Historical Speeches of President Ho Chi Minh

North Vietnam, Historical Speeches of President Ho Chi Minh, January 30th, 1967, Michel Nr. 467-468; According to Michel some of the two values were printed together in the same sheet in an alternate arrangement row by row. This suggest that the value was also printed individually in proprietary sheets. Both values had a 12 xu nominal. The stamps were produced in perforation 11.0.

Here is a mint perforated pair attached to each other:

These stamps were not officially released imperforate however a very small number of imperforate trial proofs have come to market. Here are two of them.

Small production flaws have occurred. Here is a mint stamp that shows an air blister on the top left of the stamp. The small air bubble prevented the color from covering the entire area leaving an un-inked white circle.

Double impression of the brown color caused by an improperly adjusted rubber blanket. If the blanket was not tight enough it would vibrate and hence cause the impression of a double printing.

Very rare single franking of one of the 12xu stamps on a local letter (full contents preserved) to Hanoi. Most local letters were destroyed in the multi-decadal war, destroyed by the tropical climate or by recycling due to raw material shortages.

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, especially the letters inside, 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 major military unit as indicated by the Hom Thu Nr. on front (T16). The address:

HTT16, Thon 65 (Hamlet 65), Duong CO2 (Street CO2), Tay Bac-Bac An

appears repeatedly on mail originating in North Vietnam and it is thought to be a general collection point for mail directed to the South.

The envelope contains a letter that, when folded, lines up perfectly with the bullet holes. The letter covers a theme often seen in war correspondence “lost contact with loved ones for an extended period of time. In this case the wife of another soldier wrote to her relative asking for information because she heard that he had met her husband. The letters date the cover from August, 1967. Very rare!

Rare registered express mail letter mailed to Klewitz in March of 1971 featuring a pair of the attached set. The overall franking amounted to 1.72 which was slightly above the required tariff for a registered express mail letter to Wes Germany (1.60 Dong). Fulda arrival canceler on the reverse.

Here is a large letter sent by Xunhasaba, the official distributor of philatelic material in North Vietnam, to Theo Klewitz in West Germany. The letter features the entire perforated wild animal set and a pair of the historical speeches of HCM set. The overall franking amounted 1.94 Dong which was on account f the larger size envelope and the fact that the shipment contained stamps that Klewitz had ordered from Xunhasaba.