North Vietnam, Cuban Vietnamese Weapon Brotherhood, December 15th 1968, Michel Nr. 556-558; Cuba, being a fellow communist country aligned with the Soviet Union, was able to support North Vietnam with critical weapons but also military training advisors. A series of three stamps to honor the partnership was issued in the nominals of 12 xu (two stamps) and 20 xu. The stamps were perforated 12.5. While most North Vietnamese stamps were issued without gum Postal Authorities apparently experimented with “adversity gum” on this set. The back of these mint blocks of four has vertical lines of gum that are spaced a few millimeters apart. This saved raw material and also did not cause the stamps to curl up in a high humidity climate.

Other gum varieties were at least tried out but probably rejected as impractical. Here is a single of the 12xu value that shows a bright white gum on the back that covers the entire stamp. As a result the stamp curls up during high humidity.

Here is a single franking of the 20xu value on a homemade local letter sent from Quan 8 to Ho Chi Minh City in August of 1978. Apparently the domestic letter rate had increased from 12xu to 20xu. Note the new cancel that now includes a five digit zip code. These cancels started to appear in the mid 1977’s.

Mixed franking on a damaged registered letter sent from Ca Mau (small post office) to Belgium in July, 1978. The recipient apparently was not at home so the post office in Belgium attached a sticker (in French and Dutch) that he/she has left a notice in the post box. The letter carries a number of the 20xu Cuban Vietnamese Brotherhood stamps, two of the 60xu HCM stamps and two 6xu Flower stamps for an overall postage of 2.52D.

Very rare local registered letter sent in June of 1978 from Vinh-Long to Ho Chi Minh City. Not many local registered letters have survived. It is franked with the 20xu Cuban Vietnamese Brotherhood stamp and one of the 10xu Unified Vietnam stamps for an overall postage of 30xu. Given that the domestic letter rate as of December 1st, 1976 was 12xu and the registration fee 24xu it appears that the letter was not properly paid for. However, no postage due remarks were added. Various transit/arrival cancels on the reverse.

Here is a rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in June of 1969 featuring the entire set. The overall franking amounted to 1.92 Dong which may have been in excess of the required tariff od 1.00 Dong for a standard 20 gram express mail letter to West Germany.

Mixed franking of two of the 60xu Worker Party stamps together with the 1D Dragon Fly and a pair of the 20xu Cuban Vietnamese Friendship stamps paying an overall postage of 2.60D on a 1977 air-mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh to Paris.

Rare single franking bearing one of the 12 xu stamps sent to Czechoslovakia in October of 1969. Postage to fellow socialist countries, like Czechoslovakia, was the same as for standard domestic letters. The cancel is impossible to read but may have been one of the mute cancels that were sometimes used during the war to obfuscate location.

Mixed franking from 1968 including the 12xu Cuban-Vietnamese Partnership stamp plus two of the 3,000th Aircraft shoot-down stamp for an overall postage of 92 xu. Since the standard letter rate was only 12 xu this letter must have been much heavier than the standard 20g.

Mixed franking including the 20 xu value of the set on a registered air mail letter to Klewitz in West Germany. The overall postage amounted to 2.60 Dong. The base letter tariff to the West had increased to 1 Dong as of January 1st, 1975. The international registration fee still stayed at 60 xu. However, an air-mail surcharge was introduced on December 1st, 1976 that amounted to 40 xu for every 5 grams of weight. One can therefore assume that the letter must have weighed around 10 grams. Note the green Fulda customs hand stamp indicating that the letter contained some merchandise (most likely stamps).

Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in July of 1978. The letter carries nine of the 12 xu orchid stamps plus the orchid set issued in 1976. There is also the 20 xu stamp of the Cuban Friendship set. The overall postage amounted to 6.10 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda customs cachet on front.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent in June of 1978 to Klewitz. It carries a mixed franking that includes one of the 50 xu and three of the 1 Dong stamps. There are also four of the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) stamps. The currency of the Viet Cong stamps represented the currency of the South Vietnamese Regime and hence was not compatible with the Dong of North Vietnam. Also Viet Cong stamps were, according to postal regulations, not to be used or cancelled in the North. This regulation clearly was disregarded in this particular case. 20 xu Cuban Friendship stamp on front. Ignoring the invalid Viet Cong stamps the overall postage amounted to 5.10 Dong. The red free-frank on front shows “000” but was required to produce the registration label to the left. Red two line hand-stamp applied by the sender that states that the letter was franked by the sender Frankfurt arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachets on front.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent in June of 1978 to Klewitz. It carries a mixed franking that includes one of the 50 xu and three of the 1 Dong stamps. There are also one of the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) stamps. The currency of the Viet Cong stamps represented the currency of the South Vietnamese Regime and hence was not compatible with the Dong of North Vietnam. Also Viet Cong stamps were, according to postal regulations, not to be used or cancelled in the North. This regulation clearly was disregarded in this particular case. 20 xu Cuban Friendship stamp in front. Ignoring the invalid Viet Cong stamps the overall postage amounted to 3.34 Dong. Frankfurt train transit and Fulda arrival cancels on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachets on front.

Registration Nr. 101630

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