364 / März 2017

July 1919 Registered letter, franked on the front at the correct 50 kop rate, from the state chemical works in Ivanovo-Voznesensk to Moscow, receiver cancel on reverse

September 1919 Registered private letter sent from STARAYA RUSSA VOKSAL 15 9 19 ADDRESSED TO “Peterburg” with PETROGRAD 6 9 19 receiver on reverse, franked on the front at 75 kopecks, correct for a double weight letter (25 + 25 Postage + 25 Registration), scarce and attractive item  

Tariff of 5 November 1919 January 1920 Registered cover, opened out and reduced, private correspondence from Nizhni-Novgorod to Kazan, correctly franked at 4 roubles, the 1 rouble stamps with vertical lozenges. Of note is the early and rather improvised Three Triangle censor of Kazan on the address side

January 1920 Registered cover from the Moscow electricity company sent locally and correctly franked on the reverse at four roubles, the 1 rouble stamps with horizontal lozenges. In the Tariff of 5 November, the concession rate for local letters was abolished. A very scare item  

Tariff of 10 and 20 March 1920 This Tariff was combined with the introduction of x 100 revaluations for kopek stamps up to 20 kop and with the invalidation of Romanov and War Charity stamps.The Tariff was introduced first in the main cities March 1920 Registered letter, private correspondence using improvised envelope, sent from MOSKVA 19, 20 3 20 to Lgov franked at the correct 10 rouble rate introduced in Moscow on 10 March. A nice early example of the new tariff

August 1920 Registered letter, private correspondence using improvised envelope , UGLICH 13 8 20 sent to Petrograd, notable for the late printing colour of the 50 kop stamps which are correctly used at face value to make the 10 rouble franking

September 1920 Registered letter, private correspondence, sent from RAZEZD [railway siding] NOMZHA SVER ZH.D. 21 9 20 with Kholm Pskov receiver cancel on reverse and Mss notes confirming date of arrival. To make the correct 10rouble franking, the 7 kop stationery envelope has been revalued x 100 contrary to regulations which had invalidated all stationeries from 1st January 1919. This may have been done in response to stamp shortages or possibly as a philatelic favour

February 1921 Registered letter, private correspondence, from Irkutsk to Petrograd correctly franked on the reverse at 10 roubles provided by a pair revalued 5 kop stamps. That Irkutsk was back under Soviet control at this date is shown by the destination and the use of a very scarce Field Post three triangle censor mark POLEV POCHT KONTORA LIT “C” on the front  

April 1921 Registered small cover with manuscript registration details sent from Tarusa in Kaluga guberniya 20 4 21 addressed to Kaluga with KALUGA 25 4 21 receiver on reverse. Correctly franked at 10 roubles with 2 x 5 kop Savings Bank stamps revalued x 100  

May 1921 Registered letter, private correspondence, sent from Sevastopol to a small locality in Samara which uses a DOPLATIT cachet with Mss date as a receiver cancel on the reverse. The Crimea was under Soviet control after Wrangel’s evacuation at the end of 1920, as indicated here by the presence of a violet Three Triangle Sevastopol censor on the reverse and the franking at 10 roubles in accord with the RSFSR Tariff. A scarce item

The “Free Post” was discontinued in the Tariff of 15 August 1921 Foreign Mail from its resumption in June 1920 until end 1921 The RSFSR re-introduced foreign mail services in June 1920. There were a limited number of routes out initially available. Alexander Epstein identifies the earliest routes  as going out of Archangel / Murmansk to the Arctic Norwegian port of Vardø, out of Odessa by Italian ship; and via Tallinn. Throughout this period, postcards are usually franked at the letter rate. Tariff of 7 June 1920 This provided for Free Post on unregistered cards and letters June 1920 Ordinary letter, private correspondence from Undol Vladimir to Lithuania with post-Independence ANYKSCIAI 13 IX 20 receiver on reverse, Moscow Three Triangle censor on the front. Correctly unfranked and sent as a Free Post item. Rare  

July 1920 Ordinary postcard, private correspondence, from Soviet-control Odessa to Toledo with Moscow Three Triangle censor and New York Postage Due marks. However, the card was sent correctly unfranked as a Free Post item. The sender is chasing debts owed since “1916 or 1917”. Rare

June 1920 Registered cover, private correspondence, sent from Moscow to Wainode in Latvia with post-Independence Latvian receiver cancel. Correctly franked to 10 roubles with revalued 5kop stamps. Scarce, early example of resumed foreign mail

September 1920 Registered cover, private correspondence, sent from Soveit-control Uman to Riga with Petrograd transits and post-independence RIGA receiver. Correctly franked at 10 roubles with 2 x 10 Sh General issue Ukraine correctly converted to 5 kopeks each and then revalued x 100. One stamp damaged .Good example of Soviet use of Ukrainian adhesives, even on foreign mail

Tariff of 30 September 1920 This retained the previous rates but abolished the Free Post concessions December 1920 Registered cover, private correspondence using improvised envelope, from Moscow to Munich with Moscow Three Triangle censor on front and Munich February 1921 receiver on reverse. Correctly franked at 10 roubles with a revalued 10 kop stamp

December 1920 Registered cover, Pskov to New York, with a new canceller for Pskov introduced after the Soviets regained control from the White armies and Mss. Registration hidden under the Petrograd censor mark on the front. Correclty franked at 10 rouobles, the 3 kop stamp revalued x 100  and the 7r stamp with horizontal lozenges

March 1921 Registered cover, private correspondence, from Petrograd to Zurich with Petrograd Three Triangel censor and Moscow transit on reverse together with ZURICH 23 IV 21 receiver. Correctly franked at 10 roubles, the 5 kop stamps revalued x 100

May 1921 Registered  cover, private correspondence, from Sobakino, Kazan to Lepaja, Latvia with faint censor and post-independence LEEPAJA LATWIJA receiver. Correctly franked at 10 roubles with 1 rouble stamps with vertical lozenges  

June 1921 Registered cover, private correspondence, from Saratov to Halle with Saratov Three Triangle censor in violet on front and HALLE 16 7 21 receiver on reverse. Correctly ranked at 10 roubles

July 1921 Registered cover, Esperanto correspondence, sent from Omsk to Godesberg in Germany with Moscow Three Traingle censor on reverse with Berlin transits and GODESBERG 24 8 21 arrival. Correctly franked at 10 roubles with pair imperforate stamps

August 1921 Registered cover from Petrograd to Prague with PRAHA 22 VIII 21 arrival on reverse. Note the World War One registration label with accented Pétrograd

Tariff of 15 and 25 August 1921 This was introduced to coincide with the release of high value Arts and Industry stamps and the uprating of Tariffs x 10 September 1921 Registered cover, private correspondence addressed to Forward, sent from Orsha Mogilev with Mss. registration to New York. Weak Three Triangle censor on front, Smolensk roller cancel, and New York arrivals. Postage has been paid in cash with Mss 15 gr 2000 rub and initials on reverse, the correct amount but indicating that supplies of the new Arts and Industry stamps were not available in Orsha. No postage due raised

September 1921 Registered cover, private correspondence addressed to Forwards, sent from Borisov to New York with Moscow Three Triangle censor and New York receiver. Franked with block of 8 Minsk provisionals with seal overprint in black re-valuing each stamp to 250r and thus giving a franking total of 2000 roubles which is correct. Signed Mikulski

September 1921 Registered cover, private correspondence addressed to Jewish Daily Forward, sent from Borisov to New York with Moscow Three Triangle censor and New York receiver. Franked with block of 8 Minsk provisionals  with seal overprint in violet re-valuing each stamp to 250 r and thus giving a total franking of 2000 roubles which is correct

Soviet Ukraine including “Trophy” Use of Ukrainian stamps In general, RSFSR tariffs applied in Soviet-controlled areas of Ukraine March 1918 two cards, one from Magdalinovka Katerynoslav guberniya to Petrograd and one from Moscow to Katerynoslav, both franked at the RSFSR rate of 20 kopeks and sent shortly before this part of Ukraine transferred from Red control to German occupation under the terms of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk

1919 – 1921 Written up collection of postcards from Soviet-controlled area of which eight are stampless items sent under Free Post regulations, with interesting picture sides, cancellation or messages and with destinations including Soviet Latvia. In addition, one April 1920 Registered postcard from Kiev correctly franked at 10 roubles according to the March 1920 Tariff and franked with a re-valued 10 kop stamp  

1920 – 1921 Written up collection of 11 formular fragments, some of them large,  franked with over 80 adhesives including General Issue; Tridents of Kyiv, Odesa and Podilia; and Kharkiv “pyb” revaluations. All are Soviet uses, including Field Post. An interesting lot  

August 1920 Odesa Tridents types 1 (x 1) and 3 ( x 6) on modified Telegraphic Money Transfer Form from Berislav Kherson to Boriskovo Tver with receiver cancel and addressee’s signature on reverse. Mss. headlline to card  indicates that the transfer was made “under Soviet power”. Signed UPNS Zelonka. A very nice item

September 1920 Spectacular Money Transfer Form used to send 3000 roubles from Red Army Field Post Nr. 69 to Shlamkkha in Samara. Exactly franked at 1% of the sum transferred with 5 x 2kop imperforates with Kyiv 3 Trident overprints on the front of card and a block of 50 x 1 kop imperforates with Kyiv 2 Trident overprints, all revalued x 100 according to the March 1920 RSFSR regulations.Reception indicated on a slip of paper pasted on to the back

October 1920 Official business Money Transfer Form improvised as a Parcel card used to send a 42 Funt packet from Snovsk Chernigov to Petrograd. Charged at 294 roubles with 264 roubles intact (a block of 20 x 10 rouble stamps on reverse + 2 x 7 rouble on the front)

January 1921 Ukrainian National Republic parcel card endorsed “Red Army” with authorisation number in pencil at the top, sent from MONASTIRISHE KIEV 21 2 21 to the village of Archangelskoe with BORSHEVO VORON[ezh] 11 3 21 receiver on reverse. Charged at 97 roubles 50 for 39 Funt (exactly 2.5 roubles per funt, the Red Army rate) and exactly franked by re-valued Imperial Arms stamps including a 3 kop imperforate with Kyiv type 2 Trident overprint which has been sexisected to create a 2 rouble 50 kop stamp. Sexisected stamps from any country at any time must surely be rare!  

Postmaster Provisionals 1920 – 1921 KUSTANAI Very extensive collection of Kustanai types 3, 4 and 5 including many on fragments, carefully studied, with a total of 86 stamps plus identified forgeries and a group of four values unlisted in Michel but which are not obvious forgeries and may be genuine

MINSK 1921 250 rouble re-valuations, small collection comprising multiples of the 2, 3 and 5 kop stamps with both black and violet overprints on the 2 kop, the 5 kop block 4 is postally used. In addition, a single 5 kop used on a fragment of a Money Transfer Form in October 1921.Total 17 stamps  

NIZHNE-CHULMINSKOE TOMSK Parcel Card sent from Nizhne-Chulminskoe Tomsk 23 9 20 addressed to Bogorodsk in Moscow guberniya, with receiver cancel and recipient’s signature. Charged at 78 roubles, the franking provided by 18 roubles in revalued kopeck Imperial Arms stamps on the reverse and three 20 / 14 Romanov stamps on the front revalued x 100. The Romanov stamps were invalidated in March 1920 and those on the card would almost certainly required at least a local Postmaster’s authorisation for use; an individual clerk would not have taken the risk. Other uses of this stamp have been recorded and included with this card is a pair of stamps cancelled in December 1920

SPASSK Important and carefully-studied collection of Spassk overprinted stamps with examples of uses by other offices in the Spassk district. Eight large fragments ( of which three ex Lipschutz Craveri sale) plus a complete Money Transfer Form with a total of 38 stamps. An impressive Lot

TOMSK Money Transfer form used to send 1000 roubles from TOMSK 8 10 20 to another office within the guberniya with receiver cancel and recipient’s signature. Charged at the correct 2% rate, the franking provided by the well-known Tomsk provisional k 20 k stamp revalued x 100. The overprint is supposed to be a postal forgery previously confiscated by the authorities and pressed into use as a regular stamp. Its use in Tomsk is well-documented