Following his first observations of comet 85D/Boethin on January 4-7, 1975, Boethin sent a Special Delivery letter to Marsden, reporting the discovery of a possible new comet of magnitude 12, using his 8-inch telescope. Before the invention of email, telegrams were expensive, and Boethin had chosen to send a letter this time. The report took ten days to reach Marsden, and by that time the full Moon made observations impossible.