MINNESOTA 150th Anniversary of Statehood - Matted 1st Day Cover - 4 Stamps

Minnesota Sesquicentennial....

On May 17, 2008, the USPS issued a stamp, depicting the upper Mississippi River, commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Statehood of Minnesota.  Shown here is a genuine First Day Cover, an envelope with the stamp cancelled from the city of issue (St. Paul, MN) on the first day of issue captioned above.  The addition of three older stamps, first affixed to the envelope and then cancelled along with the new stamp, make this a Combo - an extra special First Day Cover. The three stamps are the 1958 Minnesota Centennial Statehood stamp, the 1949 Minnesota Territorial Centennial stamp, and the Greetings from Minnesota stamp issued in 2002.  Note the special postmark created to cancel this stamp on its 'birthday.'

The full-color cachet (artwork on the envelope) show a loon - the state bird - and the state of Minnesota encompassing the state seal.  It's printed on silk, the luster giving the picture a three-dimensional quality, then surrounded by an embossed gold border.