North Vietnam, 25 Years Young Pioneers, June 1st, 1966, Michel Nr. 445; The young pioneers was a Government youth organization that similar to the Hitler Jugend in Nazi Germany and the Young Pioneers in the former East Germany wanted to ensure that young people would have an in-corruptible education force outside the parental home. Some people have called this communist brain washing. A single stamp of 12 xu was issued in perforation 11.0.

Here is the mint stamp.

Here is a true piece of history. It is a combat cover (sometimes also referred as a bullet-hole cover) that was taken by either an ARV or an American soldier after wounding or killing a North Vietnamese mail man. Each side in the conflict was trying to gain an advantage by securing intelligence from the enemy so mail personell were a valuable target. It was a requirement that all mail taken in combat was to be handed over to the intelligence branch for translation and analysis which makes this type of mail so rare these days. So, most of these covers ended up in the files of the CIA or were destroyed after analysis. It was illegal to retain them but some service men nevertheless kept some envelopes as war trophies. This cover clearly shows the marks of bullet holes or shrapnel damage that was inflicted in the fight. The letter was addressed to another military unit as indicated by the Hom Thu Nr. on front. D30 was the name of a re-education camp after the end of the ar so this could also be a military prison. The envelope is a typical adversity cover that was fashioned out of old note paper. The post man was intercepted prior to reaching the post office as there is no cancellation mark yet. It contains two letters that, when folded, line up perfectly with the bullet holes. They originated from the wife and daughter of the soldier. The letters date the cover from November, 1967. Very rare!

Rare single franking of the 12xu value on a letter to Budapest, Hungary.

Rare express mail letter with two of the 12 xu stamps sent to Klewitz in February of 1970. The letter is overall franked with 1.62 Dong which is a tad above the required standard letter postage for a registered express mail letter to West Germany (1.60 Dong).

Rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in August of 1974 featuring a pair of the 12 xu stamps. The overall postage for the letter amounted to 1.98 Dong which may have been excessive. The standard tariff for a registered, express mail letter to West Germany amounted to 1.60 Dong but the letter was not sent registered, which mans the required standard rate was only 1.00 Dong. The letter also features the im-perorated 50 xu value of the 1970 fruit issue. Im-perforated stamps on postally used covers are very rare. 

Mixed franking using the 12xu Young Pioneer stamp (the stamp is not cut but wrapped around the envelope) together with the 1D 25 Years of Democratic Republic stamp and the 6xu National Liberation Front stamp for an overall postage of 1.18D on a latter to Paris, France.

Registration Nr. 101350

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