Estonian Stamp Collection: 1919-1922 Viking Ship

Did you know this about company APOLLINARIS-BRUNNEN from Bad Neuenahr?

This is the registered letter from Tallinn (23.10.1922) to the mineral water company Apollinaris-Brunnen in Bad Neuenahr, Germany. The letter is arrival-stamped in Neuenahr 27.10.1922. The spring (brunnen) was discovered in 1852 in the vineyard of George Kreuzberg, who named it after St. Apollinaris of Ravenna. From the very beginning the water of the spring was advertized to contain healing powers. For the matter to be completely true, there are testimonials by medicine doctors, mostly from Germany but also from foreign lands. Still today, the Apollinaris brand is going strong. When you look at those Viking Ship stamps of 1 Mk and 5 Mk, they are both printed on white paper. These stamps on cover are more rare than stamps printed on grey paper. Why? Please, look at how many stamps are issued each of them.

The total value of the stamps on this cover is 21 Mk. However, during 10.4.1921 - 31.10.1922 the registered foreign letter of 20 gr. was 20 Mk (the registration was 10 Mk and the postal fee 10 Mk). So, why 1 Mk too much? Well, that is a riddle but how about speculating with the printed remark "Postkastist Väljavõetud" ( taken out of the inbox). When we look at the reverse side of the envelope, we notify the above mentioned stamped statement with word Ametnik (official) and date 22/X + initials. This stamped statement means; out of ordinary routine action taken. The Ametnik, (official) has received the envelope 22/X (maybe from the postman?) with remark "einschreiben", (registration) and clearly the statement is same handwriting as is all the receiver information. Then the Ametnik does all the registration routines and all is then done as asked. Eventually the original sender of the letter was not in the post office present himself but maybe sitting faraway, in the office of some company (sender not mentioned). The question is: is it possible that in some cases the "Postkastist Väljavõetud"- service was payable?

Day of issue: July 28, 1919. Imperforate. Issued: 986 800

Sotasensuuria vuoden 1919 Suomessa

Tämä yllä oleva kirjattu kirje on lähtenyt Virosta 21.8.1919 ja kirje on osoitettu Suomeen. Kuten näkyy, kirje on "Tarkastettu Suomessa" sotasensuurin toimesta. Kirje on leimattu "alustavasti saapuneeksi" Helsinkiin 23.VIII. 1919.6e ja "lopullisesti saapuneeksi" 25.VIII. 1919.2e. Myöhempi leima kertoo, että kirje viipyi sotasensuurissa 2 päivää.

Tässä kirjeessä ainoana merkkinä on 1 Mk sininen Viikinkilaiva, joka on vuorenvarmasti painettu valkoiselle paperille. Tämä kirje on melko varhaista sinisen Viikingin käyttöaikaa, lähettety vain 3 viikkoa merkin ilmestymisen jälkeen. Postitaksa on oikea; kirjaus 0,50 Mk ja 15 gr. ulkomaankirje 0,50 Mk = yhteensä 1 Mk.

Day of issue: March 3, 1920. Imperforate. Issued: 2 050 000

Day of issue: September 1, 1919. Imperforate. Issued: 525 000

Day of issue: August 2, 1920. Imperforate. Issued: 5 063 670

Kirjattu kirje Tartosta Berniin 21.9.1920

Bern on Sveitsin pääkaupunki, saksankielinen ja asukasluvultaan maan viidenneksi suurin kaupunki. Kaupungissa on asukkaita noin 140 000. Bernin perusti vuonna 1191 herttua Berchtold V. Legenda kertoo, että herttua nimesi kaupungin ensimmäisellä metsästysretkellään kohtaamansa eläimen mukaan. Eläin sattui olemaan karhu (saks. Bär).

Postitaksa ulkomaan kirjeelle ajalle 1.7.1920 - 9.4.1921:

kirjaus 2 Mk 50 p. ja kirje ulkomaille (15 gr.) 2 Mk 50 p = 5 Mk, eli kelta/musta viikinki kirjeellä on oikein. Kirjeen takana on tuloleima: Bern 1.X.20. - 4, briefträger.

Inverted center error stamps are of course rarities because that is the major error in the production of the stamps. There are many forgeries about this inverted center 5 Mk Viking.

The stamp above is genuine and its trade mark is: OFF CENTERED. The length of the black frame (outside measure) is 29.50 mm. Source: Pertti Hujala

The length of the black frame below is 30.23 mm. The art-piece below is a forgery, printed on quite white paper and it is "too well centered". There are many other forgeries about this inverted center Viking 5 Mk. The white paper forgeries eventually belong to the early production. If you are not careful, you will be deceived easily with this quality forgery.

Day of issue: September 2, 1920. Imperforate. Issued: 634 550

Kasvatuksellisia tavoitteita leimoissa...

Tämä hammastamattomalla 15 Mk vihreällä Viikingillä varustettu, Suomeen pintapostina tarkoitettu kirje on leimattu Tallinnan K16-rullaleimakoneella 19.11.1923. Leimaan on liitetty kasvattava ja tiedottava iskulause: "igal kirjal olgu täielik saatja ja saatja address" eli "joka kirjeessä olkoon täydellinen lähettäjän nimi ja osoite".

Postitaksa ulkomaille menevälle kirjeelle (20 gr.) ajalle 1.11.1922-31.12.1923 oli 15 Mk, joten taksa tässä kirjeessä on oikein. Helsingin pyöreä tuloleima takana ilmoittaa, että kirje on tullut perille 21.XI.1923.

Joskus kuule, että Suomella ja Virolla oli erityisjärjestely postitaksojen osalta aivan alusta alkaen, joten ei "niitä taksoja voi katsoa ulkomaan sarakkeista". Aivan oikein sanottu, mutta erityisasema astui voimaan vasta 31.12.1928 (ja päättyi 30.11.1940). Ennen 1.1.1929 Suomi oli virolaiselle postille aivan tavallinen ulkomaa.

Sitten hieman lisää valistavista leimoista: alla kopio käsikirjasta liittyen kyseiseen aiheeseen. "Postimerkit pantakoon lähetyksen oikeanpuoleiseen kulmaan", sanotaan leimatyypissä numero 228 vuodelta 1923/25. Numero 227 oli käytössä vuosina 1922/25. Ylläolevan kirjeen rullaleima ei ole kumpikaan alla kuvatuista, koska siinä teksti on numerosta 227 ja leimaosa numerosta 228 (palkit puuttuvat).

Day of issue: June 8, 1922. Perforation: 14x13½. Issued: 2 394 050

Let us go further. Down we have a foreign letter from Tallinn to Berlin, and it departed from Tallinn on October 14, 1924. It arrived in Berlin W 30, 17.10.1924 reads on the back of the envelope. The postal fee of 20gr. foreign letter for the period of 1.1.1924-31.1.1925 was still 15 Mk.

Now, please, remember: this letter is quite beautiful with only one 15 Mk Viking stamp. However, the imperforated 15 Mk Viking on the letter before is 5 times rarer that this one below! Next time when you see 15 Mk Viking on the letter, please, observe if the stamp is imperforated or perforated.

This is very exciting letter to Chicago

This registered foreign letter is addressed to Mr. Adolph Sonntag, 110, Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois, USA. The sender is Richard Adler, his title is Postal Official, Rakvere, Estonia, Europe. The Letter departed Rakvere 3.XI.1924 and it arrived in Chicago November 21, 1924. We can find out stamps together of value 30 Mk. That is correct; fee of 20 gr. foreign letter was 15 Mk and registration 15 Mk. The riddle is the 1924 Final Air Mail issue yellow-black 5 Mk Sablatning P III with landing wheels; why is it on the envelope? The Air Mail fee to America between 23.7.1923-31.12.1927 was 40 Mk, not 5 Mk. What was in the mind of postal official Richard Adler when he fixed this Air Mail stamp on the envelope? We can guess his thinking going like this:

Dear gentlemen of the future, I think this way: "I know the Air Mail fee to America is 40 Mk. However, the point is that after the year 2000 this envelope will be a great rarity in the world. All the handbooks and experts will say that is not possible, not recorded. However, I made it happen: a single, unperforated 5 Mk Yellow-Black Sablanting P III stamped with the original Rakvere cancellation! Can you deny it? This is a genuine letter with genuine stamps, genuinely cancelled and genuinely traveled; not necessarily by air but anyway by water. And traveling over water for me is almost same as in the air." (This is not the only this kind of envelope Mr. Adler made).

Day of issue: September 2, 1920. Perforation: imperforate. Issued: 401 850

missing item

Day of issue: June 8, 1922. Perforation: 14x13½. Issued: 627 150

Registration between 1.11.1922-31.1.1925 was 15 Mk. The fee of the 20 gr.foreign letter for period 1.11.1922-31.12.1923 was also 15 Mk. So, the total of 30 Mk is correct. The letter departed Tallinn on August 30, 1923 and arrived in Mulhouse on September 4. 1923.