Tourism North West
South Africa, Sun City · 1995-02-15
Official first day cover (FDC) · South African philately
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This cover was postmarked on 15 February 1995 at Sun City and catalogued as SAPO 6.10. Its cachet featured the elephant statue from the foyer of the Lost City, the fantasy resort built within Sun City that had opened just a few years earlier in 1992. Sun City itself had been developed in the 1970s within the nominally independent homeland of Bophuthatswana, partly to skirt South Africa's stricter gambling and entertainment laws at the time.
Description of the Cachet
The cachet shows a detailed pencil illustration of an ornate elephant statue standing on a plinth within the grand foyer of the Lost City resort, its tusks curved and trunk raised, set against an elaborately arched interior rendered in fine cross hatching. Beneath the illustration, the script caption "Foyer - Lost City" appears above the bold title "Toerisme - Noordwes / Tourism - North West", with the Sun City postmark featuring a leopard stretched along a branch alongside the date.
Information Card
Present but not removed.
Theme: Other
Condition: AverageNoticeable wear or light damage, such as creases, minor soiling, small tears, or light discolouration, but still collectable.
Addressed: No
Signed: No
Stamp denomination: R0.5 (ZAR)
SG reference: 865
SAPO serial number: 6.10
Estimated value: ~US$0.37
This is a high-level, subjective estimate only, not a professional appraisal.
This first day cover (FDC) is part of Southern Covers, a private collection of 209 first day covers documenting the postal history and philately of South Africa and the homeland states. New to first day cover collecting? Read the guide to learn about cachets, postmarks, and stamp collecting terms, or browse the whole collection of Southern African FDCs.
