POSTCARD N.255 - U.S.A.

Postcard dated of the 29th September; received on the 19th October 2026

Postcard image: West Virginia - The Mountain State

_________________________________________________________________________________

A very nice illustration that would not look out of place on a West Virginia Tourist Board advertising campaign, landed on my letterbox, courtesy of the indefatigable Ghost Who Walks, my friend The Phantom. Danke Sehr, Alex!

The 10th smallest of all the States that are represented by a star in the American Flag  West Virginia, whose Capital is Charleston, a city of about 50 thousand inhabitants, is located within the Appalachian range, in the the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

Its location and orography  makes it a magnet for outdoor recreation fans something which is also highlighted in the nice illustration of the card, where some rafters are seen going down New River, close to one of the State's Icons, the New River Gorge Bridge, dated of 1977 and  the longest steel span in the western hemisphere.

The flag of the State, a blue bordered white rectangle with the State's Coat of Arms, featuring a farmer and a miner, in the middle is also present in the illustration

Alex used a Global Forever self adhesive stamp issued on 14MAR2022,  part of the circular stamp series dedicated to flowers initiated in 2017.

The flower on it is the African daisy (Osteospermum sp.) numbering 70 species, which can be found in the wild in southern and eastern Africa and also in the Arabian Peninsula.

It is also widely cultivated, cultivars and hybrids of the species being a common sight in gardens all around the world.

Further to the postmark of the Fayetteville Post Office, the card shows green stampmarks from The National Coal Heritage Area and Bluestone Scenic River.

As if 4 manual stampmarks were not enough, an overzealous someone at the USPS processing centre chose to scribble the centre of a cancelled stamp with a ballpoint.... 

On the front the card also bears a rather subdued mechanical cancellation with the slogan "Mail a smile, Smiling at you...."