North Vietnam, Visit of Astronaut Titow in North Vietnam, June 12th, 1962, Michel Nr. 217-219; The first visit of the cosmonaut Titow was honored with the issuance of three stamps. The nominals were  12 xu, 20 xu and 30 xu. The set was released perforated 11.0 and imperforate. Below is the official Xunhasaba stamp bulletin that announced the release of the stamp set. Note that the imperforate set was only produced in a quantity of 30,000 sets while the perforated set numbered 270,000 sets.

Here is the mint perforated set.

Here is the imperforate mint set in blocks of ten:

Very rare letter featuring the entire imperforate set from Hoan Kiem to Fulda, Was Germany (ex Klewitz). Imperforate stamps on postally used covers are very rare! The letter is franked overall with 72 xu and that would have been insufficient for a registered letter to West Germany. However, the sender duped the postal clerk into thinking the letter was routed towards Was Germany by writing Cong Hoa Dan Chu Duc (= East Germany). The standard letter rate to East Germany was only 12 xu plus the 60 xu international registration fee only required a postage of 72 xu. 

Rare single franking of the 12xu Titow stamp on a September 1962 letter from Hanoi to East Germany paying the correct 12 xu required international letter rate to fellow socialist countries.

Another letter sent from Yen-Bai to Paris, France. The letter carries the perforated 30 xu stamp of the Titow issue and other North Vietnamese stamps for an overall postage 74 xu. This was in excess of the standard letter rate of 50 xu, so the envelope must have been heavier the the standard 20 grams.

Very rare letter (ex Klewitz) featuring the entire Titow set imperforate. Im-perforated stamps on postally used covers are very rare! There is also a block of four of the 12 xu imperforate flower stamp from 1962 on the back. The overall franking amounts to 1.84 Dong which looks tariff conform. The standard letter rate to West Germany was 50 xu, plus 60 xu international registration fee plus 50 xu express mail fee. So, the letter may have been a bit heavier than the standard 20 grams.

Very rare express mail letter featuring two of the im-perforated 12 xu and one of the 20 xu stamps sent to Klewitz in June of 1969. Imperforate stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The letter also shows a strip of three of the 12 xu and 30 xu Tito stamps. The overall franking of the letter was 1.70 Dong which was in excess of the required tariff of 1.00 Dong (50 xu base rate, 50 xu express mail fee). The letter was initially franked to be sent by registered mail  which would have required an overall postage of 1.60 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel.

Very rare express mail letter franked with the im-perforated 6 xu, 30 xu and 40 xu stamps sent to Klewitz in June of 1969. It also carries the entire Titow set im-perforated. Imperforate stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall franking of 1.88 Dong which also included the entire im-perforated Tito set was most likely over-franked (required tariff for a standard letter was 1.00 Dong). The letter was initially franked to be sent by registered mail  which would have required an overall postage of 1.60 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel

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-perfroated 12 xu stamp from the reforestation set of 1969. Imperforate stamps on postally used cover are very rare. 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.

Registration Nr. 100722

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