Bond of the Cities of Hanoi, Hue and Saigon

North Vietnam, Bond of the Cities of Hanoi, Hue and Saigon, July 20th, 1961, Michel Nr. 170-171; This issue was another stamp set that ultimately supported the reunification of the country. The bond that the cities of Hanoi, Hue and Saigon (in the South) shared was another expression that the country could not stay divided. Two stamps were issued, a 3 xu (probably an extension value) and a 12 xu value (standard domestic letter rate). The perforation was 11:0.

Here is a mint set

Mint blocks of four:

Postally used 12 xu stamp.

Klewitz reported color variation of the 12 xu value in his collection. In it the brownish color that shades the clothes of the people of the stamp actually was printed in light-blue. Below is a normal stamp to the left with the error stamp on the right. Also note that the color of the foliage at the top of the stamp is lighter on the error stamp.

Here is a perforation error. The sheet was not properly advanced during the perforation process resulting in a double perforation comb strike on the left margin of this pair.

Rare single franking of the 12xu value on an air mail letter from September of 1961. As of March 1st, 1960 the tariff for the standard letter rate to fellow socialist countries was reduced to equal the domestic letter rate of 12xu.

Another rare single franking of the 12xu value but this time to the Soviet Union. Moscow airport cachet on front. Machine Moscow arrival cancel on the reverse.

Postally used letters with the 3 Dong stamps are very rare. Here is one (ex Klewitz) that was mailed July 21st, 1961, one day after the first day of issue. A special oval cachet that was released for the reunification issue was also struck on the envelope. The letter carries also a set of the city liaison issue for an overall postage of 3.27 Dong. Despite the international registration fee of 60 xu the letter was clearly over-franked at that rate. The standard postage to West Germany was 50 xu but the cunning sender wrote “CHDC Duc” at the bottom of the address which stood for “East Germany”. The standard postage to East Germany was only 12 xu so the postal clerk would have been happy with an overall rate of 72 xu for a standard 20 gram letter.

This is another letter (ex Klewitz) that carries two of the 12 xu values. Please note the different shade of the background color of the stamps. The letter was franked with an overall postage of 30 xu. This would have been to little postage for a letter to West Germany (standard postage 50 xu) but since the sender only wrote “Germany Duc” on the letter the postal clerk probably thought it was intended to go to East Germany (standard postage 12 xu).

Late usage of the 3 Dong stamp on a express mail letter to Klewitz in September of 1974. At 3.34 Dong the letter is most likely over-franked. A standard registered express mail letter only required 1.60 Dong. Nevertheless, rare postal usage of the high 3 Dong value from 1961. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz of 1974. It carries a rare block of four of the high 3 Dong value. With an overall franking of 12.17 Dong the letter was most definitely over-franked as the required postage for a standard, registered express mail letter to West Germany was only 1.60 Dong.

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 is also one of the 12 xu Bond of Cities 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

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1980. It carries the souvenir sheet for HCM’s 70th Birthday and a 20 xu Year of the Child that shows a small perforation error (missing perforation holes). Souvenir sheets on postally used cover are very rare. There is also a 12 xu Bond of the Cities stamp. The overall postage amounted to 4.82 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1980. It carries two of the 1 Dong Day of the Cild stamps plus the 12 xu Bond of Cities stamp for an overall postage of 4.42 Dong. Red “Franked by Sender” hand stamp and green Fulda custom cachet on front. The zero red free frank was required to produce the R-label as they came out of the same machine.

Rare registered express mail letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in March of 1981. The letter carries six stamps from the Fish plus the 12 xu Bond of Cities stamp. There also is a military free frank that was issued in 1973 (in the rare version with perforation 12.5). Military free franks were not valid for international postage due to the fact that they did not carry any nominal value. Nevertheless it appears that the postal clerk accepted the stamp with a face value of 12 xu (which corresponded to the standard domestic letter rate). The overall postage amounted to 4.80 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1980. It carries the entire set plus the 12 xu Bond of Cities stamp for an overall postage of 4.81 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front. Unusual hand-made express mail label.