United Vietnam, Flowers, March 20th, 1978, Michel Nr. 956-959; Four stamps with nominals of 5 xu, 6 xu, 10 xu and 12 xu were issued in perforation 11.0. This set is subject to a number of production issues that are reflected in a fairly large number of printing errors and flaws.
All values are subject to a significant amount of the color variations. Some times these are just a function of how much color was delivered to the printing plate (less color equals lighter colors and more color equals darker colors) but other times they are the result of slight passer shifts that create unexpected color over-lays that look different from each other.
Here are two mint blocks of four of the 10 xu value which show significant color differences:
Here is a mint block of four that shows a more intense green color than the standard print:
Here is a mint block of four that miss almost all of the yellow color resulting in stamps with a very light image:
Here is a pair that shows a fairly rare error where the entire red printing run is missing:
Here is a mint block of six that shows a number of printing errors. The inscription “Vietnam” is very weak and there is a clear disturbance on the top right stamp. One can also see wet in off-sets of “Vietnam” on all stamps which means that some sheets were stacked face to face with each other.
Detailed view of one of the stamps:
Even within a single sheet one can detect color variations. Here is a mint block of four from the top left of the sheet that shows a failure of the green color on the top right stamp. The error is re-occuring as the editor owns multiple corner blocks with the identical error:
Detailed scan of the affected stamp:
Here is a similar example on this block of four. Here the top right stamp has dark green color that is much too intense:
Below is a spectacular block of 24 mint stamps which show a progressive printing error of the red color. The top left stamp looks normal while the bottom right stamp was printed with much to much red color:
Detailed view of one affected stamp:
Mint block of six stamps which shows a failure of the turquoise back-ground color on the middle two stamps:
Of course there are also various passer-shift issues. Here is a block of eight mint stamps that shows the dark green color shifted too low:
Here is another passer-shift. In this case of the yellow color towards the bottom/right:
Passer-shift of the blue print downwards:
Passer-shift of the red color towards the right:
Another significant passer-shift on a pair of mint stamp that totally distorts the final appearance of the stamps:
Spectacular mint block of thirty stamps that shows a double print of the yellow color upside down:
Here is a detailed view of the error:
There are also a large number of printing flaws like the ones below:
Detailed view of the printing flaw:
There are also differences in the paper that was used for the various printing. The 12 xu value exists on white, flat paper and on rougher grey fibrous paper.
Block four on flat, white paper:
Block of four on grey, rougher fibrous paper:
This is a complete sheet (all margins intact) of the 12xu stamp on fibrous paper and cancelled to order:
Here is a mint block of six of the 12 xu stamp that shows a significant printing flaw on the top left stamp. An object that looks like a “slug” is sitting on the flowers of the top left stamp:
Detailed scan of the printing flaw:
The 6 xu stamp also exists in two print variations within the same sheet. Most stamps do have the designer name printed at the bottom right of each stamp. On some stamps the designer name is missing. Here is a block of ten mint 6 xu stamps. All of them have the designer name except three stamps to the very right. This may indicate that the error occurred prior to copying the printing master.
Here is a detailed scan of the area with the missing designer name:
There is also a color variation of the pistil of the flowers in the 6 xu stamp. Normally they look green but on some stamps the pistils look blue which indicates a lack of yellow print.
Detailed scan of the affected area with the blue pistils:
Wet ink off-sets are known to exist on all of the stamps. They happen when sheets with still wet ink are stacked on top each other allowing some ink to attach to the gum side of the stamp. Below is a mint block of six (the right two stamps were folded over to expose the wet-ink off-set) that shows a red wet ink-off-set.
Here is another block of six 10 xu stamps that shows a blue color wet ink off-set:
Here is a pair of mint 10 xu stamps that shows a wet-ink off-set of the turquoise color:
There are also perforation errors. Here is a mint block of four from the bottom right of the street that shows a double horizontal strike of the perforation comb:
Here is a double perforation strike on top of the sheet as seen here on a block of four:
Rare multiple franking of the 6xu value on a local letter sent from Cang Cong (small post office) to Ho Chi Minh City in April of 1980.
Another, rare multiple franking of the 6xu value on a local letter (full contents preserved) sent to Ho Chi Minh City in September of 1979 paying the domestic letter rate in force at the time.
Multiple franking of the 10xu value (2) paying an overall postage of 20xu on a domestic letter sent from HCM City to Hue in June of 1989.
Multiple franking of the 10xu Flower stamp on a local letter (full contents preserved) sent to Ho Chi Minh City in September of 1982 paying the 30xu domestic letter rate in force at the time.
Mixed franking of the 10xu Flower stamp together with the 20xu Communist Party stamp paying an overall postage off 30xu on a domestic letter sent from Dong Nah to HCM City in September of 1981.
Rare mixed ranking of the Union Congress sets together with stamps of the Reforestation, Sunflower and Soccer Spain sets paying an overall postage of 15.10D on a registered international air mail letter sent from HCM City to Klewitz in Germany in April of 1983. The letter carries color variations of the 50 xu Union Congress stamps, a plate error with a missing 50 xu nominal and a Sunflower stamp with a significant passer-shift of the blue-grey color downwards. Error stamps on postally used letters are very rare. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare single franking of the 12xu value on a local letter sent to Bac Thai in March of 1979.
Multiple franking of the 12xu Cosmea stamps (3) paying an overall postage of 36xu on a domestic letter sent from Thanh Dinh to HCM City in October of 1979.
Rare multiple franking of the 12 xu value on a registered letter sent from Hau Gia To HCM City in October of 1978. HCM City arrival cancel on the reverse.
Rare multiple franking of the 12xu value paying an overall postage of 1.20D on a large local air-mail letter sent to Tiep Khac in June of 1979.
Rare local letter featuring one of the 6xu Total Liberation stamps plus one of the 12xu Flower stamps from 1978 paying the local tariff of 18xu that was in force at that time. The letter was sent from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in June of 1978. Note that the “7” is missing in the Hanoi cancel. Two HCM City machine arrival cancel on the reverse.
Mixed franking of one 10xu Flower stamp together with a red free frank of 1.60D paying an overall postage of 1.70D on an air-mail letter (full content preserved) sent to the United States in November of 1980.
Rare local registered letter paying the 12xu letter and 20xu registration fee with two 10xu Flower and one 12xu Five Year Plan stamp on a mailing from Chi Hoa (small post office) to Chuan Hai in April of 1981.
Air mail letter sent in August of 1981 from Thang That to East Berlin, East Germany. The letter is franked with two of the 10xu Flower stamps plus four 60xu Vietnamese Worker Party set for an overall postage of 2.60D.
Rare express mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz in January of 1980. It carries three of the 5 xu and five of the 6 xu value. Together with the red free frank of 2.40 Dong the overall postage amounted to 4.79 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Fulda green custom cachet on front.
Mixed franking of three 10xu Flower stamps together with other NVN stamps paying an overall postage of 2.90D on an air-mail letter sent to West Germany.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in December of 1978. It features two of the 12 xu flower stamps plus a range of other NVN stamps from the period. The overall postage amounted to 5.74 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Fulda green custom cachet on front.
Air mail letter sent in April of 1978 from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, France. It carries two of the 10 xu flower stamps. The overall postage amounted to 3.44 Dong.
Rare express mail letter sent from Hai Phong to Klewitz in August of 1978. it caries a number of different color variations (including the blue stem and blue pistil variations). The overall postage amounted to 4.82 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Another rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in November of 1978. It carries different color variations of the 5 xu and 10 xu stamp plus a block of four each of the 6 xu and 12 xu stamps of the other flower series with identical plate errors (red lines running across the bottom two stamps). The overall postage amounted to 4.27 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in November of 1978. It carries three of the 6 xu stamps without the name of the designer at the bottom plus many other flower stamps. The overall postage amounted to 4.02 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet 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. 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.
Rare express mail letter sent from Hai Phong to Klewitz in June of 1979. It carries both inscription color versions of the 12 xu flower stamp in pairs plus a pair of the olive-green 6 xu stamps with the missing designer name at the bottom. The overall postage amounted to 4.92 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.
Another rare express mail letter sent from Hai Phong to Klewitz in February of 1980. It carries the 12 xu flower stamp in both inscription versions (blue and black) and other flower stamps. The overall postage amounted to 4.80 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on the reverse.
Letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong in April of 1979. It carries two pairs of the 10 xu stamp of which the top pair is im-perfroated in-between the stamps and the bottom pair shows color variations. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 1.40 Dong.
Rare express mail letter sent to Klewitz in July of 1980. It carries a number of the flower stamps including a pair of the green-olive 6 xu value without the designer name and another pair with the blue pistils. The overall postage amounted to 4.80 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz in October of 1980. It carries a variety of NVN stamps including a strip of four 10 xu flower stamps that show significant color variations. It also accrues a 50 xu National Liberation stamp issued in 1971. NFL stamps were not valid in North Vietnam as the currency used by the Viet Cong in the South was not compatible with the currency used in the North. The stamp was nevertheless accepted by the postal clerk. Without the NLF stamp the postage amounted to 2.50 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rarer registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in January of 1981. It carries two pairs of the 10 xu flower stamps in different color variations. It also has a 60 xu Ho Chi Minh value with a plate flaw (black dot in hair of HCM). The overall postage (including the red free frank) amounted to 13.90 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse.
Registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in August of 1981. It carries the 10 xu flower stamp in many different color variations. The overall postage amounted to 8.28 Dong. The zero money red free frank was required to print the registration label as it came out of the same machine. Unusual red cancel. Fulda green custom cachet on front.
Rare registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in October of 1981. It carries a number of the flower stamps including two fo the 10 xu stamps that show an up-side down double print of the yellow color. Errors stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There are also two of the black inscription variety of the 12 xu stamp. The overall postage amounted to 7.90 Dong. Fulda green custom cachet on front.
Another very rare registered letter sent to Klewitz in April of 1982. It carries a block of four that shows the missing dark green color on the top let stamp. This is a re-occuring plate error. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 8.24 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter sent to Klewitz in February of 1982. It carries a number of the 10 xu flower stamps in different color variations. The overall postage amounted to 11 Dong. Unusual red cancel. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in August of 1978. It carries a block of four of the 12 xu stamps plus a range of other contemporary NVN stamps for an overall postage of 4.40 Dong. Interesting Basel-Frankfurt rail transit cancel and Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter sent to Klewitz in June of 1982 sent from Nguyen Trai. It carries the National Union Congress set plus the 5 xu and 10 xu Flower stamps for an overall postage of 11.04 (including the 8 Dong from the red free frank on the back). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered air mail letter sent to Klewitz in April of 1983. It features a number of the color variations and passer-shifts detailed above. The overall postage amounted to 2.68 Dong (including the 1.38 Dong free frank). Note that the two 10 xu flower stamps also show a printing flaw that looks like diagonal lines across the stamp image and pale inscriptions. Fulda arrival cancel and green Fulda custom cachet on the reverse.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1978.It carries the set plus a number of Flower stamps for an overall postage of 4.82 Dong. The zero money free-frank was required to produce the R-label as it was produced by the same franking machine. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Another very rare registered local letter sent in October of 1980 from Di An To Ho Chi Minh City. It carries an im-perforated 12 xu stamp of the Cuba set and two of the 10 xu Flower stamps. Im-perfroated stamps on postally used cover (especially used locally) are very rare. HCM City arrival cancel on the reverse.
Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in May of 1980. It carries the Stamp Exhibition set plus the 12 xu Einstein stamp without the black printing run. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There is also a 12 xu Flower stamp. The overall postage amounted to 4.94 Dong. Hannover-Frankfurt train transit and Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cancel on front.
Registered letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in October of 1982. It carries a strip of three of the 50 xu Year of Child stamps that shows a printing error of the red color. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There are also two of the 10 xu Flower stamps. The overall postage amounted to 21.21 Dong (inlcduign the red free frank of 9 Dong). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Very rare registered letter sent from Quang 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in November of 1981. It carries a block of four of the Year of the Child stamps plus a mis-perforated 6 xu People Sports stamp plus other NVN stamps. There is also block of 12 of the 10 xu Flower stamps that shows a double perforation strike. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage of the letter amounted to 11.30 Dong (including the red dress frank for 5.70 Dong). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in September of 1980. It carries a variety of NVN stamps including a number of the Flower stamps. Green Fulda custom cachet on front. Hand -made Express Label.
Very rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in April of 1980. The letter carries the other half of the im-perforated Birds set plus a number of the Gold Fish and two of the 5 xu Flower stamps for a total postage of 4.82 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Unusual hand made express mail label.
Registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) in September 1981 to Klewitz. The letter carries most of the perforated Fish set plus some of the Flower stamps for a total postage of 11.30 Dong (including the red free frank of 7 Dong). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Another rare registered express mail letter sent from Dien-Bien Phu to Klewitz in October of 1980. The letter carries the other values of the perforated Fish set plus two of the 5 xu Flower stamps for a total postage of 4.80 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered air mail latter sent in December of 1981 to Klewitz. It shows six pairs of the lotus flower stamp in the rare post master perforations: 9.5, 11, 14, 15, 5-6 and 9.5. It also carries two shads of the single rose stamp. Two 10 xu Flower stamps on front. The overall postage amounted to 8.80 Dong (including the 3 Dong free frank on front). Unusual red cancel. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter featuring a large number of stamps from the Flower sets of 1980 sent in August of 1981 to Klewitz. Two 5xu Flower stamps on the back. The overall postage amounted to 8.20 Dong (including the free frank of 5.6 Dong on the reverse). Unusual red cancellation. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registert express mail letter sent from Dalat to Klewitz in May of 1981. It carries a wide variety of the 1977, 1978 and 1980 Flower stamps for an overall postage of 13.54 Dong (including the black free frank for 8.4 Dong). Strip of four of the Lotus stamp in post master perforation 9.5 on white paper. There are also a number of the 1977 and 1978 Flower stamps. Post master perforations on postally used cover are very rare. Frankfurt transit and Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Unusual black free frank. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered express mail letter sent from Quang 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in September of 1981. It carries the Lotus stamp in a number of perforations and paper (pair Perf 9.5 on yellowish paper, strip of three Perf. 11 on yellowish paper, pair Perf 9.5 on white paper, im-perfroated stamp on white paper). Post master perforations and im-perfroated stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There are also a range of the Flower stamps from 1977/78. The overall postage (including the 9.70 red free frank) amounted to 14.22 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered express mail letter sent from Hoa Ninh to Klewitz in August of 1981. It features a mass franking of the 1 Dong Year of the Child stamp plus two 10 xu Flower stamps for an overall postage of 14.20 Dong.
Very rare registered letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in January of 1982. The letter carries different printing and plate errors of Reforestation Michel Nr. 1188 plus a 10 xu Flower stamp with the missing red color. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 8.20 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz in July of 1980. The letter carries the entire Lenin set. The 1 Dong stamps show the color variance of an grey-ocre star instead of an orange star. There are also three 10 xu Flower stamps in different color variations. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 3 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Another very rare registered letter sent from Hanoi to Klewitz in June of 1981. The letter carries the other half of the im-perforated set, some of the Flower stamps plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 5.30 Dong. Im-perforated stamps on postally used cover are very rare.
Registered letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in April of 1982. Th letter carries a pair of the green Communist Party stamp with the top stamp showing the plate error “Vietnam in dark brown”. The reverse carries a large block of twenty-four Flower stamps with a red color error. Error stamps are very rare on postally used cover. The overall postage amounted to 11 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registration Nr. 102640
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