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Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert, Leadville (Colorado, USA)
Many years ago, the owner of this card made what amounted to a diary entry in the message area, with reasons why they couldn’t climb Mt. Elbert. We forgive you. Grade: 4
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Blue Ridge Parkway from Sharp Tooth (Virginia, USA)
Unused, aging Plastichrome card P9345. We’re not really able to summarize the caption, so, exceptionally, we’ll give you most of it: ” ..view of the Blue Ridge Parkway is seen from the top of Sharp Tooth, one of the peaks of Otter. The Parkway … is winding in a southwestern direction, with Roanoke in the far distance.” Someone did their homework. Grade: 2
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Mt. Rushmore (South Dakota, USA)
Did you ever wonder where the name “Rushmore” came from? Wikipedia tells us (condensed): “Beginning with a prospecting expedition in 1885 with David Swanzey (husband of Carrie Ingalls), and Bill Challis, wealthy investor Charles E. Rushmore began visiting the area regularly on prospecting and hunting trips. He joked with colleagues about naming the mountain after himself. The United States Board of Geographic Names officially recognized the name “Mount Rushmore” in June 1930.” It had various other names before that, and joking with friends hardly seems like a valid basis to rename a mountain, but there you go. We have two of these unused Dexter Press cards 30863-B. Grades: 1
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Mt. Hood (Oregon, USA)
Not just Mt. Hood! Rhododendrons! Azaleas! And a somewhat confusing caption telling us that Mt. Hood is “one of the few snowcapped peaks which stands alone visible from all points of the compass”. (Why wouldn’t it be?) Unused Mike Roberts card C484. Grade: 1
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Mt. Baker and San Juan Islands (Washington, USA)
Old E.C. Kropp card 15343 (P87) in beautiful condition. The florid caption makes you want to drop everything and rush there. Grade: 1
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Mount Rainier from Observation Point (Washington, USA)
… that observation point being on the highway to Sunrise Park. This is unused Dexter Press postcard 17384-B. Grade: 1
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Yellowstone National Park, Mt. Washburn (Wyoming, USA)
Unused, older H.S. Crocker card 157, whose caption says only that “Mt. Washburn is reached by the highest road in the Park.” We will trust that this is true. Grade: 1
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Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Sunset Rock (Tennessee, USA)
Billed as “the farthest point west on Lookout Mountain,” this scene appears on an old “local” card 5818. Grade: 1
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Oropa, Albergo Miramonti e Monte Mucrone (Italy)
Many other vendors date this card variously from 1949 through 1956. We have no idea, but ours is unused, clean, with serrated edges, and less expensive than the others. The hotel may not be there any more, though. Grade: 1
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Funivia Orona – Lago Mucrone – Stazione Superiore e Monte Mucrone (Italy)
Unused, real-photo postcard with serrated edges, aged but clean. Grade: 1
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Souvenir de Geneve (Switzerland)
Twin-view, unused, real-photo Jaeger card 7051 from years past, showing Ile J.J. Rousseau and La Rade et le Mont-Blanc. Something for everyone, and yes, we know Mont Blanc is in France and not Switzerland. A long time ago, we took the cable car up near the top. Grade: 1
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Ayers Rock at sunrise (Australia)
Ayers Rock then; Uluru now. Card with two different stamps, Alice Springs postmark, and serrated edges, mailed in 1987. Grade: 1
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Emmental mountain range (Switzerland)
From the Emmental area of west central Switzerland, this unused card names and gives the heights of eight peaks, notably including Eiger and Jungfrau, neither of which is actually the tallest shown (Finsteraarhorn). Grade: 1
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Sedona, Wilson Mountain (Arizona, USA)
Sedona of course has mushroomed since this unused real-photo postcard was issued so many years ago. Grade: 1
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Mt. Dana and Tiago Lake (California)
An older, unused, typical Mountain Postcard if there ever was one — except that in its effort to set itself apart from all the others, the caption says that Tiago Lake is “the highest lake in the Pacific states reached by a paved highway”. Damned by faint praise! (You need to know that expression.) Grade: 1
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Lone Pine, Alabama Hills and High Sierra Mountains (California)
Unused. Grade: 1
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Gallatin Canyon, Taylor’s Peaks near Karst Ranch (Montana, USA)
Karst Ranch went through many wild iterations, but the name, at least, lives on in this mid-century unused Curteich-Chicago postcard 87829-N. Slight abrasions along the right edge. Grade: 2
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Spruce Knob (West Virginia, USA)
Though the unused postcard is slightly unremarkable, Spruce Knob is the state’s highest peak, at 4,868 feet. We know someone out there is collecting mountain postcards of the highest peak in each state. Or country. Or somewhere. Here you go! Grade: 1
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Bozeman, Gallatin National Forest, Spanish Peaks, Summit Lake (Montana, USA)
Unused B&W real-photo. At least they didn’t put this caption in white letters. Grade: 1
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Official Photographs of Mount Rushmore (set) (South Dakota, USA)
Several cautions for you here, so please note: our scan shows you the somewhat tattered front paper cover of this set. It says there are nine photos. *BUT* the set had been opened long ago, and re-sealed itself, and we cannot and would not guarantee all nine photos are there. We’re certain there are more than one. And we take them at their word that these are “photos” and may not be postcards at all. With all that out of the way, this is definitely old and we like the instruction they provide, that this was produced “to further a correct interpretation of this Memorial”. (How could it be misinterpreted? That the four Presidents were Buchanan, Harding, Tyler, and Fillmore?) We will assign Grade: 2
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Yunnan – Pu-er Tea Mountain and Vine Bridge (PR China)
An unused card with perforated left edge from the Yunnan set as described earlier. Two QR Codes are available and two scenes here, an impressive mountain of tea and the Vine Bridge of Ximeng in Wa Autonomous County. Grade: 1
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Seilbahn Elbsee-Zugspitzgipfel mit Elbsee (Germany)
Wikipedia tell us that “The Zugspitze, at 2,962 m above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, and the Austria–Germany border is on its western summit.” That’s clear enough, but we’re not sure of the perspective on this unused card — unused, that is, apart from a large rubber-stamped commemorative “chop” highlighting some mountain venue. Grade: 1
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Hong Kong Landscape: Mountains (set of 8)
Postage Prepaid Picture Card Series No. 72, with coloured pre-printed global airmail, and special philatelic postmarks from the October 2023 date of issue. This is a set of eight cards of various “mountains” in Hong Kong, including what you see here on just one of the cards, Pyramid Hill and Wan Kuk Shan. Grade: 1
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Mt. Fuji from Nagao Pass (Japan)
The Nagao Pass is a mountain pass between Hakone and Gotemba City, Shizuoka Prefecture, with views of Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi. It is located on the northwestern section of the Hakone Outer Rim at an elevation of 911m. This card was mailed from Hakone in 1981 with two stamps, full postmark, and a blue bilingual Par Avion chop. Grade: 1
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Mt. Fuji from Taikanzan (Japan)
Yet another in the innumerable views of this sacred mountain. Taikanzan is on the border of Yugawara and Hakone, allowing magnificent views of Mount Fuji and Lake Ashinoko. It is named after the famous Japanese painter of pre-World War II Japanese art, Taikan Yokoyama, who was said to love painting Mount Fuji. Life imitates art! Mailed in the 1980s with two stamps, full postmark, and light blue bilingual Par Avion chop. Grade: 1
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Little Lindeman and Pentecost Islands; Mt. Oldfield (Australia)
Lindeman Island is an island in the Lindeman Group of the Whitsunday Islands off the coast of Queensland, named by Captain Bedwell after his sub-lieutenant, George Sidney Lindeman, whilst aboard the Royal Navy vessel HMS Virago. And this card is a fine example of a special type of postcard that is intended to be folded in half like a greeting card. Mailed most likely in the 1970s, it measures 4″ x 8-1/8″ when fully extended; stamp and postmark are there. Grade: 1
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Banff, Canadian Rockies, The Bow Valley and Bow River (Canada)
… on a card mailed in the 1970s with its stamp and indistinct postmark. It shows the Fairholme Mountain Range. Grade: 1
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Mitre Peak, Milford Sound (New Zealand)
Mailed in 1975, the stamp and faint postmark are there. One traveler’s account of his visit reads: “Mitre Peak’s summit sits over a vertical mile directly above Milford Sound – 1,692 metres (5,551 feet) above sea level. It’s a hugely demanding climb and one that should not be taken lightly. The track through the thick Fiordland bush is unmarked, the route above the bushline is hugely exposed and it’s a demanding mission regardless of how you tackle it.” Forewarned is forearmed. Grade: 1
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Mount Maunganui (New Zealand)
One would think this unused and colourful postcard was highlighting the mountain (which is an extinct volcano), but Mount Maunganui is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of Tauranga located on a peninsula north-east of the city centre. Either way, we like the design. Grade: 1
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Camelback Mountain (Arizona, USA)
Mailed in 1974, with stamp and postmark, and a writer who observed that Arizona can be hot. Grade: 1
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Tenerife, Mount Teide and golden sunset (Canary Islands)
Stamp is there but the postmark is indistinct … we place the card somewhere in the 1980s. At least the writers were enjoying themselves. Grade: 1
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Flagstaff and San Francisco Peaks (Arizona, USA)
When this unused Petley card 1885 was printed, Flagstaff’s population was 40,000. The Metro area in 2020, according to Wikipedia, had 145,101. Grade: 1
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Sai Kung, Sharp Peak (Hong Kong)
Sharp Peak, or Nam She Tsim, is a hill inside Sai Kung East Country Park, north of Tai Long Wan. It reaches 468 metres above sea level. Unused “Explore Sai Kung” card. Grade: 1
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Județul Buzău, multiple views (Romania)
These four views are bilingually (Romanian, English) identified in the caption: Mânzălești salt mountain, Aluniș Cave, muddy volcanoes, and Buzău’s Municipal Palace. An eclectic selection. Unused postcard, Grade: 1
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Bucegi Mountains, multiple views (Romania)
Unused. Grade: 1
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Mt. Kenya (Kenya)
Mysterious in more than one way, this old card is unused but has some abrasions on the back and a brown stain at upper reverse that could be mistaken for a printed logo, but we believe it is a drop of tea or coffee. Leaving that aside, Mt. Kenya itself is not identified, but the only caption is “Club Logo” and the card’s own reference number is MKSC 2. So we know the Sapra card was issued by the Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki (now Fairmont Mount Kenya) and that’s the club in reference. Grade: 3
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Qinling Mountains (Maximum Cards) (Set of 9) (PR China)
Set MC-139 of nine maximum cards from China National Philatelic, issued in 2024 and captioned entirely in Chinese, all in a sort of plastic sleeve. You can see one of the cards here. QR codes and bar codes may help you decipher the details. As mountain postcards go, this is really a very nice set. The Qinling (秦岭) or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan (“Southern Mountains”), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, and mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow River systems, providing a natural boundary between North and South China. Grade: 1
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Bozeman, Mt. Baldy from Lindley Park (Montana, USA)
We are more familiar with the Mt. Baldy near Los Angeles, but there’s always room for one more. And here it is, on this unused, B&W, real-photo card. Grade: 1