North Vietnam, Vietnamese Cuban Friendship, April 17th, 1963, Michel Nr. 253; It was probably the Cuban Missile Crisis (a stand-off between the United States and the Soviet Union that almost led to World War III) at the end of October 1962 that brought the Cuban topic to the forefront. Cuba was a fellow communist country and hence deserved moral support by the North Vietnamese. One stamp with a nominal 12 xu was issued in perforation 11.0. Below is the official Xunhasaba bulletin that announced the issuance of the stamp.
Here is the mint stamp.
Very rare local letter mailed from Nam Dinh to Nghi-An from May of 1963. Nghe-An arrival cancel on the reverse. Most local letters were destroyed due to the multi-decadal war, the tropical climate and recycling due to raw material shortages.
Here is the exact same franking of a single 12xu stamp but this time the letter was directed to the Soviet Union. Letters sent abroad were more likely to be preserved and collected which means they are more obtainable.
Here is a letter that was sent to Klewitz in June of 1974 that carries four of the stamps. The overall franking amounts to 3.60 Dong. This makes sense as the letter was addressed to West Germany (50 xu standard letter rate) plus the sizable express fee. Express Mail letters from North Vietnam are rather scarce.
Very rare letter (ex Klewitz) that features the souvenir sheet among other Vietnamese stamps (including the 12 xu Vietnamese Cuban Friendship stamp). Souvenir sheets on postally used covers are very rare. The editor has only seen one other postally used letter with this souvenir sheet. Overall postage applied of 1.13 Dong. The required postage to West Germany was 1.1 (50 xu base letter rate, 60 xu registration fee).
Registration Nr. 100750
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