It’s a postcard, but on very thin paper stock, and would not have well survived the postal system so it was mailed in an envelope.  Reception details are written in.  Recall that this was a star-crossed year for the Olympics.  Grade: 1

Radio Kiev provided this QSL card in 1972, with details typed on the reverse and some marks where the card had slightly stuck to the inside of the envelope they used.  No stamp, no address, no postmark, of course.  Nice historical relic.  73’s!  Grade: 2

This 4″ x 8.25″ item is not a postcard but rather on thinner gray paper with details typed in red on the reverse.  It dates from November, 1971.  There’s a minor tape mark on the reverse.  Grade: 3

From this evangelical station in Tegucigalpa, a nice card from 1972, mailed with stamp but no postmark.  Grade: 2

The front of this completed card is in great condition but the reverse is very heavily mottled with age.  Mailed in an envelope in 1971, it has reception details typed in.  Grade: 3

Oversized (5.75″ x 7.75″) card that might have been a postcard but was mailed in an envelope.  It has two tape marks on the reverse.  There was a pre-printed area to enter reception details, but the station used a very large rubber stamp and entered the information there.  Grade: 3

From 1972, this 3.75″ x 6.75″ card could have been a postcard but instead was mailed in an envelope.  Someone sat in that office and typed the full text of each card by hand, leaving only blanks for handwritten reception details.  Grade: 1

Mailed with a postage meter in 1971, the card has blue bilingual airmail sticker affixed, and reception details typed in.  A bit of postal battering.  Grade: 2

Mailed in 1971 with a postage meter, the card is signed and has reception details typed in.  Interesting choice of photos for the front.  Grade: 2

We need to explain this, without actually knowing if our explanation is correct or not.  Voice of America during the 1960s and 1970s made every effort to engage its international listeners.  Coming at the same time as America’s space programme, it appears that VOA created a club (“Club de Oyentes … Unidos por la Verdad”) and issued membership cards.  So this otherwise unused postcard has astronauts on the front (code 36300030A), and some information in Spanish on the back, along with a plastic membership card taped on (code 36300030B).  We suppose any listener could just write in and join–a common practice for shortwave radio back then.  Strictly speaking this is not a QSL, but close enough.  Despite the aging tape, we will call this Grade: 1

The more research like this that we do, the more we notice little ironies and unexpected twists.  This Douglas DC-8-21 was manufactured in 1960.  The really bumpy ride started in 1978 when it went over to EgyptAir.  Finally, it was broken up in 1980.  We have two of these cards–issued by the airline–available.  The one in the scan is unused with a small smudge on the reverse (Grade: 2, $4).  The other was mailed in 1962.  It has a stamp and full US postmark, but as it was used as a QSL ham radio card, it also has call letters of that station prominently on the front (Grade: 4, $2).