Unified Vietnam, Cats, November 10th, 1979, Michel Nr. 1063-1070; Eight stamps with the nominals of 12 xu (Two stamps), 20 xu, 30 xu, 40 xu, 50 xu, 60 xu and 1 Dong were issued perforated 12.0 and im-perforated.

Here are mint blocks of four of the im-perforated set:

International air mail letter sent from HCM City to Finland in December of 1979. Finland is a rare destination. The letter carries the 20xu and 1 D Cat stamps plus the 1D Total Liberation stamp paying an overall postage of 2.20D.

Mixed franking of the 1 D Cat stamp together with the 50 xu Total Liberation stamp paying an overall postage of 1.50D on an international letter sent from Hai Phong to Switzerland.

Mixed franking of the entire CAT set paying an overall postage of 3.24D on a registered international air mail letter sent from HCM City to Hong Kong in November of 1979.

Rare registered express mail letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in February of 1981. It carries half of the perforated Cat set plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 13.90 Dong (including the two red free franks for 9.10 Dong). Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front. Unusual hand-made express mail label.

Rare registered express mail letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in March of 1981. It carries half of the perforated Cat set plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 13.90 Dong (including the red free franks for 9.10 Dong). Green Fulda custom cachet on front. Unusual hand-made express mail label.
Very rare air mail letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in January of 1982. The letter carries half of the im-perforated Cat set plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 2.72 Dong. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The cancel shows an error as the the “2” in “82 was inserted upside-down.
Very rare air mail letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in January of 1982. The letter carries the other half of the im-perforated Cat set plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 3.05 Dong. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The cancel shows an error as the the “2” in “82 was inserted upside-down.
Registered letter sent in May of 1981 from Quan 5 (Cholon) to West Germany. It carries two pairs of the 6 xu Socialist Republic stamp that shows a variation in the size of the star. The left pair features a small star while the right pair features a large star. Also note the color variations on the brown/ochre color. There are also both 12 xu Cat stamps. The overall postage amounted to 8.21 Dong.

Rare registered express mail letter sent from Dien-Bien Phu to Klewitz in October of 1980. The letter carries four higher values of the perforated Fish set and the 60 xu and 1 Dong Cat stamps for a total postage of 4.80 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered letter sent to Klewitz in January of 1982 with a mass franking of the 12 xu Postal Clerk stamp plus some Cat stamps for an overall postage of 11.60 Dong. Unusual use of two three franks on the reverse.

Very large registered letter sent from Nguyen-Trai to Klewitz in May of 1982. It carries a mass franking of the 12 xu Train stamp plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 11.98 Dong (excluding the military free franks). There are two military free franks which were not valid for international mail due to the missing nominal. A number of the Cat series stamps are on the reverse. Nevertheless it appears that the postal clerk did not object to the use of these stamps. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Very rare registered letter sent  from Hanoi to Klewitz in June of 1981. The letter carries half of the im-perforated set, some of the Cat stamps plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 5.50 Dong. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare.

Registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in April of 1982. The letter carries the entire Nutritional Day set plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 7.50 Dong. The top 30 xu stamp shows a plate error “line on O of FAO”.  Cat stamps on the reverse. Interesting manuscript  R-label. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in May of 1982. It features a pair of the Militia stamps in the Post Master Perforations 9.5  (stamps on the left side) that shows the woman looking towards her right. The right pair in perforation 11 shows the woman looking straight ahead. The letter also carries four of the military free frank issued in 1976. Military free franks were not valid for international postage due to their lacking nominal value, however it appears that the postal clerk was not familiar with this regulation. Cat stamp on the reverse. The over-all postage amounted to 8.72 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registration Nr. 102865

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