Nikolajewsk 1921 20k blue and red with framed overprint showing partial omission at top, lightly hinged mint with the usual slightly browned gum of this issue; cert. V. Liapine (2008). (Image)

Nikolajewsk 1921 imperf 20k blue and red with framed overprint, four good margins fresh hinged mint; cert. V Liapine (2017). (Image)

Nikolajewsk 1921 10K on perf 5k framed surcharge mint never hinged, some gum toning, V. Laipine handstamp (Image)

Nikolajewsk 1921 10k on 10k blue with framed overprint, hinged mint without the usual toning, a fine example of a rare stamp. V. Liapine Cert (2017) (Image)

Nikolajewsk 1921 20k on 3(4)k hinged mint with slightly browned gum as usual; cert. V. Liapine (2017). (Image)

Nikolajewsk 1921 20k on 5r cto used as usual, a rare stamp; cert. V. Liapine (2017). (Image)

Nikolajewsk 1921 small, powerful group of surcharges with Mi 1B cto used, 10 on 1k, 2k and 3k hinged mint, 4k used on piece, 14k hinged mint with Liapine Cert, 15k surcharges hinged mint, 20k on 3(4)k cto used with cert, 20k on 1r imperf with cert, 20k on 3.50r perf and imperf hinged mint with some slight toning, 20k on 7r imperf and perf cto, the former with cert, fair to fine condition. (Image)

1923 (27.1.) plain card written from the border town of Kyakhta - Troitskosavsk to Bern, Switzerland, the writer mentioning that he has recently left Mongolia because of the weather (-38 degrees), the stamp presumably had been applied before departure as it had no validity from where eventually sent and was subsequently charged enroute at Moscow and a 50c postage due applied on arrival in Bern. An extremely unusual item, maybe a unique occurrence from Mongolia. (Image)

1921, pair 100R (Michel n° 137) postal saving stamp (used since 1918 as postal stamps) on rare cover to Harbin (China) with arrival, very fine. (Image)

1857 Russian stamped envelope 1848 10 (+1) k, sent to Fence Houses, England, endorsed “Paid for England”, with London Paid 23 Apr 1857 and large red circular P; on reverse is Chester-le-Street 23 Apr and Fence Houses 23 Apr arrival, back flap re-sealed by a marginal strip (probably from a UK 1d red) with the inscription “side of the Letter – In wetting the Back be careful not to remove the Ce…”; extremely rare usage of the stamped envelope for international mail, with rough opening to the right side, and some toning to front. (Image)

1857 10k brown and light blue, four good even margins tied to small piece tied by a complete reddish brown DINABURG cds, a rare, now Lithuania cancel on first issue, slight bottom right corner crease and some paper added at base of piece, the stamp remaining in good condition. Ex Fabergé, Mikulski Cert (1986). (Image)

1857 10k brown and light blue, four good even margins cancelled with pen cross and good part pre-stamp cancellation `Belostok/ 8 Feb 58`(now in Poland). Tiny tear in the margin at left. A rare cancellation on first issue. (Image)

1857 10k brown and light blue, four good even margins used with part framed datestamp that shows the year of use as 1857, with the stamp being issued in December of that year in only certain parts of the country, they are very rare. (Image)

1857 10k brown and blue, fine even margins, obliterated by superbly struck 104 dots of Belostok (Grodno Government Bialystok, today Poland); a very attractive and scarce stamp of fresh colour, of which only a single cover is recorded by Craveri, signed Buhler. (Image)

1857 10k brown and blue, extremely fine example with very wide margins on small piece, with pen cancellation and very light strike of rare line cancellation of Novogrudok S.L. (MInsk-Belarus), only one cover with this cancel recorded by Craveri; a very attractive stamp of fresh colour. (Image)

1858, 10k imperforate, very fine with good to wide margins all around tied by clear strike of boxed “ODESSA 15 APRIL 58” handstamp on entire letter to Taganrog (unrecorded in the Craveri census). Signed Pascal Scheller. This is the one of the finest known Russia number one cover from Odessa, Ukraine. Note: The strikes of this boxed postmark are in general weak or almost unreadable, this clear strike on a perfect stamp is a rare exception. We sold the finest known Odessa Russia number one cover in our June 2023 sale (lot 50215) for 10'000€. (Image)

1858 (Feb) double weight outer letter sheet, from Moscow to St Petersburg, bearing single franking 20k dark blue/orange, thin paper tied by pen cross, arrival backstamp. A fine and fresh example showing the rare use of the pen cross on this value (or indeed a 30k) with only a handful recorded, signed Hoffman, BPB Cert (2004) (Image)

1867 Russian stamped envelope 1848 10 (+1) k, sent from Smela (now Ukraine) to London, with blue departure postmark on back, manuscript Porto on front and 1/ notation; on reverse are circular “Aus Russland uber Eisenb. Post-Bur. Porto” date stamp 3 Feb 1867 (van der Linden Postvertragsstempel, type 336) and London arrival 6 Feb; a very scarce usage of Russian stamped envelope for international mail, and very late usage; with two vertical archival folds and some browning of front. (Image)

1877 (Aug 20) printed matter wrapper from St. Petersburg, to Cairo, Egypt correctly franked with a vertical pair of 1866 1k black & yellow on horizontally laid paper perf.14.5 tied by "C. PETERBURG VII EKSP. 20 AUG. 1877" cds, Trieste transit (Sept. 1, 1877), addressed to His Highness the Khedivate (of Egypt), a unique destination rarity; certificate Mikulski (1993). (Image)

1875 10k brown & blue showing variety deformed "10" at lower left and dot under I bottom right, tied to cover by black circular 20 Jan 1875 cds of Lovich (Poland), Warsaw arrival on the same date. A very attractive small cover with very clear postmarks. (Image)

1875 registered cover from Odessa to Kamenels franked by vertical laid paper 1875 8k carmine and grey in horizontal strip of four tied by three neat, clear cds, further despatch and and arrival cancel on reverse. This strip is the largest known multiple on cover, a unique franking of great importance. (Image)

1877 envelope to poste restante, Copenhagen franked horizontally laid paper 8k carmine and grey tied by two-line date stamp. Riga cds alongside, redirected om arrival to Hotel Victoria Christiania, revers with further two-line despatch and Riga cds together with Copenhagen cancel that overstrikes the two-line handstamp, Calves handstamp (Image)

1878 (4 Jan) printed wedding invitation wrapper to Fellin, Estonia bearing single franking 1868-75 2k vertically laid paper tied by clear St Petersburg date stamp, arrival backstamp, fine and attractive. (Image)

1883 (13 Sep) large registered envelope bearing a fine franking consisting of 14 1875 20k (block of 8, vertical stip of four and horizontal pair) plus pair 7k, from Kukarsk to Vjatka, some slight faults to envelope in bottom corners not detracting from this spectacular franking (Image)

1884 2k russian green with inverted background used with St Petersburg `8`handstamp. a couple of slightly short perfs not detracting from a unique stamp, ex Ferrary (lot 504 at Paris auction). A rare opportunity to own one of the rarest Imperial Russia stamps, Mikulski Cert (2003) (Image)