North Vietnam, Shoot-Down of the 3,500th U.S.Aircraft over North Vietnam, June 20th, 1972, Michel Nr. 697-698; Two stamps, both in 12 xu nominals were issued in perforation 11.0.

Here is the mint set:

Mint set in blocks of four:

These stamps were not officially released im-perforated, however a handful of imperforate trial proofs have come to market.

Postcard with a photo of To-Na depicting a downed U.S. aircraft.

Unique hand drawn Essay (20.5cm x 13.2 cm) submitted by Nguyen Hiep (the designer that also produced one of the “4,000 Aircraft shot down” stamps from 1972). The design was ultimately not accepted by postal authorities. Signed by the designer on the reverse.

Rare single franking with the green 12 xu stamp from a member of the military (note the military HomThu number used for the senders address) to another Vietnamese that was staying in a school in Czechoslovakia. Letters to fellow socialist countries carried the same tariff as standard domestic letters, so the 12 xu franking was in line with the applicable tariff.

Another rare single ranking of the green 12xu value on a letter (full contents preserved) sent from Hanoi to Budapest, Hungary.

Rare single franking of the black 12 xu stamp on a local letter from Each Gia to Saigon from July of 1977. Ho Chi Minh arrival cancel on the reverse.

Spectacular multiple franking of the black 12xu value paying the 5th weight level on an air mail letter sent from Hanoi to Budapest, Hungary.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in February of 1973. The letter carried the entire set plus some im-perforated stamps from the color wood print and bamboo set. Imperforate stamps on postally used covers era very rare. The overall postage of the letter amounted to 2.58 Dong which appears to be in excess of the required tariff. A standard 20 gram registered express mail letter to West Germany only cost 1.60 Dong.

Mixed franking featuring a nice block of four of the black 12xu value of the Aircraft Shot Down series plus two 1D stamps of the Air Defense series and one 12xu National Assembly stamp for an overall postage of 2.60D. The letter was sent by air mail in May of 1977 to Paris, France.

Mixed franking using two of the orchid stamps (The 12xu value with the country name “Vietnam”) paying an overall postage of 2.60D on a letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in 1977.

Mixed franking of two of the black 12xu Aircraft Shot Down stamps plus one of the 50xu Hai Thu’o’ng stamp for an overall postage of 74xu on an air mail letter sent fromHanoi to Paris, France innAugust of 1972.

Mixed franking featuring both stamps of the Aircraft Shot Down set. together with a range of other NVN stamps (including the 12 xu Aircraft Shot Down 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.

Mixed franking of one of the black 12xu Aircraft Shot Down stamps together with a number of other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 2.60 on an air-mail letter sent to Paris, France in August of 1977.

Very rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz of June 1977 with the set. The letter also carries the im-perforated version of the 40 xu stamps of the previous issue on glossy newsprint paper. Imperforate stamps, especially trial prints, on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 2.87 Dong which most certainly was in excess of the required tariff of 1.00 Dong for a standard express mail letter to West Germany.

Registration Nr. 102030

Comments are closed.