Piryatin forgery

Zemstvo Forgeries on eBay

As Zemstvo collectors know, any old Zemstvo stamp forgeries are collectible and worth some money. But modern printer-made copies should be removed from collections. So, let see what I have caught today on eBay. The France based eBay seller avrolle sold few modern Zemstvo forgeries: Continue reading

noyma cccp stamp

Just found these keywords (noyma cccp, noyta cccp stamp, noytobar mapka stamp) in our Google Analytics report. Looks like people are trying to identify Russian stamps (unknown for them) putting similar looking, but non Cyrillic, letters to Google’s search bar. Continue reading

RSFSR. Volga Famine Relief Issue Forgery Sheet

RSFSR Forgeries on eBay

The full but forged sheets of Volga famine relief issue were sold on eBay few days ago for GBP 66.00 (approximately $88 USD). Not too bad for the British dealer who sold it as genuine stamps, but a big surprise (in future) for a buyer. Continue reading

The first Soviet stamps

A History of Russian Philately. Part 3

25 October 1917J (= 7 November 1917G)

With the support of the armed forces, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin seized power in Petrograd. Elections a couple of weeks later showed them to be in a minority position, and the country rapidly fell into civil war for the next several years, with various alternate groups fighting against the Bolsheviks. Continue reading

Russian Empire #1. 1857 year

A History of Russian Philately. Part 2

1 January 1858

Russia officially adopts its first stamp – an imperforate 10 kopek stamp, good for the postage of a letter weighing up to 1 “lot”. A “lot” is a measure of weight, approximately equal to just under half an ounce (0.45oz) or 12.8grams. Continue reading

The first known Russian postmark. It takes the form of a single line with the word ST.PETERSBOVRG

A History of Russian Philately. Part 1

Ninth Century

Twelve hundred years ago. Way back then, the earliest known Russian writings referred to messages being sent from person to person, between one town and another. We don’t really know how these were sent, but the one thing that we do know for sure is that the “mail” in some form or another dates back a very long way! Continue reading