Rare first day cover set of Ireland’s earliest commemorative stamps goes under hamme
5th Jun 2025 by Sean Eacrett
Rare first day cover set of Ireland’s earliest commemorative stamps goes under hammer
The difference in value between a first day cover – a franked stamp on a letter posted on the first day of issue – and the same stamps posted on another day, is huge
An album of Cork-related vintage postcards
An album of Cork-related vintage postcards
1929 O'Connell registered first day cover
1929 O'Connell registered first day cover
Set of three commemorative postage stamps from 1929, depicting Daniel O'Connell
Set of three commemorative postage stamps from 1929, depicting Daniel O'Connell
Commemorative three penny postage stamp from 1929
Commemorative three penny postage stamp from 1929
An album of Cork-related vintage postcards
An album of Cork-related vintage postcards
1929 O'Connell registered first day cover
1929 O'Connell registered first day cover
thumbnail: 1929 O'Connell registered first day cover
thumbnail: Set of three commemorative postage stamps from 1929, depicting Daniel O'Connell
thumbnail: Commemorative three penny postage stamp from 1929
thumbnail: An album of Cork-related vintage postcards
Eleanor Flegg
Fri 30 May 2025 at 02:30
A first day cover of a full set of Ireland’s first commemorative stamps is going under the hammer at Sean Eacrett Auctions on Thursday, June 5.
The registered letter, carrying the newly issued stamps, was posted in Dublin on June 22, 1929. It was almost certainly sent by a canny stamp collector to their own address. This small piece of Irish history is estimated to sell for between €600 and €800.
In 1929, the Department of Post & Telegraphs issued the first set of Irish commemorative stamps. Designed by Leo Whelan, they showed a portrait of Daniel O’Connell and marked the centenary of Catholic emancipation.
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The two-penny stamp is green, the three-penny stamp is blue and the nine-penny stamp is black. This particular letter (registration No 962) carries all three, and is addressed to a Miss FA Wilson of Spencer Street in Dublin.
Commemorative three penny postage stamp from 1929
Commemorative three penny postage stamp from 1929
The stamp collector, possibly Miss Wilson herself, posted at least two such letters on the same day.
Another (No 963), also carrying a full set of Daniel O’Connell stamps, was sent to the same address. It’s documented by The Collectors’ Shop as part of a guide to commemorative stamps, along with the observation that the difference in value between a “first day cover” – a franked stamp on a letter posted on the first day of issue – and the same stamps posted on another day, is huge.
According to their estimation, a set of three franked Daniel O’Connell stamps is worth €25, while a first day cover is worth €900.
Set of three commemorative postage stamps from 1929, depicting Daniel O'Connell
Set of three commemorative postage stamps from 1929, depicting Daniel O'Connell
The Irish-born stamp collector WT Wilson (1847-1932), who operated from Birmingham, was known for having “first day covers”, franked with complete sets of stamps, sent to him from all over the world.
When these first appeared on the market place, the stamp collecting community frowned on Wilson’s strategic attempt to milk the system. Now, they’re a specific area of collecting. It’s tempting to imagine Miss FA Wilson of Spencer Street as a Dublin relative, mimicking the famous stamp collector’s lucrative technique.
In 1926, the poet and senator WB Yeats once described postage stamps as “silent ambassadors of national taste”.
Speaking at the Seanad debates on the Coinage Bill, he criticised the first definitive (standard) Irish postage stamps (issued in 1922-23). “Two days ago, I had a letter from an exceedingly famous decorative artist, in which h
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