| 1918 Vasa Issue |  Top |
| Item # |
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US$ | ||
400596 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Scott #111-7, #101 [1918 "Vasa" set without the #118 5 mark; 1917 1 mk red and black M-17 Saarinen Lion] (VF) on DOUBLE CENSORED (Finnish violet censor handstamp and British censor tapes), registered 12 July 1918 cover to England. Sent from the Belgian Consulate in Helsinki. Dramatic frankings and double censors are unusual in this period. Two mounting tape stains on reverse that should be addressed, but do not reduce the value at this time. The stamps are all of VF selected quality/centering. Mailed from Helsinki in "RED" FINLAND, the postage is actually paid by the 1 mk M-17 stamp (50p letter rate, 50p foreign registration free). From 25 June 1918, the Vasa-design stamps were no longer valid for use on foreign mail. This appears to be a post-war souvenir (not necessarily of strictly philatelic intent). Any cover bearing the 50 or 70 penni is very scarce. (The on-cover, proper-period, genuine-use Facit 2024 values include SEK 700 for the 50 penni and SEK 1000 for the 70 penni!!) Google AI tells us about the addressee: "W. T. Wilson was a British stamp dealer from Birmingham, England, known for his specialty in "stamps on original covers". He was a prominent figure in philately, operating a business that arranged for new stamps to be sent to him from all over the world on covers, which are now highly desirable among collectors. His son, Frank Wilson, was his partner in the business after 1902." An extremely attractive and wonderfully interesting cover! ACTUAL item. |
SOLD |