Orchids

North Vietnam, Orchids, June 24th, 1976, Michel Nr. 857-864; Eight stamps in the nominals 12 xu (two stamps), 20 xu, 30 xu, 40 xu, 50 xu, 60 xu and 1 Dong were issued perforated 12.0 and imperforate.

Rare multiple franking of the 20xu stamps on local letter paying 40xu postage to Ha Bac.

Here is a very rare letter mailed to Klewitz in January of 1977 featuring the entire im-perforated set. Imperforate stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 3.24 Dong. Postage rates had increased in November of 1974 to 1 Dong for a standard 20 gram letter to Western Europe. Express Mail and International Registration Fee also doubled to 1 Dong and 1.2 Dong respectively. The air mail surcharge amounted to 40 xu for every 5 grams of weight. This means that this letter must have weighed 15 grams which required an overall postage of 3.20 Dong. Frankfurt transit and Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Rare local letter from Nam Quan to Kao Lang sent in July of 1977. The 12 xu stamp was the correct franking at that time. The stamp was cancelled with a cancel that appears to be saved from the 1960’s by exchanging the “6” in the cancel for a “7” that looks different from the original “7” used in the cancel. This is an example of how redundant items were re-used for better efficiency.

Here is a detailed scan of the doctored cancel:

Mixed franking of the Chrysanthemum and stamps from the Orchid and Socialist Republic Vietnam sets paying an overall postage of 4.60D on a registered air mail letter sent from HCM City to Hong Kong in June of 1980.

Mixed franking of the 60xu and 1 Dong Orchids value together with some Dragon Fly stamps and a 32xu red free frank paying an overall postage of 2.76D for an air-mail letter in October of 1977.

Mixed franking of three 12xu Orchid stamps together with two 12xu Domestic Animal stamps paying a 60xu postage for an air-mail letter to East Germany in January of 1977.

Mixed franking or a number of the Orchid stamps together with the 1D October revolution stamp paying an overall postage of 2.60D on an air-mail letter to Paris, France.

Air mail letter sent in July of 1978 to Hong Kong using a mixed franking of the Gold Fish, October Revolution, Protected Birds, Orchid etc. sets for an overall postage of 4.85D.

Very rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in August of 1977. It carries some of the im-perforated dragon fly stamps plus other im-perforated pagoda and orchid stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 2.20 Dong. Bad Nauheim transit and Fulda arrival cancels on the reverse.

Very rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in August of 1977. It carries some of the im-perforated dragon fly stamps plus other NVN stamps. There are also two of the orchid stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 3.71 Dong. Bad Nauheim transit and Fulda arrival cancels on the reverse.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in September of 1977. It features a strip of five of the 12 xu value that show the “vanishing leaf” plate error and a number of the orchid stamps. Errors on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 3.76 Dong. Green Fulda customs cachet in front.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1977. The letter carries a number of the perforated stamps for the set plus some im-perforated stamps from the dragon fly set. There are also some of the orchid set stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare.

Another very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1977. The letter carries the remainder of the perforated stamps of the set plus an im-perforated stamp from the dragon fly set. There are also a umber of the orchid stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 4.18 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Fulda green customs cachet on front.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1977. The letter carries most of the im-perforated goat beetle set plus an im-perforated stamp of the dragon fly set. There also also stamps from the orchid set. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall post

Another very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1977. The letter carries the remainder of the im-perforated goat beetle set plus additional NVN stamps. There are also some of the orchid set stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 4.50 Dong.Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda customs cachet on front.

Rarer express mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz in January of 1980. It carries blocks of four of the 6 xu and 12 xu value (black inscription) and the 50 xu orchid stamp. Together with the red free frank of 2.40 Dong the overall postage amounted to 4.79 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Fulda green custom 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 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.Three of the orchid stamps on the reverse. 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.

Registered air mail letter sent from Saigon-Cholon to HongKong in August of 1976. The letter carries three of the Orchid stamps for a postage of 2.20D (North Vietnamese) plus one National Liberation Front stamp in a 300D (South Vietnamese) nominal. Since the currencies of the NLF stamps were not compatible with the North’s currency NLF stamps were technically not allowed to be used in North Vietnam, however, after the war was over a few of these mixed franking covers have slipped through.

Rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in July of 1978. It carries the entire set, some of the October revolution stamps , orchid stamps and Communist Party Congress stamps. The overall postage amounted to 4.95 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1979. The letter carries one of the 12 xu stamps plus other NVN stamps from the period. The overall postage amounted to 4.78 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front. Unusual hand-made version of the express mail label as apparently the printed version had run out.

Very rare large envelope sent to Klewitz in October of 1981. It features all three face color variations of the 12 xu Einstein value, a pair of 12 xu stamps without the black printing run. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There are also three 12 xu orchid stamps. The overall postage of this large shipment amounted to 18.50 Dong (including the 15.1 Dong red free frank). Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda customs cachet on front.

Air mail letter sent in April of 1978 from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France. It carries two of the 12 xu orchid stamps. The overall postage amounted to 3.44 Dong.

Rare express mail letter sent from Hai Phong to Klewitz in August of 1978. it caries a number of different color variations (including the blue stem and blue pistil variations) of the flower stamps plus the 40 xu orchid stamp. The overall postage amounted to 4.82 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in July of 1978. It carries a block of four of the Children stamps plus nine of the 12 xu orchid stamps. The letter was sent from Bac Ninh but interestingly enough the R-Label was only attached in Bac-Giang. The letter was opened un-professionally during transit (as pointed out by Klewitz) which may have been a censorship move but no censor marking were indicated. The overall postage amounted to 5.08 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Another very rare registered express mail letter featuring one 6 xu stamps and one 12 xu Socialist Republic stamps with the post master perforation sent from Ho Chi Minh City to West Germany sent in July of 1980. There is also one of the Orchid stamps. The overall postage amounted to 4.51 Dong slightly above the required postage of 4.40 Dong. Fulda arrival stamp on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front. Unusual hand-made express mail label.

Registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in June of 1981. The letter carries half of the perforated Fish set plus some Orchid stamps for an overall postage of 8.04 Dong (including the red free rural for 5 Dong). The letter also carries a military free frank issued in 1970 that was not valid for international postage but it appears that the postal clerk accepted it for its domestic value of 12 xu.