South Vietnam, Introduction of Postal Check Service, May 15th, 1962, Michel Nr. SVN 266-269; Four stamps in nominals of 70c, 80c, 4D and 7D were issued in perforation 13.

Hers is the mint set.

Mint set in blocks of four

Postally used set

These stamps were not officially released imperforate, however, a small number of imperforate trial proofs have come to market.

Enpreuves de Luxe; “Atelier de Fabrication de Timbres-Poste, Paris” inscribed at bottom right.

Color Trials; prior to authorizing the final printing run for stamps the Vietnamese Postal Authority requested a few sheets of color sheets on one particular value of a set in order to decide which final color combination would be best suited for each stamp within the set. The color sheets had the size of a standard sheet but contained alternating color options on the designated nominal value. While these sheets were only intended for internal postal use some of them came to market. Virtually all of these complete sheets were cut apart. So one mostly finds single color proofs or small strips of them. While they are actually very rare one can still obtain them for under $10 a piece (with some exceptions) as not many collectors appear to have an interest in them so far. Here are various color trials for the 0.70D value.

Rare single franking of the 80c value on a domestic printed matter mailing sent within Saigon in April of 1964.

Rare single franking of the 0.80D stamp on an international printed matter mailing sent from Saigon to West Germany in April of 1963.

Rare multiple franking of the 80c value (9) paying an overall postage of 4.50D on an international surface mail letter sent from Saigon to France in March of 1963.

Mixed franking of the 7D Prosperity Zone stamps (8) together with stamps from the Dam and Introduction of Postal Checks on a large envelope paying an overall postage 57.20D on an international air mail letter sent from Saigon to the United States in May of 1964.

Single franking of the 4D value on a domestic letter sent from Nha Trang to Saigon in June of 1969.

Mixed franking of the 9D (2) and 20D Urban Development stamps together with the 4D Introduction of Postal Checks sets paying an overall postage of 42D on an international letter sent from Saigon to New Zealand in June of 1968.

Single franking of the 7D value on a registered domestic letter sent within the Saigon region in March of 1966.

Multiple franking of the 7D value on a larger international letter setoff rom Saigon to Switzerland in January of 1968.

Mixed franking of the 20D Patriot value (2) together with two 7D Introduction of Postal Check Service stamps (2) paying an overall postage of 54D on a letter back sent to Switzerland in July of 1967. Lausanne arrival cancel on the reverse.

Mixed franking of the 10D Rural Development stamp together with the 7D Introduction of Postal Checks and 1D Patriots sets paying an overall postage of 18D on a post card that depicts the German Hospital Ship “Helgoland”. The  card was sent by a nurse on the ship to West Germany.

Registration Nr. 200340

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