Dragon Flies

Unified Vietnam, Dragon Flies, January 28th, 1977, Michel Nr. 890-897; Eight stamps with the nominals of 12 xu (two stamps), 20 xu, 30 xu, 40 xu, 50 xu, 60 xu and 1 Dong were issued in perforation 12.0 and imperforate.

Here is the mint imperforate set:

Rare local letter featuring one of the 12 xu Dragon Fly stamps sent from Hanoi to HCM City in March of 1977 (full contents preserved).

Single franking of the 60xu Dragon Fly stamp on an international air mail letter sent from Hai Phong to Czechoslovakia in March of 1978.

Mixed franking of the 30 xu Bird stamp together with two 60xu Dragon Fly stamps paying an overall postage of 1.50D on an international air mail letter sent from Hai Phong to Switzerland in February of  of 1978.

Mixed franking of two of the 50 xu Fish stamps with the 40 xu Dragon Fly stamp on an international air mail letter sent from HCM City to Munich West Germany in December of 1978 paying an overall tariff of 1.40D.

Local letter sent from Hanoi to HCM City in July of 1981 using the 30xu Dragon Fly and 10 xu Day of the Child stamps paying a 40 xu tariff. HCM City machine arrival cancel on the reverse.

Letter front sent from Quan 5 to Hong Kong in February of 1982. The registered letter carries the entire dragon fly set plus a 4 Dong free frank for a total postage of 7.24D.

Rare multiple franking of the 20xu value covering the 40xu postage on a standard letter to Laos in 1977.

Rare multiple franking of the 40xu value on a postcard mailed to Hungary in June of 1977.

Rare multiple franking fo the 60xu value paying a 1.80D postage on an air-mail letter to Sweden in My of 1977.

Regional letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Vientane in Laos in February of 1979 paying  52 xu air mail postage. The standard letter rate to Laos at the time was 40 xu so the weight of this letter probably exceeded the standard 20 gram weight level.

Mixed franking made up of the Dragon Flies set and paying 2.80D on an air-mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong in June of 1978.

Mixed franking of the 1D Dragonfly stamp (2) together with four each of the 5xu and 10xu Communist Party stamps paying an overall postage of 2.60D on an international air mail letter sent from HCM City to France in May of 1977.

Mixed franking made up of the Dragon Flies set and paying a 1.52D postage on an air-mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in December of 1977.

Mixed franking of various Dragon fly stamps together with a free-frank of 32xu added to pay an overall postage of 2.76D on a registered air-mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in October of 1977.

Mixed franking of the 60xu and 1 Dong Orchids value together with some Dragon Fly stamps and a 32xu red free frank paying an overall postage of 2.76D for an air-mail letter in October of 1977.

Air mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong in April of 1977. The letter carries two of the 60xu and one of the 40xu Dragon Fly stamps for a total postage of 1.60D.

Mixed franking made up of two 50xu and one 60xu Dragon Fly stamps together with five 12xu Final Victory stamps and two 20xu Communist Party stamps paying an overall postage of  2.60D and sent on an air-mail letter from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France.

Mixed franking of the 60xu Dragon Fly stamp together with two 1 Dong October Revolution stamps paying an overall 3.80 on a larger air-mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in January of 1978.

Another air mail letter sent in April of 1977 from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong. Overall franking of 1.60D.

Mixed franking of the 50xu and 1 Dong Dragon Fly stamp together with the 20xu Sea Creatures and 10xu Communist Party stamp paying an overall postage of 1.80D on an air-mail letter sent to Paris, France in 1977.

Mixed franking of the 40xu Dragon Fly stamps together with a range of other NVN stamps and a 40xu red free frank paying an overall postage of 3.40D on a registered air-mail letter sent to Marseille, France in July of 1978.

Mixed franking of the 20xu and 40xu Fruits stamps together with the 1D Dragon Fly and Wild Animal stamps for an overall postage of 2.60D on an air mail letter from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in September of 1977.

Mixed franking of the 12xu, 20xu and 30xu Fruits stamps together with the 1D Dragon Fly and Air Defense stamps for an overall postage of 2.62D on an air mail letter from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in September of 1977.

Mixed franking of the 12xu Fruits stamp together with the 1D Dragon Fly and two Melon stamps for an overall postage of 2.62D on an air mail letter from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in September of 1977.

Mixed franking of the 40xu and 50xu Fruits stamps together with the 1D Dragon Fly and two Melon stamps for an overall postage of 2.60D on an air mail letter from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in August of 1977.

Mixed franking of the 12xu and 50xu Fruits stamps together with the 1D Melon and Drag Fly stamps for an overall postage of 2.62D on a letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in September of 1977.

Mixed franking of two of the 60xu Worker Party stamps together with the 1D Dragon Fly and a pair of the 20xu Cuban Vietnamese Friendship stamps paying an overall postage of 2.60D on a 1977 air-mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh to Paris.

Interesting mixed franking of stamps from North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France in April of 1977. Since the NLF stamps were already denominated in North Vietnamese Dong, this mixed franking was allowed (unlike the NLF stamps that were denominated in South Vienamese Dong). The letter carried an overall postage of 2.60 Dong. The 20g air mail letter rate to Europe at the time amounted to 1.40 Dong, so this letter must have exceeded the first weight level.

Another, very rare registered letter featuring the souvenir-sheet on woven paper and lighter frame colors along with a number of other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 6.82D. Souvenir sheets on postally used cover are very rare. The letter was sent from Hanoi to Essen in West Germany in February of 1978.

Very rare large registered letter sent in February of 1978 from Hanoi to Essen, West Germany. The letter carries the souvenir sheet, the im-perforated single stamp from the souvenir sheet plus three 1D Dragon Fly  stamps for an overall postage of 7.30D. Souvenir sheets or stamps from souvenir sheets on postally used cover are very rare.

Very rare large letter sent by registered mail in February of 1978 to Essen, West Germany. The letter was franked with the souvenir-sheet from the second printing, a range of NLF stamps (including the 1D Dragon Fly stamps) and other NVN stamps from the period. The 1975 Ho Chi Minh stamps were released by the National Liberation Front in South Vietnam and they were denominated in South Vietnamese Dong, which was not compatible to the North Vietnamese Dong. As a result they were not allowed as postage in North Vietnam. This prohibition was obviously disregard by the postal clerk in this case as the NLF HCM stamp were cancelled along with the other NVN stamps.

Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in May of 1977. The letter carries the perforated dragon fly set from 1977 plus some of the flag issues. The overall postage amounted to 3.52 Dong Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Very rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in August of 1977. It carries some of the im-perforated dragon fly stamps plus other im-perforated pagoda and orchid stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 2.20 Dong. Bad Nauheim transit and Fulda arrival cancels on the reverse.

Another very rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in August of 1977. It carries some of the im-perforated dragon fly stamps plus other im-perforated pagoda and sculpture stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 1.95 Dong. Bad Nauheim transit and Fulda arrival cancels on the reverse.

Very rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in August of 1977. It carries some of the im-perforated dragon fly stamps plus other NVN stamps. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 3.71 Dong. Bad Nauheim transit and Fulda arrival cancels on the reverse.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in September of 1977. It features a strip of five of the 12 xu value that show the “vanishing leaf” plate error and three stamps of the dragon fly series. Errors on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 3.76 Dong. Green Fulda customs cachet in front.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1977. The letter carries a number of the perforated stamps for the set plus some im-perforated stamps from the dragon fly set. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 3.96 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Fulda green customs cachet on front.

Another very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1977. The letter carries the remainder of the perforated stamps of the set plus an im-perforated stamp from the dragon fly set. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 4.18 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Fulda green customs cachet on front.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1977. The letter carries most of the im-perforated goat beetle set plus an im-perforated stamp of the dragon fly set. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 4.00 Dong.Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda customs cachet on front.

Another very rarer registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in February of 1978. It carries the remainder of the im-perforated wild growing flower set plus some stamps of  im-perforated protected bird, dragon fly and goat beetle set. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 2.90 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Very rare registered express mail letter mailed in February of 1978 to Klewitz. It carries half of the im-perforated gold fish and im-perforated versions of the protected bird, goat beetle and dragon fly set. Im-perforated stamps on postally used letter are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 4.26 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent in June of 1978 to Klewitz. It carries a mixed franking that includes one of the 50 xu and three of the 1 Dong stamps. There are also four of the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) stamps. The currency of the Viet Cong stamps represented the currency of the South Vietnamese Regime and hence was not compatible with the Dong of North Vietnam. Also Viet Cong stamps were, according to postal regulations, not to be used or cancelled in the North. This regulation clearly was disregarded in this particular case. 40 xu dragon fly stamp on the reverse. Ignoring the invalid Viet Cong stamps the overall postage amounted to 5.10 Dong. The red free-frank on front shows “000” but was required to produce the registration label to the left. Red two line hand-stamp applied by the sender that states that the letter was franked by the sender Frankfurt arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachets on front.

Rare express mail letter sent from Bac Lieu to Klewitz in March of 1979. It carries a number of the flower stamps but also four of the National Liberation Front (NFL) stamps and the 40 xu dragon fly stamp. Two of the stamps (First Meeting of the Unified National Assembly) were already issued based on the North Vietnamese currency which made them eligible for postage in the North, however, the 30 Dong flag stamp and the 30 Dong Ho Chi Minh stamp which were still in the old South Vietnamese currency were not officially allowed for postage and should not have been recognized. Ignoring the invalid 30 Dong stamp the overall postage amounted to 4.97 Dong. Fulda custom cachet on front.

Here is a very rarer registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in July of 1981 that carried the entire Five Year Plan set and the 20 xu Dragon Fly stamp. It also carries a pair of the 12 xu (Michel Nr. 1036A) that is im-perforated. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The letter also carries the two versions of the 12 xu (Michel Nr. 1033A) stamp with different perforation. The overall postage (including the red free frank for 5.94) amounted to 13.90 Dong. Bebra rail transit cancel and Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Registered letter sent to Klewitz in August of 1981. It carries four blocks of four of the Five Year Plan 12 xu value plus the 1 Dong Dragon Fly stamp. The left and right most block are of the first printing while the middle blocks of four are the second printing. The overall postage of the letter amounted to 8.21 Dong. Green Fold custom cachet on front.

Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in July of 1981. It carries a block of nine of the green/yellow 12 xu stamp that is grossly mis-perforated. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There is also a 3 Dong National Liberation Front stamp from 1970. The currency used by the NLF in the South was not compatible with the currency of the North. As a result these stamps were not valid postage there. Nevertheless it appears that the postal clerk was not aware of this fact and hence he/she accepted the 3 Dong stamp in full. There are also two of the Dragon Fly stamps. The overall postage including the NLF stamp was 13.96 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.

Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1980. It carries the souvenir sheet for HCM’s 70th Birthday and a 20 xu Year of the Child that shows a small perforation error (missing perforation holes). Souvenir sheets on postally used cover are very rare. There is also a 30 xu Dragon Fly stamp. The overall postage amounted to 4.82 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.

Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in September of 1980. It carries a variety of NVN stamps including one of the 30 xu Dragon Fly stamps. Green Fulda custom cachet on front. Hand -made Express Label.

Registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in June of 1981. The letter carries half of the perforated Fish set plus some one of the Dragon Fly stamps for an overall postage of 8.04 Dong (including the red free rural for 5 Dong). The letter also carries a military free frank issued in 1970 that was not valid for international postage but it appears that the postal clerk accepted it for its domestic value of 12 xu.

Registration Nr. 102520