Fruits

National Liberation Front, Fruits, March 1976, Michel Nr. NLF 61-63; Three stamps with nominals of 20D, 30D and 60D (in South Vietnamese currency) were issued in perforation 11.0. The stamps were produced by the Tien Bo Printing House in sheets of 100 stamps each.

Here is the mint set in blocks of four.

Small errors do occur. Below is a mint block of four of the 20D value on which the bottom right stamp shows a small printing flaw of an object on the “20” nominal that must have fallen onto the printing plate.

Detailed scan of the affected area

Here is a vertical pair of the 30D stamp. The bottom stamp shows the plate error “AR” in “GARCINIA” partially missing.

Detailed scan of the affected area.

Mint 60D Fruit stamp that shows the plate error “line under RA of MANGIFERA“.

Detailed scan of the affected area.

Here is a pair of the 60D stamp on which the top stamp shows an error in the shape “of a cut in the bottom of the mango”. It is not clear if this is simply a printing flaw (by depositing a small piece of debris onto the printing plate during the multi-color process) or a plate error that would indicate a damaged cliche’.

Detailed scan of the affected area.

Here is the cancelled to order set.

Below is a plate error on the 30 Dong in the shape of a irregular white area to the left of the name of the fruit. The error is found on the top stamp.

Detailed scan of the affected area:

These stamps are very hard to find on postally used covers. Here is a mixed franking of the 20D value along with the 6xu National Assembly stamp paying an overall postage of 10 xu on a letter sent from Da Nag to Qui Nhon in 1976. The 20D value was devalued by 500:1 in April of 1976 and hence only worth 4 xu. The standard domestic letter rate in 1976 was already 12 xu but this letter did not receive any postage due remarks.

Another mixed franking of the 20D value along with the 30D value of Anniversary of the Occupation of South Vietnam stamp paying an overall postage of 50D. The stamps denominated in South Vietnamese Dong were devalued by 500:1 in April of 1976 and hence only worth 10 xu at the time of mailing. While the standard domestic letter rate in the country was already 12 xu at that time the letter did not receive any postage due remarks.