| Covers |  Top |
| Item # |
|
US$ | ||
249725 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Scott #94, 85 x2, 77, 75 x2 [1910 50, 1910 20 blue, 1910 5 green, 1909 2 øre Posthorns] (Fine, F-VF, VF) on very attractive 9 October 1918 INSURED (2200.00 kroner) MONEY LETTER cover ("bankobrev") from the tiny village of NEJESTRANDEN (fjord village near the west coast, located east of Molde) to a bank in MOLDE, with receiver. Clear "RUMSDALS POSTEXSP. / N" SHIP MAIL transit marking on reverse. This is a scarcer ship mail postmark; I do not recall previously in 51 years having an example on cover. Two very pretty and intact wax seals impressed with the name "E. Flovik". The 99 øre total franking seems very odd, but the FRANKING IS CORRECT: Letter to 100 grams (note the "60" weight marking in the upper left corner) = 20; Insurance for the first 750 kr = 34; Insurance for each of the five 250 kr increments to 2000 kr = 5 x 8 kr = 40; and Counting Fee = 5 for verifying that the envelope indeed contained 2000 kr. The complexity of these rates and unusual total frankings make collecting Money Letters very interesting. These rates are documented in most modern editions of Norgeskatalogen and in the companion Norgeskatalogen Postal (postal history and postmarks) catalogs. A very attractive FOUR-COLOR cover with an interesting total postal rate and with a scarce ship mail postmark. ACTUAL item. |
SOLD |
||
249522 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
192 (or 167) x3 (single and vertical pair) [1940 unwatermarked (or 1937 watermarked) 10 øre Lion] (VF) on a 30 July 1941 cover from BERGEN to a crew member on board a Norwegian Merchant Marine ship. The cover is addressed care of "Norwegina [sic] Consulate / New York". Opened roughly at left (away from the stamps). The envelope also has a tear below the pair of stamps where somebody started to tear the stamps off the envelope but then thought better of it. This does not affect the overall value and importance for such a significant piece of postal history.) Because it was addressed as consular mail, the Germans supposedly did not open and censor the letter, but instead marked it with a blue "Ab"-in-circle (in Berlin) indicating that they (supposedly) did NOT open the envelope. The sender removed the dark inner lining paper from the envelope according to censorship requirements. Upon arrival at the Norwegian Consulate in New York, the address "s/s Grey County" was added -- the ship which the addressee was on according to their records. See this link for information about the ship -- at the very bottom of that page it provides the ship history following the war, so the ship did survive the war. [That website is "http" instead of "https" and thus the link may give a security warning, but it is a safe website.] What happened after the cover reached the Norwegian Consulate is not known to me because there is next a black boxed handstamp (on front and back) "Received ... FEB 15 1944 ... / BREVCENTRALEN / NORTRASHIP". According to Sanne [Norwegian Exile Mail 1940-1945; the 1986 English translation by the Scandinavian Philatelic Foundation is available from me] this handstamp was applied at the London (England) Nortraship office (the management of the Norwegian Merchant Marine). In his book, Sanne illustrates an example with a February 25 1944 dated marking and he says [as of 1986] "the author only knows of three covers - all with the same date". This cover is especially important because the marking bears a February 15 1944 date and, though other covers may have been discovered since the publication of the book, it is clearly quite rare. In the referenced website it is quite clear that the s/s Grey County was quite busy on convoy duty sand the letter may never have caught up with the ship. Or it could be that if the letter did catch up with the ship, the addressee may no longer have been aboard the ship. I suspect that this marking may only have been used on covers that Nortraship was trying to "resolve" and deliver -- if they did send it onward, that was done enclosed in an outer envelope. The rough opening on the left side suggests that it did either reach the addressee or was returned to the sender. This is an important item in the WWII postal history of the Norwegian Merchant Marine and the Norwegian contribution to the Allied war effort. An exceptional item and certainly the only item of this type that I have had in 51 years! ACTUAL item. |
Reference |
||
249523 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
207-11, 226 [1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 12 øre Posthorns with "V" Overprint] (VF) on 15 August 1941 FIRST DAY COVER with OSLO cancellations. This is the complete face-different set of V-overprinted POSTHORN stamps. Of this group, Norgeskatalogen provides the first day dates for all but the watermarked 5 and 7 øre stamps. The UNwatermarked 5 and 7 øre stamps were apparently available on 14 August. However, in my experience and according to the Norgeskatalogen FDC listing, the 5 and 7 øre denominations only seem to show up on 15 August covers. Furthermore, I was able to carefully peek at the gum under the corners of the 5 and 7 øre stamps on this cover and they do have the typical crackly gum of the watermarked stamps. Thus I am very confident that all of the 1-7 øre stamps on this cover are watermarked [the 12 øre, issued the same day, only exists unwatermarked]. This is a "very scarce" first day cover. The Facit Classic 2024 does not even list FDCs for most stamps in this set. The Norgeskatalogen 2022 lists a FDC of 12 denominations (the Posthorns and the øre-denomination Lions) at NOK 4000 -- however a) they are virtually always on two covers instead of one [this is one of the normal two] and b) NOK values are "collector to collector exchange values", not commerical transaction values. Early Norwegian FDC auction realizations regularly outstrip the catalog values. To the best of my recollection this is only the third FDC of this Posthorn group that I have been able to offer in 51 years. The Norwegian Posthorns are one of the most popular and long-lived design series in the world. This FDC is an extremely important part of a Posthorns collection. ACTUAL item. |
245.00 |
||
249362 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
SVALBARD / SPITZBERGEN "NY-ÅLESUND / [latitude] / SVALBARD" 11 July 1964 cancellations on philatelic cover with stamps of the era. Pink "WORLDS NORTHERNMOST COMMUNITY / KINGSBAY 79 NORTH / SVALBARD" handstamped cachet picturing a seal. ACTUAL item. |
6.00 |
||
249013 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
423, 430, 463 All Fluorescent [1967 and 1968 Rock Carvings: 40 dark carmine, 90 blue, 40 øre greenish blue] (VF) on attractive 15 September 1974 cover mailed aboard the M/S NORDNORGE and signed by the ship captain, canceled with the SVALBARDRUTA (Svalbard Route) pictorial ship cancellation, sent to the U.S. Because this route ran from mainland Norway to Svalbard (Spitzbergen), we can reasonably assume that this cover did enter Svalbard / Spitzbergen waters, but that it was not landed or sent from there. Very attractive and colorful franking all with values from the same popular / topical (marine mammals, fish, animals, early people, archeology) definitive design. ACTUAL item. |
12.00 |
||
249014 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
418, 419 All Non-Fluorescent [1962 15 brown and 20 øre green Engraved Posthorns] (VF) on an attractive 14 July 1968 philatelic cover mailed aboard the M/S SAGAFJORD, with a pictorial ship cancellation, when it had stopped at NORDKAPP (with the farthest north mainland continental Norwegian post office) with their pictorial NORDKAPP cancellation style then in service. The cover is marked "imprime" (printed matter), but the 35 øre franking was 10 øre short (as of 1 March 1968), thus the cover bears a Norwegian black T-in-circle handstamp indicating postage due. A Norwegian blue postage due rating handstamp (T --- / 90, in circle), with 110 written in at the top, was added somewhere while still in the Norwegian post. [This marking has a complicated interpretation: a) Double the shortage (thus 20 øre) was due. b) This shows a comparison using the normal letter rate of 90 øre; 90 + 20 due = 110. This is a ratio to be used by the receiving country. c) The receiving country was supposed to apply this ratio using their own foreign surface letter rate (was then 13 U.S. cents) to determine the postage due amount to be collected from the recipient in their own currency: In this case, the U.S. foreign letter rate at the time was 13 cents, thus the ratio amount is 110 90ths of 13 cents (which is 15.88 cents rounded up to 16 cents), minus 13 cents, which results in 3 U.S. cents due. I doubt that most U.S. letter delivery carriers mastered this calculation. The calculation was supposed to be done and a U.S. postage due marking applied, by the U.S. incoming foreign mail office. In this case, no U.S. marking was applied and there is no evidence that the due amount was paid.] Norwegian postage due markings on Arctic-origin mail are quite unusual. Nordkapp covers are avidly collected. ACTUAL item. |
16.00 |
||
248522 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
360 [6 May 1958 25 øre emerald King Olav V] Unaddressed COMPLETE (for the stamps issued that day, just this one) FIRST DAY COVER with very clear "6-5-58" OSLO cancellations. The stamp is VF and the cover is very fresh. This is a SCARCE first day cover; the 2024 Facit value is SEK 1200. To the best of my recollection this is only the third or fourth FDC of this stamp that I have been able to offer in 50 years. ACTUAL item. |
89.00 |
||
248123 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
B38-41 [1944 National Assistance "People at Work" (Homefront) semi-postal set] Used VF set on 1 December 1944 FIRST DAY COVER with unofficial KONGSVINGER town cancellations (instead of the usual Oslo cancellations). Unlike a few towns, unofficial first day cancellations from Kongsvinger are NOT often seen. Unaddressed. Cover was folded in quarters, but away from the stamps. There is a blue, circular Kongsvinger [and silhouette of the town] letter seal label on the reverse, also creased from the cover folding -- I have never before seen this letter seal / label in 50 years! A somewhat scarcer first day cover; 2024 Facit value, for normal Oslo cancellations, is SEK 300. Interestingly, used examples of these four stamps canceled in the proper period -- which these are -- have a Facit catalog value of SEK 280! At this price one could collect this for the first day cover or for the used stamps! ACTUAL item. |
26.00 |
||
243766 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Scott #93 PERFIN [1922 40 øre ultramarine Posthorn] Used VF ON COVER with O.M./&S. (O. Mustad & Sön) PERFIN right-reading from the front. Solo use on 16 August 1923 cover to the U.S., with KRISTIANIA text-machine cancellation "NORGES VAREMESSE / 2-9 SEPTEMBER 1923". The Mustad company was, and still is, a major manufacturer of fishing equipment; sent to "The Creek Chub Bait Co." in Garrett, Indiana, thus fishing thematic related -- a thematic for which it is quite hard to find such interesting postal history items. The 40 øre international letter rate had doubled from 20 on 1 Feb 1921 and increased again to 45 on 1 Sep 1924 (and later back down to 40 and then 30). This stamp was printed in July 1921, but apparently not placed into circulation (until the supply of the previous color of 40 øre stamps was exhausted) until February 1922, thus this stamp had an "intended rate life" of only about 2.5 years. I cannot recall ever having any private-company perfins on this stamp in 48 years; and only a couple perfins (on any stamp issue) from this era on covers sent to other countries. This unassuming cover is actually quite scarce! ACTUAL item. |
85.00 |
||
241403 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
37 Dark Orange Brown, White Paper, VERTICAL PAIR; 47a Central Printing Facit/NK 59 [1891 2 øre 20 mm Posthorn; 1895 1 øre Perf 13.5 x 12.5, Central Printing, Posthorn] (VF/F-VF) on 2 April 1897 mailing half of 5 øre double postal card (indicia type with serif lettering), from KJELVIK (bridge style cancel) to BERLIN, Germany, with receiver. VERY UNUSUAL COMBINATION OF STAMP ISSUES making the correct 10 øre foreign postal card rate. The 2 øre stamps, especially this color shade, are quite unusual on covers and cards. ACTUAL item. |
48.00 |
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}
 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}