Post Office Enters First Day Cover Business

The U.S. Postal Service has dropped a little bomb on first daycover collectors with its announcement that it has begun producingfirst day covers.

The word came on the back page of the Postal Service's "Stampsetc" catalog in the form of a listing for the first 25 sets orsingles, ranging from 50 cents for a 29-cent Hank Williams cover to$3.50 for a complete set of 7 Rock & Roll/Rhythm & Blues covers.

Michael Jardine, an Elk Grove Village cover dealer, said the newoffering was unfair competition.

"I don't think it's right," Jardine said. "They don't even haveto buy stamps. They are going to be taking business away from thecover dealers."

Jardine …