North Vietnam, Agricultural Products, October 10th, 1962, Michel Nr. 231-235; Five different stamps in the no its of 1 xu, 4 xu, 6 xu, 12 xu and 30 xu were issued in perforation 11:0 (Q:500,000 sets) . Below is the official Xunhasaba bulletin that was released upon the issuance of this set.
Here is the mint set:
Here is the set in mint blocks of four:
A number of misprints have become known of this set where usually one or more colors are missing entirely.
Here is the 1 xu value mint with the entire black print run missing:
This is the 1 x u value used with all brown color missing:
Here is a pair of the 12 xu value with the entire brown color missing:
This set not officially issued imperforate but a handful of imperforate proofs have come to market. Most likely from the designer of the stamps. Note the black guide markings surrounding the proof. Also the there is less white the yellow background in the proof as compared to the issued stamp.
Very rare single franking of the 6xu stamp on an intra-city letter sent within Hanoi. Local letters and especially Intra-city letters are extreme hard to find as most of them were destroyed in the multi-decadal war, the tropical climate and recycling due to raw material shortages.
Rare single franking of the 6xu value paying the correct post card rate to fellow socialist countries (in this case East Germany). Most of these postcards were thrown out so are very hard to find these days.
This envelope is a bit of a puzzle. It carries a single franking of the 6xu stamp which would have been insufficient for a letter to East Germany as the 20g letter tariff amounted to 12xu. However, the back flap of the letter was left open indicating that may have contained a printed greeting card. So it is likely that this letter was mailed as “Printed Matter” which was cheaper than a letter.
Unusual multiple franking of the 4xu value on what was most likely a printed matter mailing to France. The standard letter rate to France at that time was 50xu, so clearly 8xu would not have been sufficient postage. The flap of the letter was left open indicating that this was done to allow for postal inspection of the printed matter.
International letter featuring a single franking of the 12 xu Agricutural Product stamp on a letter sent from Hanoi to a boarding school in East Germany in November 1963.
Mixed franking from the same correspondence to Leipzig, East Germany featuring a 12xu Agricultural Crops stamp plus a 2xu Crop Plant stamp for an overall 14xu postage. The standard letter rate to east germany was 12xu for the first 20g so this letter may have been heavier than normal.
Mixed franking of two of the Crop Plant stamps with one 6xu Agricultural Products stamp for an overall postage of 20xu. This was the correct tariff for standard letters to fellow socialist countries from April, 15th, 1959 until March 1st, 1960.
Air mail letter sent from Hanoi to France featuring the 30xu Bird value, the 40xu Lunar Calendar and 4xu Agricultural Products stamps for an overall franking of 74xu.
Mixed franking of the 50 xu Fish value plus the 20 xu Flowers and 4 xu Agricultural Product stamps paying an overall postage of 74 xu on an air mail letter sent from Hanoi to Switzerland in January of 1969.
Mixed franking using the 3xu National Heroes stamp together with various other NVN series (including the 1 xu AgriculturalProducts stamp) for an overall postage of 13xu (over-paying the 12xu standard letter rate by 1xu) on an air-mail letter to East Germany in 1962.
Rare registered letter using three of the 12xu GANEFO stamps plus other NVN stamps (including the 1xu Agricultural Products stamp) for an overall postage of 1.57D addressed to an editor of a newspaper called “The People” in East Germany. Given that the standard letter postage to East Germany was only 12xu and the registration fee 60xu this letter must have been heavier than the standard 20g.
Rare printed letter mailing sent by Xunhasaba to Hamburg, West Germany. West Germany was a pretty rare destination in the mid 1960’s. The letter features a mixed franking made up of the 30xu Traffic Minister, the 40xu Moon Calendar and there 4 xu aggricultural plant series for a total postage of 74xu.
Mixed ranking using the rare 2D Reunification stamp together with the 30 xu Agricultural Products paying an overall postage of 2.30D on an international air mail letter sent to England in June of 1964. Note that the letter originated from the Captain of the M/S Thalis that was stationed in the port of Campha at that time.
Mixed franking of the 30xu Traffic Minister issue together with the 40xu Lunar Calendar and 4xu Agricultural Products series for an overall postage of 74xu. Patriotic cover. Since the standard letter tariff to France in 1966 amounted to 50xu this letter must have been heavier than the standard 20g.
A similar mailing, gain by Xunhasaba, also mailed to Hamburg Germany. This time the 30xu Wostok 5 stamp was used instead of the Traffic Minister stamp.
Another Xunhasaba bulletin mailing featuring the 30xu Agricultural Products set, the 50xu Animal stamp and the 2xu Young Worker Union stamp for an overall postage of 82 xu mailed in October of 1962 to a stamp dealer/collector in England. England was still a rare destination in the early 1960’s.
Very rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in July of 1969. It contains multiples of most values of the set plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 2.03D.
Letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1962 in West Germany. The cover carries the entire set of the agricultural product set. The overall franking amounted to 73 xu which would have been insufficient for a registered letter to West Germany (1.1 Dong) however, the clever sender duped the postal clerk into thinking the letter was intended for an East German destination (DDR stands for Deutsche demokratische Repubik). The standard postage to East Germany was only 12 xu and together with the 60 xu international registration fee the clerk though that the required postage amounted to 72 xu.
Here is a letter in 1965 from Coa-Bang to Saint Louis in France. The letter carries one of the 4 xu agricultural product stamps among other North Vietnamese stamps for an overall postage of 74 xu. The standard letter rate to Western Europe was 50 xu, so this letter, that was sent by a public heath service center was heavier than the standard 20g letter.
Here is a registered letter mailed to Klewitz on the First Day of Issuance bearing one of the 4 xu stamp. The overall postage amounted to 1.52 Dong. A standard 20 gram registered letter to West Germany cost 1.10 Dong, so this letter must have been heavier than the standard. Klewitz’ associates were not known to waste much postage!
Here is an interesting mixed currency franking mailed to Klewitz in 1965 with the 30 xu Agricultural Products stamp. The Bay of Ha Long stamps from 1959 were devalued 1,000:1 which meant the nominal of 500 Old Dong was now worth 0.50 New Dong or 50 xu. The overall franking hence came to 1.12 Dong. This was just a whisker above the required tariff for a registered letter to West Germany of 1.10 Dong.
Very rare express mail letter featuring the entire set sent to Klewitz in July of 1969. The letter also features the entire im-perforated Titow set and a strip of three of the im-perforated 12 xu stamp from the reforestation set of 1969. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. Also included are pairs of the 1 xu and 4 xu stamps of the set. The overall postage amounted to 2.34 Dong which appears in excess of the required tariff for a standard express mail letter to West Germany of 1.00 Dong, however, the envelope may have contained a shipment of stamps and hence may have been heavier than the standard 20 grams.
This is a rather curious single franking fo the 1xu value mailed on February, 1963, from Bai Cha to Italy. The domestic postcard rate at the time already stood at 6xu, so the 1 xu clearly was too little postage, but the card was transported without comment nevertheless.
Mixed franking of the 12xu Bridge stamp with other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 75xu. The required postage to France was only 50xu for a standard letter so this one must have been heavier the 20g.
Registration Nr. 100770
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