though one very occasionally surfaces on a heavy or valuable insured/registered packet. Non-philatelic usages of any kind are quite rare as only the most astute postal historians saw fit to save them as part of a package wrapping. They would instead soak them off, thus explaining the relatively common used examples seen in collections and dealer stocks.

Robert J. Karrer