What are Naval Covers?

In 1908, Congress authorized post offices aboard ships and stations of the U.S. Navy. These post offices offer the same services as do post offices in cities and towns, and have identifiable postmarks. Around 1930, collectors began sending their own covers to U.S. Navy ships to be canceled and returned. These envelopes or postcards that have been postmarked on and mailed from a navy ship are commonly referred to as naval covers. Also around this time, printed, stamped or hand drawn designs were added to naval covers. These designs, known as cachets, became popular. The cachet may be specific to a ship, an event, or may be generic in design. Collectors today continue to send covers to ships for servicing. Covers commemorating keel layings, launchings or ship commissionings are popular with collectors. —Steve Shay (USCS #L-IO,821), uscs.org

USS Whipple naval cover, dated October 27, 1935. The newspaper clip mentions the appearance of "Whipple DD217 in Nanking, China, in 1932."

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Naval cover for 18th birthday of the destroyer USS Whipple DD-217, which was commissioned April 23, 1920. USS Whipple postmark dated 18 years later, April 23, 1938.

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USS Whipple naval cover, April 14, 1941. Stamp reads "United States Naval Ships"

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