Stamps: types of stamps, rare collectibles. Postage stamps. The most expensive and rare stamps of the USSR What types of stamps are there at the post office?

The most expensive stamp was issued in the 19th century and is not only a postal sign that confirms payment for delivery services, but also a collector's item. Since then, its appearance has changed several times, and all stamps put into circulation are systematized in catalogs.

The auction valuation and sale of the most expensive brand was carried out in 2008, and the amount was 700 thousand US dollars. Its seal was made in 1857 for the post office of the city of Tiflis. It depicts the city's coat of arms - a double-headed eagle, and the nominal value of the sign was 6 kopecks. It was in circulation for 10 years, but only three copies survived before the First World War.

Stamps began to be used to pay for services for the delivery of postal messages in 1832, and since then they have been a security with the denomination of the cost of postage printed on it. The history of its serial production and use was preceded by several projects. One of them belonged to Lieutenant K. Treffenberg in 1832, and two years later the publisher D. Chalmers printed a trial batch. They began to stick them on an envelope, the cost of sending which depended on the weight, and not the distance of delivery to the addressee.

The idea of ​​affixing a special sign confirming payment for postage belongs to the English postmaster, Sir Rowland Hill. Actually, he developed a sketch of the world's first postage stamp, which was printed in England and went into circulation in May 1840. The details and insignia of the issuing country were established much later by the Universal Postal Union.

According to the standards, letters with the name of the country printing it are written on the stamp in Latin letters. Due to the fact that Great Britain is the first in issuing postage marks, it was exempted from applying a distinctive sign to the document.

Stamps are not only an indispensable attribute of sending messages, but also collectibles, and the science of studying the history of postal circulation, communications, and payment marks for forwarding services is called philately. Its history begins with the “black penny” stamp, with a face value of 1 penny with the image of Queen Victoria. It is made in black, which determined the name.

The first postage stamps of Tsarist Russia

Following Great Britain, postal signs began to be used in other countries. The first postage stamp with a face value of 10 kopecks. with smooth edges was printed in Russia at the end of 1857. It came into use early next year. It depicted the state emblem and mantle. The price of a canceled stamp today is 275-700 US dollars, and a clean one - 12.5-20 thousand dollars.

The first stamps of the USSR

The first postage stamp of the Soviet state was printed in November 1918. Its name was determined by the image “Hand with a sword cutting a chain.” The author of the sketch belongs to R. G. Zarins. The stamp was in circulation for 4 years. The auction price for perforated samples with denominations of 1 and 2 kopecks was 71,875 US dollars.

The souvenir block with 4 stamps printed on it was published in a limited edition on a sheet of thick paper. Hence the name "Cardboard". It was dedicated to the opening of the first philatelist exhibition in Moscow, which took place in 1932. They were printed in only 525 copies, 25 of which contained the inscription “To the best drummer of the All-Union Society of Philatelists.” The only surviving copy with a personal overprint was sold at the Cherystone auction for $776,250. The cost of the stamp without overprint is 35 thousand dollars.

Rare postage stamps The USSR is of great interest to collectors. On the specialized market, their number is limited and is replenished in most cases from private collections. As a result, the price of rare specimens increases. Collectible stamps are a means of reliable investment. Rare stamps of the USSR are no exception to obtaining financial benefits.

Stamp Blue Gymnast

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Union Circus, a stamp called “Blue Gymnast” was issued. Uncertainty regarding the date led to the cancellation of its release. Many years later, in 1979, the stamp was printed for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the circus. The unissued “Blue Gymnast” stamp is a philatelic rarity. It was sold under the hammer in 2008 at auction for 13.8 thousand US dollars.

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Mark Limonka

"Limonka" is the most valuable stamp of the USSR. It belongs to the "Gold Standard" series. She was released in 1925. In its unextinguished form it is the rarest. As a result of a technical malfunction of the perforation machine, the 15-kopeck stamp was not printed. The insufficient circulation determined its modern value, which ranges from 15 to 20 thousand dollars.

Unissued rare stamps

Due to political considerations, in 1959 a stamp was not released into circulation for the 250th anniversary of the historical Poltava victory of 1709. The circulation was completely withdrawn from circulation and destroyed. The cost of the preserved 40 stamps ranges from 10-20 thousand dollars per copy. For the same reason, the “Flight of Peace and Friendship” stamp was not released, the auction price of which is 28,750 thousand dollars.

Each USSR stamp is included in a special catalog, which contains them detailed description, history and photographs.

Overprinted stamps

Among them are valuable pieces with a history that makes them special. The “Levanevsky with overprint” stamp belongs to the “Salvation of Chelyuskinites” series. Issued in 1935, copies contain a portrait of the pilot S. A. Levanevsky and the overprint “Flight Moscow - San Francisco via North. pole 1935". Typographical errors on the stamp in the form of an inverted overprint and a small “f” determined their super value as a rarity on two stamp sheets (50 pieces each).

The “Consular Fifty Kopeck” stamps were intended for sending official mail by order of the RSFSR Embassy in Germany. The stamp has a red text overprint - “R.S.F.S.R. Air Mail.” Due to disagreement with management, it was withdrawn from circulation. In this series, the most expensive stamp is the one with a face value of 50 kopecks and the overprint “1200 Herm. stamps." Consular stamps of the RSFSR 1922 are rare due to an error in the inscription. One of the sheets contains the inscription “24 German. marks" instead of "brand", which determines the high value.

For aviation postal items In 1923, the first series of 4 multi-colored stamps was issued, which depicted the Fokker F-111 aircraft. The value of these stamps lies in the “thick” number “5” printed on one sheet from the total circulation. It sold in September 2008 for $86,250. A USSR stamp entitled "2nd International Polar Year" was printed in 1932. They were intended to send airmail from Franz Josef Land to Arkhangelsk. The difference in perforation of a small part of the circulation from the main issue determines the high cost of the stamp.

Elena Kandakova

Dear Colleagues, I think that many of you have been involved at least once in your life or someone is currently involved in some kind of collecting. My hobby as a child was stamp collecting – philately. I was even a member of the “Young Philatelist” circle, we had philatelist badges. The childhood hobby was somehow forgotten over time, but the stamps were in an album, in a secluded place. Maybe they would still be lying there now if not for an accident.

One family was moving to another city for permanent residence, and they brought an album with stamps to our group. - “It somehow became a pity to throw it away, to take an extra load with you, and you and your children will look at it. In general, we pass on our collection for you». I thanked her for the gift, wished her a safe journey and opened the album. The album was in good condition and the stamps were arranged neatly by topic.

But before showing it to the children, I myself remembered my first stamp, and how I found out what philately is, and who invented collect stamps. “We need to tell the children about this, maybe some of them will be in the future collector».

I decided that today I will change the topic of our educational conversation to "What's happened stamp collecting?» . And I will try to tell the children what I know about it myself.

« Collecting postage and other stamps, postal signs are called philately" (according to Ozhegov).

The first postage stamp went into circulation in May 1840 in England. "Black Penny"- this was the name of the first stamp because it was printed in black ink with a denomination of one penny. The stamp featured Queen Victoria. The appearance of the first stamp is closely connected with the name of the Englishman Rowland Hill, he was the first to propose introducing a convenient and uniform method of payment for postal correspondence for everyone - a sign indicating the price of the postal service, stuck on the envelope.

By 1857, stamps were already published in 60 countries. At first, the stamps did not have teeth; they had to be separated from the sheet with scissors, which was inconvenient and often damaged the stamp. Later, perforation was introduced stamps.

The first Russian postage stamp was issued on January 1, 1858. In the center of the postage stamp there was an oval, it housed the state emblem - a double-headed eagle, under the coat of arms was the emblem of the postal department, which still exists today - two crossed postal horns. Around the central part of the picture there was an oval frame in which the inscription was placed "Postage stamp" And “10 kopecks. per lot". The drawing of the first Russian stamp was created by the senior engraver of the Expedition for Procurement of State Papers - Keppler.

Term "philately" introduced in 1864 by a French postal enthusiast grade G. Erpen. It means in translation from Greek - "loving payment signs".

The first postage stamps of the RSFSR appeared in circulation in 1918. And the first postage stamps of the USSR were issued in August 1923.

The children listened to my story with great interest and expressed their thoughts and assumptions. We found out and discussed how to handle the album, stamps, and learned the rules for examining stamps. It also became clear during our conversation that some people also have stamps at home. We decided, with the consent and help of our parents, to replenish our collection of new brands. My stamps were also useful. We sorted all the stamps we brought into sections, it turned out impressive collection.

We invite you to look at our album stamps.

Each page has its own theme.

"Plants"

"Wild Animals"

"Pets"

"Birds"

"Insects"

"Cosmonautics"

"Sport"

"History of Transport"

"Miscellaneous"

That's how we became philatelists!

Thanks again to the family who gave us the album with stamps. With your help, my children and I developed an interest in collecting stamps! And I remembered my childhood hobby!

The mark originated as a unit of payment postal services. In appearance, postage stamps are ordinary small rectangular pieces of paper. They usually depict landmarks of countries, cities, beautiful landscapes, famous paintings and sculptures. There are collectors who collect stamps. These people are called philatelists.

By what principles are stamps collected? Philately and its area of ​​interest

The word "philately" came to us from the Greek language. Translated, philéo means love, and atéleia means liberation. The term was first introduced by the collector G. Erpen.

There are three aspects to the study of philatelists:

• The quality of the paper on which it is printed, the shape and size of the copy, watermarks, defects, errors, type and form of perforation, how the stamp was cancelled.
• Historical. Political and economic conditions in which the brand was released. The reason for its withdrawal from circulation.
• Thematic collections. They are divided chronological and special. Chronological stamps are presented in the order of their release. They are divided into general (collections of copies of all countries or within one power); specialized (stamps that were sent to the office of the Universal Postal Association; they could be overprinted “sample”). Specialized collections contain rare stamps of air mail from the origins of its development (pigeon, catapult, balloon, glider, rocket, helicopter, airplane).

Classification of brands

Not many collectors know that stamps have their own classification. Postal currency is divided into:

• Official - issued by the state.
• Semi-formal. They were issued as an additional payment for early delivery, for example, by air. These types of stamps were usually canceled with a postmark.
• Unofficial brands. First of all, it is the currency of private mail. In England, such stamps circulated during a long strike by postal workers. Today they are used in Holland. Such post offices carry correspondence to places where the state postal service cannot reach. Unofficial stamps have another purpose - charity. Additional stamps can be purchased and affixed as a sign of the volunteer's goodwill. The funds go to help people who suffered from hostilities, to purchase medical equipment, and the like.
• Private mail stamps.

Types of official stamps:

1. Stamps that act as currency in post offices.
2. Stamps, which are used as the internal currency of the post office. They are not available for free sale. Very rarely the Post Office may offer them for sale to philatelists.
3. Copies to cover taxes.

Official stamps are divided into several types:

• Brands "Standard". Everyday copies that are needed to pay for the rest of the correspondence. The images on them often do not change for 20 years. If necessary, their circulation increases. Because of this, varieties appear.
• Anniversary, holiday and themed stamps. Types of stamps that philatelists hunt for. Instances that were produced for a specific type of transportation.

The first postage stamp in Russia

The first postage stamps were issued on December 22, 1857. The circulation was without perforation, that is, there were no characteristic teeth on them. A special machine was ordered from Vienna for this purpose, but it arrived very late. The drawing for the sample was created by senior engraver Franz Mikhailovich Kepler. The stamp featured postal horns and indicated the price: “10 kopecks. per lot." Copies with this image were produced until 1923.

USSR stamps

On November 7, 1917, the Great October Revolution took place. The first Soviet stamps were issued in July 1918 by the Perm Soviet of Deputies. These are the first Soviet copies in Russia. There were exclusive brands in the USSR. We will consider further the types of USSR stamps that were sold for huge amounts of money.

"Blue Gymnast"

A unique and expensive brand is “Blue Gymnast”. It was supposed to be put into circulation in honor of the holiday - the fortieth anniversary of the Soviet circus. Since there was confusion over the exact date of birth, the copy was never published. “The Blue Gymnast” remained in a private collection, and philatelists began hunting for it. Its price is 13.8 thousand dollars. The stamp was sold at auction in 2008.

"Limonka"

In 1925, as a result of the machine running out of paint and the perforation machine breaking down, an unprinted rare copy of a fifteen-kopeck stamp appeared. It belongs to the “Gold Standard” category. The estimated cost of "Limonka" is about 20 thousand dollars.

Unissued stamps (types of stamps that have not entered into circulation)

A famous issue in philatelic circles, which was withdrawn for political reasons, is the stamps dedicated to the Poltava victory in 1709. 40 copies have survived to this day. The price of one copy is twenty-eight thousand dollars.

Also, the Soviet government did not allow the release of a stamp called “Flight of Peace and Friendship.” The estimated cost of the rare specimen is 10-20 thousand dollars.

Stamps with printing flaws

There are copies that are especially prized due to typographical errors. This feature makes them exclusive. These include the “Levanevsky with overprint” brand. The series in which it is included was called “Saving the Chelyuskinites.”

The postage stamps of this edition contain a photo of the pilot Levanevsky. In 1935, a stamp appeared with the overprint “Flight Moscow - San Francisco via North. Pole 1935". Because of the small letter f and the inverted plug, the super value of the stamps, which were placed on two sheets, was determined. Rare stamps are included in a special catalogue. The types of stamps are described in detail here, there is their history and photos.

There were also rare varieties among airmail copies. In 1923, they were first issued for the delivery of correspondence by air. The first edition was very small and consisted of 4 colorful copies. They were marked with an image of a Fokker F-111 aircraft.

In this article we wanted to draw your attention to such an interesting object of study of philately as stamps. The types of stamps (rare items) that collectors study help historians gain a deeper understanding of our glorious past. This postal currency is very convenient not only in terms of payment, but also helps to sort letters much faster. Each country and region has its own identification marks.

A story about rare stamps issued at one time in Russia and the Soviet Union, which today cost a lot of money.

It is known that the first postage stamp in Russia was issued on December 22, 1857. The first stamp was imperforate, since the punching machine ordered from Vienna arrived late and needed adjustment. Appearance The stamps were invented by the senior engraver of the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers, Franz Mikhailovich Kepler. It depicted postal horns, above which rose the coat of arms of the Russian Empire, and the inscription: “10 kopecks. per lot." One lot was equal to fourteen grams of writing. If the envelope weighed more, then more stamps had to be purchased.

The design of the first state stamp of Russia in various modifications was popular until 1923. Then the postal signs of the Russian Empire were replaced by stamps of the USSR. Some of them today are very, very expensive, representing a philatelic rarity.

"Tiflis Unique"

"Tiflis Stamp" is a very rare postage stamp issued in the Russian Empire for the city post office of Tiflis (now Tbilisi) and Kojori in 1857. The release date and symbolism allow us to talk about “Tiflis Unique” as the first Russian brand.

Denomination - 6 kopecks. The picture shows the coat of arms of Tiflis, and above it is a double-headed eagle with drooping wings.

Only three specimens were found before the First World War. On October 5, 2008, at the largest philatelic auction David Feldman, one of the three copies of the “Tiflis Unique” known in the world at that time, previously owned by Zbigniew Mikulski, was sold for 480 thousand euros.

According to the official website of the National Academy of Philately of Russia, in the world there are at the moment Only five copies of this unique brand are known.

"Levanevsky with overprint"

“Levanevsky with overprint” is the philatelic name of the USSR airmail stamp with a portrait of the pilot Levanevsky and an overprint, issued in a limited edition in honor of the interrupted flight Moscow - North Pole - San Francisco (USA).

There are rare varieties of this stamp - with a lowercase "f" in the word "San Francisco" - five stamps per sheet (one row) with an inverted overprint (presumably one sheet) and an inverted overprint with a lowercase "f" (presumably five pieces) .

The overprinted stamp was issued by the People's Commissariat of Postal Service on August 3, 1935 for the planned flight of Sigismund Levanevsky, Georgy Baidukov and Vasily Levchenko on the ANT-25 aircraft on the route Moscow - North Pole - San Francisco and was intended to pay for postal items on this plane. On that day, an attempt was actually made to fly over a distance of 2 thousand kilometers, but it was interrupted due to a motor malfunction.

According to some reports [, the inverted overprint was made on several stamp sheets on the special instructions of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Genrikh Yagoda, who was known as a philatelist.

According to available data, “Levanevsky with overprint” good quality in 1995 it cost $150, with a lowercase “f” - $250, with a “reversal” - $5000, with a lowercase “f” on an “inversion” - $15,000. In 2003, “Levanevsky with an overprint” of good quality already cost $350-400, with a lowercase "f" - $500-600, with a "reversal" - $10,000, with a lowercase "f" on a "reversal" - $40,000-50,000.

In 2008, the misspelled stamp was sold at a Cherrystone auction in New York for $525,000.

"Hand with a Sword Cutting a Chain"

“A hand with a sword cutting a chain” is the first postage stamp of the RSFSR. Released on October 25 (November 7), 1918.

A hand with a sword cuts a chain against the backdrop of sun rays, and on top is the inscription: “Russia.” The stamp exists in two colors: blue (denomination 35 kopecks) and dark brown (75 kopecks).

The stamp was made by order of the Provisional Government. The basis was taken from one of three specially painted miniatures by Richard Zarinysh.

"Hand with a Sword" did not receive widespread postal circulation. Therefore, canceled stamps are much less common than pure stamps.

The 1918 essay of the first postage stamp of the RSFSR “Hand with a Sword, Cutting a Chain” with a face value of 1 kopeck, which was never issued, is estimated at 12.5 thousand dollars.

"Three Pearls"

Postage stamp of the Russian Empire, 17th issue. It was made in 1908 to replace the postal signs of 1889-1905.

It got its name from three “pearls” (circles) instead of the required four, which should have been located on the left and right sides between the frame indicating the denomination and the ornament that frames the central oval of the coat of arms.

"Consular fifty dollars"

“Consular” stamps are a series of official airmail stamps of the RSFSR. In 1922, after the formation of the Russian-German air communication society "Deruluft", the first international air line Moscow - Königsberg in the RSFSR was opened. Although the company's planes delivered only diplomatic mail, its charter provided for the possibility of sending private paid correspondence, paid for when sent from Moscow in Soviet stamps, and when sent from Germany - in German.

The stamps were intended to be used as postal stamps for franking official correspondence of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR and other Soviet organizations sent by air mail to Moscow. Since this issue was carried out without the consent of the People's Commissariat of Postal Service of the RSFSR, the initiative of the diplomatic mission was not approved in Moscow and, soon after the first flight with mail arrived in the capital, an order was issued to withdraw the stamps from circulation, and the circulation was requested to Moscow.

“Consular Fifty Kopecks” is a consular duty stamp with a face value of 50 kopecks with the overprint “Air Mail R.S.F.S.R. 1200 germ. stamps." This is one of the rarest postage stamps of the RSFSR, its estimated circulation is 50-75 copies. One such stamp was sold in 2008 at a Cherrystone auction for $63,250.

"Limonka"

"Limonka" is a USSR postage stamp from the first standard issue, which was issued in 1925. In uncanceled form it is a rather rare postage stamp. Up to hundreds of copies are known.

During the production of the stamp, the perforation machine became unusable, while the remaining denominations were printed in full. In order not to disrupt the supply of postage stamps, the management of Goznak decided to send this batch on time, without waiting for the 15-kopeck stamp to be printed. Due to the fact that the circulation of “Limonka” turned out to be very small, and this issue was intended to be sent to remote regions of the USSR, in which there were very few philatelists, almost all 15-kopeck stamps were used for their intended purpose, that is, redeemed by mail. The cost of the stamp is 15-20 thousand dollars.

"Slate Blue Airship"

“Aspidka” is what philatelists call a rare airmail stamp from the “Airship Construction in the USSR” series. On it, artist Vasily Zavyalov depicted an airship over the globe. The stamp was issued in May 1931 with a face value of 50 kopecks.
According to the project, it was supposed to be dark brown. However, part of the circulation - three thousand copies - was printed with black and blue (slate) paint.

The rarest “Aspidka” is in the toothless version. It is known that there are only 24 such brands.

"Be a hero!"

A postage stamp created based on a photographic poster by V. Koretsky and dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, was released on August 12, 1941. It is considered rare, since during the war years a significant part of the circulation was lost in a warehouse during one of the bombings of Moscow.

By order of the USSR Ministry of Culture, the stamp was included in the list of rare postage stamps and blocks that are not subject to export (shipment) from the USSR.

"250 years of the historical Poltava victory"

Unissued USSR postage stamp from 1959. On a stamp with a face value of 40 kopecks, captured Swedish troops, led by Prime Minister Karl Pieper and field marshals, fold their flags in front of Peter I. The circulation of the stamp was already produced and ready for issue, but at this time diplomatic relations with Sweden intensified. After the visit of Swedish Prime Minister Erlander to the USSR, Khrushchev's return visit to Sweden was planned. On the eve of this meeting, they decided to destroy the circulation so as not to offend the new partners by focusing attention on such an unpleasant event for them as the defeat in the Battle of Poltava.

Officially, the postage stamp was sold for a few minutes, after which the circulation was confiscated and destroyed. 40 stamps have survived. They are known to cost approximately 10-20 thousand dollars.

"Flight of Peace and Friendship"

"Flight of Peace and Friendship" to Denmark, Sweden and Norway." USSR Post 1964 4 kopecks. It is rare because the stamp was not issued because Khrushchev's planned visit to Sweden never took place.
A copy of the stamp that fell into the hands of collectors was sold in 2008 at the Cherrystone auction for $28,750.

"Blue Gymnast"

The stamp, known as the "Blue Gymnast", was issued to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soviet circus. But it did not go into circulation due to disagreements about which year should be considered the year the circus was founded: 1920-1921 or 1934. Many years later, they decided to set the date - 1919. Therefore, the stamp was released only for the 60th anniversary of the circus in 1979. A copy of the unissued stamp, which ended up among collectors, was sold in 2008 at a Cherrystone auction for $13,800.

"Transcarpathian Ukraine"

A rare postage stamp dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Transcarpathian Ukraine with Soviet Ukraine. USSR Post 1965 4 kopecks.

A copy of the unissued stamp, which ended up among collectors, was sold in 2008 at a Cherrystone auction for $29,900.

"Study of auroras"

The International Geophysical Year, which ran from July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958, provoked a certain philatelic interest in the world. The postal departments of many dozens of countries unanimously responded to the global scientific action. More than a hundred postage stamps were issued. The USSR Post celebrated the IYY by releasing two interesting series.

A pair of 1958 40-kopeck USSR postage stamps “Study of the Auroras” from the “International Geophysical Year” series, in a rare linear perforated variety, was sold at auction for $14,500.

Other

Also among the philatelic rarities one can note an uncanceled blue 10-kopeck stamp of the USSR from 1925, which was sold for $18,500, an uncanceled USSR postage stamp with a portrait of Mendeleev from the issue “Scientists of our Motherland,” estimated at $11,500, as well as a vertical toothless coupling USSR stamps of 1937 in denominations of 40 and 50 kopecks from a series issued for the centenary of the death of Pushkin. Its price at auction was $9,500.

We also ask you to pay attention to your loved ones!