Unified Vietnam, International Year of the Child, June 1st, 1979, Michel Nr. 1040-1043; Four stamps in the nominals of 12 xu, 2 xu, 50 xu and 1 Dong were issued in perforation 11.0. This issue was particularly susceptible to production errors as is demonstrated below:
The 20 xu value was initially planned to be issued with a different blue background color. Here are the gummed proof sheetlets that show the various color phases in the printing process.
Passer-shift on the 20 xu value (here a block of eight) that shows the black color shifted towards the left:
Mint block of four with a passer-shift of the black color towards the bottom:
Here are the gummed proof sheetlets that show the various color phases in the printing process of the 50 xu value in issued colors.
Mint pair of the 50xu stamp which both show a printing error of very faint printing run of the turquoise color.
Mint block of ten 50 xu stamps that show a significant passer-shift of the black and red color towards the bottom:
Mint block of four that shows a significant passer-shift of the red and black color towards the top. Also the bottom right stamp shows the re-occuring plate error of “check-mark above M” (Field 62 in the sheet):
Detailed scan of the plate error:
Here is a mint block of four of the 1 Dong value that shows a passer-shift of the blue-green color towards the top:
Here is a block of four of the 20 xu stamp that shows a hole in fron of the pants of the left woman. Klewitz surmised that it was caused by a nailed printing cliche.
Detailed scan of the affected area:
A much rarer error is seen on this mint pair of the 50 xu stamps. Here the entire red printing run is missing. The stamps also show a double print of the black color:
Mint block of four of the 50 xu value that shows a double-print of the black color caused by a rubber mat that was not tightened enough creating vibrations during the printing process. The bottom right stamp also shows the re-occuring plate error of “separated hair” (Field 100 in the sheet).
Detailed scan of the plate error:
Here is a mint block of four of the 50 xu value that shows a re-occuring plate error of a red line in the top left of the stamp (Field 99 in the sheet):
Detailed scan of the plate error:
Mint block of four of the 50 xu value showing two plate errors. The top right stamp shows a partial double print of the black color (Field 4 in the sheet) and the bottom right stamp shows a “white sun” in the middle left part of the stamp (Field 14 in the sheet):
Detailed scan of the plate errors:
Here is another re-occuring plate error that can be found on Field 87 of the sheet. It shows a small white dot in the hat of the boy:
There is also a re-occuring plate error of the 1 Dong stamp. The bottom right stamp of this block of four shows the error “white chain around neck”:
Detailed scan of the plate error:
Rare postally used 1D stamp that shows an additional black and red printing run on the reverse of the stamp. Note this is not just a wet ink off-set that would show a reverse image.
Front of the stamp:
Mint block of four of the 1 Dong value that shows a double print of the black color:
Of course, there were also a number of perforation errors. Below are two blocks of four of the 20 xu and 50 xu value that shows vertically and horizontally missing perforation holes. This was caused by broken “teeth”in the comb:
Here is a block of four of the 50 xu value that shows a vertical double perforation strike in-between stamps:
Here is a very similar perforation error. This time on a block of four of the 1 Dong value:
Mint block of four of the 1 Dong value that shows a double perforation strike on the left margin:
There are also two color varieties of the 20 xu value. The left block of four below features the standard color while the block of four on the right shows a “salmon” background color:
Printing flaw on a mint block of four of the 20 xu value. IT shows white spots within the pink background color on the top right stamp:
Here is a detailed scan of the affected area:
This is a mint block of eight 50 xu stamps that shows a printing error during the red printing run. The paper here got stuck on the roller.This usually happens when the pair sheet is not fed properly into the machine. The effect was that most of the red print (except the bottom right stamp) is very weak:
Printing error on a mint block of six of the 1 Dong value that shows the black printing run missing entirely. Only the dark grey color got printed resulting in the girls on the left and right having “red hair”. Rare.
Here is a mint block of four of the 1 Dong value that shows a printing error of the red color on the bottom two stamps:
Detailed scan of the affected area:
Printing flaw on the top left stamp of this mint block of four of the 1 Dong value. A white circle is visible on the lap of the girl, in the middle:
Detailed scan of the affected area:
Mixed franking of two of the 20 xu Year of the Child values together with the 1D Total Liberation stamp paying an overall postage of 1.40D on an international letter from Hanoi to Czechoslovakia from April of 1980-
Mixed franking of two of the 20 xu Year of the Cild values plus the 60 xu HCM stamp paying an overall postage of 1D on an air mail letter to Czechoslovakia in May of 1980.
Rare registered air mail letter featuring a mixed franking of three 1D Year of the Child stamps plus stamps from the Sun Flowers and Communist Party sets for an overall postage of 3.30D. Saudi-Arabia is a very rare destination at this time period (August 1980).
Mixed ranking of the 20 xu Postal Service stamps (3) together with stamps from the Year of the Child set paying an overall postage of 6.60D on a registered international air mail letters ent from Hoa Binh to Klewitz in Germany.
Rare local letter featuring a single franking of the 20 xu stamp paying the standard domestic letter rate at that time (August 1981). Fragment of HCM City machine arrival cancel on the reverse.
International letter sent from Lang Xuyen to France in May of 1981 featuring two of the 1D Year of the Child and three 10 xu Sun Flower stamps paying an overall postage of 2.30D
Here is a very similar franking of 2.30D but this time made up of two 1D Year of the Child stamps plus one 30 xu Day the Environment stamp. The letter was sent in November of 1982 from Thanh Hoa Province to Czechoslovakia.
Mixed ranking of six 10 xu HCM stamps (all showing a passer-shift that makes it look like HCM’s pants have slipped) together with stamps from the Philaserdica and Year of the Child sets paying an overall postage of 8.40D (including the red free frank for 5.50D) on a registered international air mail letter sent from HCM City to Klewitz in Germany in December of 1983. Green Fulda custom cachet on the reverse. A note inside the letter indicates that Klewitz was charging DM 100 (about €50 equivalent) for this letter due to the presence of the 10 xu error stamps.
International air mail letter sent from Bao Loc to San Antonio Texas in June of 1981. The letter carries the 20xu Year of the Child stamp plus six of the 50 xu Wild Animal stamps paying an overall postage of 3.20D.
International letter sent in September of 1981 to Ohio in the United States (full contents preserved). There is a block of eight of the 50xu stamps on the reverse but there may have been additional stamps in front that have apparently fallen off.
Another rare registered local letter from October 1981 sent from Ngo Quyen (small post office) featuring the 20 xu and 1 D Year of the Child stamps plus one 10xu Sun Flower stamp for an overall postage of 1.30D.
Registered letter from Nguyen Trai from July, 1982 featuring the two different color types of the 20 xu value in pairs. The letter also carries two military free franks. These were only intended fo domestic mail but, due to their lacking nominal value, was not allowed for international mail. Nevertheless the postal clerk cancelled the values without any notes. The overall postage of the letter (without the free franks) amounted to 7.90 Dong. Frgment of green Fulda custom cachet on front.
International letter sent in July of 1982 from Nghe Tinh to Czechoslovakia featuring a multiple franking of the 1D Year of the Cild value paying an overall postage of 3 D.
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 military free franks. These stamps were only intended for domestic mail and due to the fact that they carried no nominals were not permitted for international mail. Nevertheless they were obviously accepted by the postal clerk. The overall postage amounted to 21.21 Dong (inlcduign the red free frank of 9 Dong). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
International air mail letter sent in October of 1983 from Phan Thanh to an old age home in in West Germany featuring two of the 20 xu Year of the Cild and two 1D Animal stamps for an overall postage of 2.40D.
Registered letter sent in January of 1984 from Nguyen Trai to Huntington Beach CA. The letter was franked with a number of Year of the Cild error stamps (including various passer shifts and missing red color). Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare.
Registered letter mailed from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in January of 1984. It carries two 50 xu error stamps of the International Year of the Cild stamps. The first shows a signifiant passer-shift of the black and red color towards the bottom. The second stamp shows a double print of the black color. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 22.29 Dong (including the red free frank for 8.47 Dong). Green Fulda custom cachet on the reverse.
Mixed franking of the 1D Year of the Cild value (7) with two 50xu Karl Marx stamps paying an overall postage of 8D on an international air mail letter sent to Czechoslovakia.
Mixed franking of two of the 1D Year of the Cild values plus two 5D Union World Congress stamps paying an overall postage of 12D on an international letter from Hai Phong to Czechoslovakia.
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. 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 also carries a number of the Year of the Child stamps plus a 30 xu National Liberation Front (Vietcong) stamp. Due to the fact that NFL (Vietcong) stamps were based on the South Vietnamese Dong NFL stamps were not allowed as postage in North Vietnam. This is the reason why the postal clerk did not cancel the stamp. The overall postage of the letter (excluding the NFL stamp) amounted to 3.70 Dong.
Registered letter sent to Klewitz in July of 1984. The letter carries a number of the Year of the Cild stamps plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 9.64 Dong (including the red 2.40 Dong free frank). Unusual red HCM City cancel. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter sent from Quang 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in September of 1984. It carries a mass franking of the 1 Dong Year of the Child stamp plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 51.60 Dong. Unusual red Quang cancel.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in October of 1980. It carries a multiple franking of the 1 Dong value of the Year of the Child set. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. 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 October of 1980. It carries two of the 1 Dong Day of the Cild stamps plus other NVN stamps for an overall postage of 4.42 Dong. Red “Franked by Sender” hand stamp and green Fulda custom cachet on front. The zero red free frank was required to produce the R-label as they came out of the same machine.
Rare registered letter sent from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in June of 1982. The letter carries three of the 1 Dong Day of the Child stamps. They show a double perforation comb strike in-between stamps and on the selvage. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered letter sent from HCM City to Klewitz in January of 1981. It carries a block of eight of the 1 Dong Day of the Child stamp. The bottom right stamp is an error stamp which misses most of the red color. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The total postage amounted to 8 Dong.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in September of 1980. It carries a variety of NVN stamps including one of the 1 Dong Day of the Child stamp. Green Fulda custom cachet on front. Hand -made Express Label.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in December of 1980. The letter carries two of the 1 Dong Day of the Child stamps plus two 6 xu Flower stamps (one with and one without the designer name). It also shows a 2 Dong Lenin National Liberation Front (Vietcong) issued in 1970. NLF stamps were denominated in South Vietnamese Dong and hence they were not valid for postage in North Vietnam. Nevertheless it appears that the postal clerk did not object to the invalid stamp. The overall postage amounted to 5.01 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Large registered envelope mailed from Nguyen Trai to Klewitz in November of 1982. It carries a mass franking of the 50 xu stamp of the Day of the Child stamp. A large number of the stamps show a faulty printing of the red color. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There are also twelve of the 1 Dong Soccer World Championship on the back. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Very rare registered letter sent in March of 1982 from Ho Chi Minh City to West Germany. It carries the entire Socialist Republic set with “normal” perforation and a pair of the 12 xu Map stamp with the rouletted perforation. There is also one of the 20 xu Year of the Child stamps. The overall postage (including the red free frank for 8.00 Dong) amounted to 11.04 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered express mail letter sent in February of 1981 from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz. it carries a pair of the 12 xu Flag stamp that is mis-perforated at the bottom. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 14.24 Dong. The letter features fourteen of the 1 Dong Year of the Child stamps. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered express mail letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in March of 1981. The letter carries six stamps from the Fish plus the 1 Dong Year of the Child stamp. There also is a military free frank that was issued in 1973 (in the rare version with perforation 12.5). Military free franks were not valid for international postage due to the fact that they did not carry any nominal value. Nevertheless it appears that the postal clerk accepted the stamp with a face value of 12 xu (which corresponded to the standard domestic letter rate). The overall postage amounted to 4.80 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare very large registered express mail letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in October of 1981. The letter carries a mass franking of both stamps plus other NVN stamps. Plate errors on Michel Nr. 1123 (extended horizontal line in A, broken N and blue-grey passer cross). There is also a military free frank issued in 1970. Military free franks were not valid for international postage due their lacking nominal. Nevertheless the postal clerk did not object. 20 xu Year of the Child stamp on the reverse. The overall postage amounted to 12 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Rare registered express mail letter sent from Hung Vuong to Klewitz in May of 1981. It carries the train stamp with the two blocked out fields plus a range of stamps from the Total Liberation set for an overall postage of 13.90 Dong. 1 Dong Year of the Child stamp and Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse
Registered letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City in September of 1980 to Klewitz. It carries a pair of the 12 xu Rose stamp with a double horizontal perforation. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There are also three 1 Dong Year of the Child stamps. The overall postage amounted to 3.40 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in December of 1981. It carries two stamps from the Independence set with sheet numbers. Stamp with sheet numbers on postally used cover are rare. There is also a military free frank issued in 1970. Since it did not carry a nominal value it was not valid for international postage but it appears that the postal clerk was not aware of that. 1 Dong Year of the Child stamp on the reverse. The overall postage (including ther free frank that was worth 12 xu) amounted to 8.32 Dong.
Rare registered express mail letter sent to Klewitz in December of 1980. It carries the entire set plus the 3 xu value of the Nguyen Trai series from 1962. Two Year of the Child set on the reverse. The overall postage amounted to 5.12. Unusual hand-made express mail label. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in July of 1980. The letter carries both color variations of all stamps in the set one of the Year of the Child stamps for an overall postage of 7.92 Dong (including the red free frank of 4 Dong).
Registered Letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz in July of 1981. The letter carries the other half of the perforated Flower set plus the 12 xu Year of the Child stamp for an overall postage of 8.02 Dong (including the red free frank of 4.8 Dong). Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Another registered letter sent from Quan 1 (Ho Chi Minh City) to Klewitz in June of 1981. The letter carries the other half of the perforated Fish set plus some 1 Dong Year of the Child stamps for an overall postage of 8.07 Dong.
Rare registered express mail letter sent from Quan 5 (Ho Chi Minh City) on March 16th, 1981 to Klewitz. Interestingly the post office still struck the red First Day Cancel that was prepared for this issue. It features three of the 20 xu KPdSU stamps. The left stamp is normal. The middle stamp shows a significant passer-shift of the yellow and turquoise color to the bottom and the right stamp shows a passer-shift of the yellow and turquoise color to the left and bottom. Error stamps on postally used cover are very rare. There are also a block of four of the 1 Dong Year of the Child stamp for an overall postage of 14.30 Dong (including the red free frank of 6 Dong on the reverse). Fula arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered lettre sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in June of 1981. There is a single 50 xu KPdSU stamp plus the Year of the Child set for an overall postage of 7.95 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz in November of 1981. It features both color variations of the 50 xu KPdSU stamp plus three of the 1 Dong Year of the Child stamps for an overall postage of 8.20 Dong. The zero money red free frank was required to produce the R-label that came out of the same machine. Red “Franked by Sender” hand stamp. Unusual red cancels. 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.
Registered letter sent from Nguyen Tri to Klewitz in February of 1982. The letter carries four of the 30 xu stamps (Michel Nr. 1187) that all show different plate errors. Also the block of four 1 Dong stamps of the Year of the Child set shows a double vertical perforation strike. Error stamps on postal used cover are very rare. The overall postage amounted to 7.90 Dong. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Very rare registered express mail letter sent from Ho Chi Minh City to Klewitz in November of 1980. The letter carries a block of four of the 1 Dong Lenin stamp, two of which show a deficient orange printing run resulting in three stars showing a grey-ocre color instead. Error stamps on postal used cover are very rare. Two 20 xu Year of the Child stamps on front. The overall postage amounted to 4.40 Dong. Fulda arrival cancel on the reverse. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Very rare registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in March of 1981. The letter carries four 6 xu Lenin stamps. Two of them show the plate error “partially missing mustache” and the other two the plate error “damaged script in Lenin”. Also the strip of three of the 12 xu rose stamp shows a severe perforation error in which the perforation comb struck through the left stamps image. Two 1 Dong Year of the Child stamps on front. The overall postage amounted to 8.20 Dong. Unusual red cancel.
Registered letter sent from Quan 5 (Cholon) to Klewitz in March of 1981. The letter carries the 1978 Day of the Child stamp that shows a significant passer-shift of the violet color downwards. Error stamps are very rare on postally used cover. There is also one copy of the 1980 Day of the Child and several 1 Dong Year of the Child stamp for an overall postage of 7.90 Dong. Unusual red cancel. Green Fulda custom cachet on front.
Registered letter sent from Nguyen Trai in March of 1983 to Klewitz. The letter carries the different color shades of the 30 xu and 50 xu stamps. There are also two military free franks issued in 1981. Military free-franks were not valid for international postage due to their missing nominal value but nevertheless were accepted by the postal clerk. Year of the Child stamps on the reverse. The overall postage of the letter (including the free franks which were worth 12 xu each) amounted to 10.24 Dong (including the red free frank of 50 xu). Green Fulda custom cachet on the reverse.
Registration Nr. 102830
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