Chess

Unified Vietnam, Chess, May 9th, 1983, Michel Nr. 1335-1342, Block 18; Seven stamps in the nominals of 30xu, 50xu, 1D, 2D, 3D, 5D and 8D plus a souvenir sheet with a 10D nominal were issued. The stamps were also printed together in a perforated mini-sheet. The stamps were officially released perforated and imperforate but the souvenir-sheet and the mini-sheet was only made available perforated.

Here is the mint mini-sheet with all seven stamps. The stamps were also produced individually in larger standard sheets.

The 30xu value from the larger sheet production is known to come with a plate error the can be found on the Fields 22 and 31. It consists of a small white point in the top right of the chess board.

Detailed scan of the affected area.

Mint Souvenir Sheet.

A few stamps were cancelled with a pro forma sample corner cancel before they were sent out as specimen to the press. Here is one of these specimens of the souvenir-sheet. Note the two white circles on the chess board on the left side.

Local letter sent from Thu Due (small post office) to Da Nang featuring a single franking of the 200D Chess stamp paying the standard domestic letter rate in force in October of 1991.

Less than 3 years later the standard domestic letter rte had already doubled. Single franking of the 400D Chess stamp on a local letter sent from Dalat to HCM City in May of 1994.

Mixed franking carrying the entire perforated Chess set on a registered international air mail letter sent in January of 1984 from HCM City to Klewitz in Germany. Together with the red free frank for 3.78D on the reverse the postage for the letter amounted to 23.58D. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered air mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz in May of 1984. The letter is franked with the entire min-sheet plus other contemporary NVN stamps for an overall postage of 30.70D. Complete mini-sheets on postally used cover are very rare.

Registered air mail letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in January of 1984. The letter carries the Chess souvenir sheet, give Koch stamps (one with the plate error of “additional black hair on the back of the head”) and other contemporary NVN stamps for an overall postage of 57.60D. Souvenir-Sheets and error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. Green Fulda custom cachet on the reverse.

Registered air mail letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in February of 1984. The letter carries half of the perforated Chess set plus some Ornamental Fish stamps for an overall postage of 21.22D (including the red free frank for 4.42D). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered air mail letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in February of 1984. The letter carries the other half of the perforated Chess set plus some Dahlia stamps for an overall postage of 13.90D (including the red free frank for 4.42D). These stamps came from the large sheet version as demonstrated by the corner selvage. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Air mail letter mailed from Quan 5 to Klewitz in October of 1984 featuring half of the imperforate set with sheet numbers and the souvenir sheet for an overall postage of 31.50D. Imperforate stamps and souvenir sheets on postally used cover are very rare.

Air mail letter mailed from Quan 5 to Klewitz in October of 1984 featuring the other half of the imperforate set (some with sheet numbers) and imperforate Mushroom and Wading Bird stamps for an overall postage of 27.80D. Imperforate stamps on postally used cover are very rare.

Registered air mail letter sent in July of 1984 from Tan Binh to Klewitz. The letter carries the entire Winter Olympics set , some Karl Marx and Chess stamps for an overall postage of 50.10. Fragment of Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered air mail letter sent in July of 1984 from Tan Binh to Klewitz. The letter carries the perforated Olympic Winter Games souvenir-sheet, a Communist Party stamp with a significant passer-shift as well as stamps from the Karl Marx and Chess set for an overall postage of 51.30D. Souvenir-sheets and error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. Fragment of green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered air mail letter sent in October of 1984 from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz. The letter carries half of the perforate Ocean Fish set plus stamps from the Chess, Union Conference and ASEAD sets for an overall postage of 52D (including the red free frank for 24D). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered air mail letter sent in October of 1984 from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz. The letter carries the other half of the perforate Ocean Fish set plus stamps from the Chess, Union Conference and Sailing Ship sets for an overall postage of 52D (including the red free frank for 24D). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered air mail letter sent in October, 1984 from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz. The letter carries half of the perforated Ha Long Bay set plus stamps from the Chess, Union Congress and Union Conference sets for an overall postage of 51.60D. Fragment of the green Fulda custom cachet.

Air mail letter that features half of the imperforate Ha Long Bay set plus stamps from the Aircraft and Chess sets for an overall postage of 27.50D. Imperforate stamps on postally used cover are very rare.

Air mail letter that features the other half of the imperforate Ha Long Bay set plus stamps from the Ciconiiformes, Aircraft and Chess sets for an overall postage of 27.50D. Imperforate stamps on postally used cover are very rare.

Late usage of the 10D perforated Chess souvenir-sheet tighter with six definitive 10,500D stamps from 2015 paying an overall postage of 111,010D (Including the red free frank for 48,000D) on a registered air mail letter sent from Ban Co to the United States in March of 2016. Souvenir-Sheets used on postally traveled cover are still rare.