North Vietnam, Victory of the National Liberation Force during the draught of 1965/1966, October 15th, 1966, Michel Nr. 452-454; Three stamps in the nominals of 1 xu and 12 xu (two stamps) were issued perforated 11.0.

Here is the mint set:

Mint blocks of four:

Small perforation errors do occur like here on the 12 xu value that shows a double perforation comb strike in-between the stamps:

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. This address is associated as a collection point for letters intended for recipients in the South. The envelope is a typical adversity cover that was fashioned out of old note paper. It was written in April of 1967 but the Quang Binh post mark is from June. It contains a letter that, when folded, line up perfectly with the bullet holes. The sender was an elementary school teacher who lived in Quang Binh province just North of the DMZ and who wrote to her husband. She has two young children, a boy ready for kindergarten and a girl. She had no problem expressing her love and longing for her husband who fought in the South. The note on the bottom of the envelope states “If the unit has moved please forward”. The letters date the cover from November, 1967. Very rare!

Very rare single franking of the 12xu stamp with a red cancel from  mobile post office on a letter sent to Warsaw, Poland. Red mobile post office cancels are pretty rare, especially on letters sent abroad.

Registered letter mailed on October 20th, 1966 to Klewitz featuring the entire set. The overall postage amounted to 1.13 Dong which was a tad above the required tariff of 1.10 Dong for a standard letter to West Germany. 

Mixed franking of the 3xu Cultural Development stamp together with the 50xu Geneva Agreement, 1 xu Liberation Front and 20 xu Hydrogen Bomb stamps paying an overall postage of 74xu  on an international air mail mailing by Xunhasaba sent in November of 1969 from Hanoi to Sweden.

Rare express mail letter mailed to Klewitz in November 1967 featuring the entire set. Interestingly, the sender used the blue military stamp without nominal that was also issued in 1966 but was only approved for domestic military use. The blue military stamp on postally used cover is very rare. Adding the inherent 12 xu value of this stamp the overall franking amounted to 1.53 Dong.

Mixed franking of a pair of 1xu NLF stamp together with the 50xu Geneva Convention stamp and three of the 6xu values of the Anniversary of the Revolution set for an overall postage of 70xu on an air mail letter to Stockholm, Sweden. Sweden was a rare destination.

Mixed franking of two 12 xu NLF stamps plus the 50 xu Space stamp on an international air mail letter sent from Hanoi to Switzerland in January of 1968.

Mixed franking of a pair of the 122xu NLF stamps together with a pair of the 50xu Geneva Convention stamps for an overall postage of 1.24D. Mailed in June of 1970 to Paris, France.

Rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in March of 1977. It features parts of the set plus some im-perforated reptile series stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage of the letter amounted to 1.66 Dong which appears to be below the prevailing tariff at the time (1.00 Dong base rate, 60 xu international registration charge, 50 xu express mail charge and 40 xu air mail fee for 5 grams), however it was transported without charging any postage due. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Rare registered express mail letter mailed from Hai Phong to Klewitz in June of 1979. It carries the Cuba set in pairs plus a 1 xu NLF stamp for an overall postage of 5.04 Dong. Bad Nauheim transit and Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Mixed franking featuring both stamps of the Aircraft Shot Down set. together with a range of other NVN stamps (including the 12xu NLF stamp) for an overall postage of 60xu (the tariff that was introduced on January 1st, 1975 as international postage to all Eastern countries). The letter originated from the Public Affairs Department of the Central Post Office to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of East Germany in Berlin.

Another registered letter sent from Quan 1 (Ho Chi Minh City) to Klewitz in June of 1981. The letter carries the other half of the perforated Fish set plus one of the 1 xu NLF stamps for an overall postage of 8.07 Dong.

Mixed franking of a Xunhasaba mailing to West Germany with an overall postage of 74xu.

Mixed franking of the 1xu and 2xu NLF stamps together with the 50xu Snake stamp and 40xu Production and Struggle stamp for an overall postage of 93xu on a Xunhasaba letter from Hanoi to France.

Mixed franking of a pair of the 1xu NLF stamp together with the 10xu Pagoda stamp, the 30xu Ballistic Rocket and 50xu Geneva Convention stamp for an overall postage of 92xu. The letter was sent by the Vietnamese National Library to the National Library of East Germany in August of 1970.

Mixed franking sent by Xunhasaba in June of 1973 to Czechoslovakia. The letter carries the green 40xu Aircraft Shot Down stamp plus two of the 2xu NLF stamps and one 50xu Hai Thu’o’ng stamp for an overall postage of 94xu.

Registration Nr. 101400

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