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Mesa Verde National Park
Unused, gently aging card from 1960s. Grade: 1
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Estes Park, Longs Peak
Written for mailing in 1976, but never sent. Serrated edges. Front is good; reverse is heavily smudged as if this card had stuck to the card below it. Grade: 4
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Air Force Academy, chapel
From the 1970s, unused Dexter Press card #4350 (10×17574-C) with serrated edges and an inked indication on reverse that the organ has 5000+ pipes. Front is as-new. Grade: 3
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Garden of the Gods (folio)
This is a connected folio of 14 Curt Teich cards (printed date: 1971) with “14 views in natural color.” Unmailed, it is in virtually as-new condition. Grade: 1
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Greetings from Colorado
Card is from 1970s but unmailed and as-new. Rounded corners. Dexter Press 22395-B (or #3172). Grade: 1
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Greetings (map)
From the 1960s or 70s, Dexter Press card 3171 is unmailed and in superb condition. Grade: 1
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Lookout Mountain, Buffalo Bill Museum (folio)
Miniature (3″ x 4-1/4″) album of ten cards, from 1950s or 1960s, all meant to be sent together as a souvenir. Has a red rubber stamp of authenticity on the reverse. Grade: 1
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Steamboat
Nice Larry Pierce card of Lower Ski Mountain mailed internationally in 1997, with two stamps and full Denver postmark. Good all around. Yes, the card is similar to #16 in the Colorado list. Grade: 1
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Rocky Mountain National Park, Hallett Peak
This Flatiron Postcard #47 was mailed internationally in the 1980s and has a 33-cent stamp, but no postmark. A little bit of edge abrasion and creasing but the photo is nice and sort of makes you want to be there. Grade: 3
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Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
This First Light postcard was mailed internationally in 1995, and has two 23-cent stamps and full Denver postmark. A little corner bumping. Grade: 2
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Wheat Ridge, Gemini Restaurant
For the flower child that remains in you, this card was mailed internationally in 1987 with a 33-cent stamp and full postmark. Grade: 1
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Denver, state capitol
This Plastichrome card P33882 (D30) would have been made sometime in the 1960s, and while it was never mailed, it has aged hugely on the reverse. The front is very nice, though, and you can compare those flowers over time. Grade: 4
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Cheyenne Lodge
This is an older Sanborn Souvenir card 516, along the Broadmoor – Cheyenne Mountain Highway, but mailed from Hong Kong to California in 1984. It therefore has a Hong Kong stamp and partly legible postmark, and a blue bilingual airmail sticker affixed. Grade: 3
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Loveland Pass
Two unused Sanborn Souvenir cards 99610 (and #3000) are available, with rounded corners and in perfect condition. Grades: 1
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Steamboat, lower ski mountain
Nice, undamaged card mailed abroad in 1993, with two 29-cent stamps and full Denver postmark. Grade: 1
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Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods
Quite high-quality Italian-made card mailed from Durango in 1988 with two stamps and fully readable postmark. There’s also a USPS airmail sticker attached. Grade: 2
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Scenery
Mailed in 1988, this Sanborn Souvenir card G-133 has an airmail sticker affixed under the postmark, and two stamps. Grade: 3
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Denver, skyline night view
In 1987 the writer of this card said “see – we’re not ‘cow town’ any more” as if people needed convincing. The card was mailed with 14 and 22-cent stamps, has a full postmark, and looks good. Grade: 1
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Aspen, Mill Street Mall fountain
Why are so many Colorado cards printed in other countries? This one, Switzerland, but maybe that is appropriate for Colorado anyway so we won’t say any more. Card was however mailed to Hong Kong in 1983 with one 40-cent stamp and full Denver postmark. Grade: 2
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Aspen Mountain
R.C. Bishop card 1218 of Aspen and the mountain, mailed in 1993 with a 40-cent airmail stamp and full Basalt postmark. There’s a red air mail stamp mark also. Grade: 1
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Aspen, town and mountain at dawn
R.C. Bishop card 1155, mailed from Colorado Springs (basically full postmark) with 40-cent stamp. Looks like a nice place to visit … Grade: 1
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Vail, BBQ at Mid-Vail
Not quite what you’re expecting here, the card was mailed in Malaysia probably in the 1980s as part of a contest, so it has a Malaysian stamp and partly legible postmark. Orange postal bar code on bottom reverse. Grade: 4
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Aspen, fireworks
Mailed in 1997, with a 50-cent stamp and readable Aspen postmark, and USPS bar coding below, it is RC Bishop card 1079. Grade: 3
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Winter Park
Proving there are indeed many ski slopes, this card was mailed in 2001 from Denver and has two stamps: one of 20 cents and the other an unvalued “First Class” flower pictorial. Grade: 2
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Winter Park
Mike Roberts/Mountain States Specialties card B20856, mailed in 1997 with two 32-cent stamps and fully legible Denver postmark. A bit of orange USPS bar coding in the ground snow area of the photo. Grade: 3
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Breckenridge, Quicksilver chairlift
Cunningham Studio card 58161290 of the Quicksilver-High Speed Quad Chairlift at the Base of Peak Nine in Breckenridge. Card was mailed with two 29-cent stamps in 1993 from Denver, clearly seen on the postmark. But the card itself just seems a bit weathered. Grade: 3
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Breckenridge, The Maggie
Colourful but somewhat austere card of the 9603 ft. Base Area and village. Mailed in 1992 with completely legible Denver postmark and three stamps of 1, 10, and 29 cents, respectively. Grade: 2
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Colorado Springs, Gardens (sic) of the Gods, Balanced Rock
The unmailed Plastichrome card P332293 has a caption with “Gardens” though we know the place as “Garden”. More to the point, recent photos of the rock make it look far more precarious than this card does, and there’s plenty of speculation about when it will fall over. Apparently a twin rock nearby already did — in 1936. This card has a small reference number written along the upper reverse edge. Grade: 3
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Maroon Bells and Lake in springtime
Not mailed, but with a perforated left edge, and a date (in 1994) and small reference number written on the back. Grade: 4
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Garden of the Gods, Two Mushrooms
There can be a big difference between toadstools and mushrooms, but when you compare this card with our next entry (and its caption), you might wonder. Here we have Two Mushrooms on a very old card, unused, with some staining along right and left reverse edges. Grade: 3
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Garden of Gods, Toad and Toadstools in Mushroom Park
Now keeping in mind what we wrote in the entry just previous, what self-respecting mushroom wants a toadstool in his park? More importantly, compare the pictures … The caption on the back of this card reverts to form and calls them mushrooms. Unused. Grade: 1
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Central City, Opera House
Nice unused Dexter (and Sanborn Souvenir) card 6004-B, and #3035, of this historic structure. Rounded edges, and could easily be sold as new today though it was obtained in the 1960s. Grade: 1
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Central City, Main and Eureka Streets
This unused card is probably from the 1960s and we idly wonder how much the view has changed since then. After all, it’s supposed to be historic. The card is becoming historic! Great condition, Cooper Post Card Co. card 460 (and ODK-1347), nearly as-new. Grade: 1
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Denver, multiple views and state capitol
Yet another Sanborn Souvenir/Dexter Press card D-102 – 86155-D of “the Mile High City,” showing various scenes. This was mailed from Denver in 1984 to Malaysia, so used a 20-cent and a 10-cent stamp. The reverse is beginning to age. The front is like new. Grade: 2
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Denver, night view
Night falls on dynamic downtown Denver, Hub of the Rocky Mountains West. That’s what the card says. Unused Plastichrome/G.R. Dickson card P72073 D-17, probably 1960s. Grade: 1
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Denver, Unsinkable Molly Brown home
Nicely average card mailed in 1987, with 33-cent airmail stamp and full Denver postmark. Grade: 2
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Keebler Pass
This Flatiron Postcard Co. card 84-A was mailed to Malaysia in 1987, with a 33-cent airmail stamp and mostly legible Denver postmark. Grade: 1
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Alamosa, Train wreck of Narrow Gauge 497
L&R Taylor Advertising Consultants published this card 109648, possibly in the 1960s. It’s unused, fading gently, but undamaged. Grade: 1
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Carbondale, Mount Sopris
Written in the early 1980s, stamped (two 13-cent Crazy Horse stamps), and mailed but not postmarked. The postal service did however leave a pink number on the reverse. You could recover 26% of the cost of the card by steaming off the stamps … not that we would suggest doing that. Grade: 4
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Rocky Mountain National Park, Long’s Peak
Actual caption: Long’s Peak and Lake Mills, Rocky Mountain National Park. Typical view, which we see from our perspective as “no smog.” Sanborn Souvenir card R-180 – 14828-D was mailed from Denver (full postmark) to Hong Kong in 1983 with two 20-cent stamps. The card has serrated edges and begins to show age. Grade: 2