Grading Rarities: A Case Study of Kyiv 1 Tridents

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One problem with rare stamps is that we cannot always get them in the exact quality we would like; we have to make do with second best. Above, for example, is my stock of Russian 7 ruble black and yellow stamps overprinted with single handstamp tridents of Kyiv type 1. This is a rare stamp: as Bulat #12 it catalogues $500 mint and $400 used. I comment on the advantages and disadvantages of each stamp, left to right:

Stamp 1: Superb! Probably CTO with a neat, central KIEV 3 12 18 cancel and the back of the stamp perfectly clean. Probably washed off a philatelic cover or sheet of paper. The date is a bit late for this Trident which was one of the first to appear and the 7 ruble value was used non-philatelically on Money Transfers so could not easily be obtained genuinely used. BUT main drawback: no one has ever signed this stamp. Maybe it was signed on paper which has been removed from the back but that’s no help. And who will sign it now?

Stamp 2: Nice perforations and clean back, but messy cancels. It could have been genuinely used since the messy cancels look like overlapped KIEV and KHARKOV and helpfully a .. 10 18 date is readable – early dates are good on these stamps. BUT the Trident is a bit washed out and the stamp is unsigned

Stamp 3: Oh, a variety INVERTED OVERPRINT not listed by Bulat. Most probably CTO since there is gum on the back. Rather messy trident. On the back a big handstamp AUFDRUCK FALSCH. Oh dear …. However, look more closely and you will see that FALSCH has been crossed through in pencil and beside it there are the initials of Dr S in what I believe to be the  handwriting of Dr Seichter and bottom right is his handstamp Dr Seichter in violet. It looks like Seichter made a mistake which he corrected. The overprint is not a forgery – I don’t think it is. But who wants a stamp with a great big AUFDRUCK FALSCH?

Stamp 4: Oh …Oh… Kyiv 1 Trident and underneath Kyiv 2 (I’m going to propose sub-type 2a) in similar or identical inks. Unreadable cancel. Clean back, no gum, tiny pencil annotation.. Signed UPV! I think it’s genuine though unlisted and, of course, philatelic. Still, if you like rarities this is one you are not going to see again next week ….

Your task: Suppose you had to price these. Which would you ask most for?

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Priceless Stamps of Ukraine

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Sometime in the 1990s - I forget when - I bought a Lot in an auction held by the nice Hamburg firm of Schwanke und Sohn. The Lot comprised about 20 000 or 30 000 Trident overprinted stamps, nearly all in complete sheets. The sheets were neatly folded but just once in the middle and they had been very carefully stored. Some sheets had pencilled remarks in the margins, always accurate. Most of them were common stamps and all were genuine. Over the years I have sold most of these stamps - and probably given away some of them in desperate moments.

Today I came across a few sheets which remain. Here is one sheet. These are 15 kopeck imperforate stamps overprinted with Kyiv type 2 using a single handstamp type 2a. This is # 285 in the Bulat catalogue where it is priced at  - -  mint and $55 used.

I think there was a second identical sheet or part sheet which I cut up into strips of 5 to supply clients with Bulat - based (or Seichter - based) Wants Lists. There has never been any temptation to cut up this sheet. There does not seem to be a queue of people looking for Bulat # 285.

Material like this is a bit of a headache, really. The sheet is not attractive. There are no Zeppelins. The obscure variety it illustrates is of interest to almost no one. And the stamp is priceless. 

You might say that this is ideal auction material - in the right auction, this sheet will find its price. Well, if I offer it for 10 euro then I guess it would sell for more than that. If I offer it for 100 euro, I am not sure it would sell. And yet the fact of Bulat's  - -  suggests that this is a scare or rare stamp. (He might be wrong of course. But maybe I picked up most of the global supply of this stamp in that Schwanke auction ...)

Added February 2020: Most of my Ukraine-related Blog posts are now available in full colour book form. To find out more follow the link:

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Ukraine Trident Overprints on Imperial rouble values - Kyiv Type 2

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Kyiv type 2 Trident overprints are the most common of all Tridents; copies can be found in the most basic collections. Partly because of this and partly because there are so many collectible varieties (Bulat 229 - 581), they get neglected. I certainly neglect my stock of them.

But suppose you concentrated just on overprints on rouble value stamps?

First of all, you would have to improve on Bulat's listing of the basic stamps which is very poor. You need to go to a good catalogue (Michel and Standard, for example) and establish the full range of stamps potentially available for overprinting. They differ in perforation, direction of varnish / chalk (Kreide) lines, shades, printing varieties, and so on.

That need not be a main focus of research. The large format of the rouble value stamps makes them a good basis for a postmark collection and the basic stamp used need not interest a postmark collector.

Interestingly, though philatelically-inspired varieties on kopeck values are quite common, philatelic varieties on the rouble values are not common - maybe just because the basic stamps were so expensive. Even inverted overprints are rare - which is extraordinary when you think that every single overprint comes from  single handstamps and that millions were overprinted, probably by a small army of post office clerks. 

What you do find is variation in the shades of ink used in the overprinting process. The majority of stamps are overprinted in an obvious violet, but some are in an obvious blue. Then these two colours are sometimes found in a mixed state, which you would expect if a handstamp is switched from one ink pad to another. In addition, you find violets which are more or less grey. But grey on its own or black are rare or non-existent.

Red (or violet mixed with red, or red mixed with violet) does exist on the 1 rouble imperforate overprinted with Kyiv type 2ee (Bulat 404a). I think this is probably a philatelically-inspired variety.

At the top of this Blog, you can see my stock of Kyiv 2f on the 3 rouble 50 kopeck imperforate for which Bulat lists violet, gray violet and violet blue overprints (Bulat 439, 439b, 439d). These colour variants may also have a philatelic character - note, for example, that my current stock does not show any used copies. Note also that though Bulat lists violet and then violet-gray, he does not list blue, only violet blue. But blue could exist ...

Finally, of course, Kyiv 2 Trident overprints on rouble values have to be classified as coming from Handstamp Types a, b or bb, c, d, e? or ee, f, g or gg, a listing which serious work may show needs a bit of revision. 

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Ukraine: Kyiv 2 Single Handstamps and the Bulat Catalogue

Why did I have to think of this today? The sun is shining and I should have gone for a walk, but instead ...

In his Ukraine catalogue, which we all use, John Bulat has a long list of stamps overprinted with single handstamps of  Kyiv 2 type. The list starts at # 257 and ends at # 581. That's a lot of stamps. Pity that no one collects them.

In notes in the text, Bulat says that on kopeck values sub-types bb, ee, f, g, gg are stand-alone single handstamps in the sense that we only need a single stamp to classify it as having come from a single handstamp. In other words, bb,ee,f,g, gg are never to be found in the standard a- b - c - d - e five-cliche handstamp.

But sub-types a, b, c, d can only be identified as from single handstamps if they occur in pairs or in right or left marginal positions (b,c,d) or in pairs or right marginal position (a).

Got it? Fine? Now I am going to spoil your day ...

 Consider the two strips of five below. Click on the Image to magnify if you think it will help:

At the top, we have single handstamp a on 4 kopeck perforate, Bulat # 262, catalogued $8

Underneath, we have single handstamp gg on 15kopeck imperforate, Bulat 536, catalogued $12.

What are his catalogue values values of? 

In the case of the 4 kopeck strip, you could extract three collectible units: two pairs and the fifth (right marginal) stamp.  

In the case of the 15 kopeck strip, you could extract five collectible units since these stamps are identifiable as coming from a single handstamp whatever - gg does not occur in any 5 - cliche handstamp

So what are Bulat's catalogue values values of? Here are some possibilities:

1. Bulat values are values for a strip of 5, whatever

2. Bulat values are values for whatever is the minimum unit from which you can identify a single handstamp having been used, so either a pair or - in some cases -  a single stamp

3. Bulat values are values for individual stamps but some stamps are only identifiable if they come in pairs

For the 4 kopeck strip that creates a range of possible Bulat values for collectible units in my strip ranging from $8 to $40 unless you think the two possible pairs are only worth the same as the one marginal stamp, in which case the top value drops to $24

For the 15 kopeck that creates a range for collectible units (all five stamps are identifiable singly) going from $12 to $60

Remember that in these same listings Bulat also gives values for rouble values which are always overprinted with single handstamps and always collectable as singles. So he must be valuing single stamps when he is valuing rouble stamps ...

I told you I was going to spoil your day .... Coming tomorrow: How many angels can dance on a pin head.

Added February 2020: Most of my Ukraine-related Blog posts are now available in full colour book form. To find out more follow the link:

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Nightmare Tridents: Kyiv I Arnold and Svenson Types

The Arnold and Svenson sub-types of Kyiv I Tridents are rarely seen and hard to distinguish. Seichter lists Arnold Type, Type I a 1 (Svenson), Type I a 2 (Svenson) and Type Ib (Svenson). Bulat follows this at pages 12 - 14 of his Catalog.

Seichter has bad illustrations but describes Ib (Bulat's B1)as having a "langer Schwanz" (longer spike / longer prong). This is correct. Unfortunately, Bulat's illustrations for A2 and B1 are the WRONG WAY ROUND (transposed)which caused me real problems until I went back to Seichter.

Anyway, here's a quick Guide:

ARNOLD: normally in standard Kyiv I violet but in green on the 50 kopeck perforated and in both violet and black on the 1 rouble imperforate. Look for the MISSING BASE CAP. Row 1 on my Scan should make it clear. The pair of 1 rouble appears postally used at Zhitomir

SVENSON A1: always violet-black and in my experience ALWAYS placed at the top of the stamp. Found on values unlisted by Seichter or Bulat: see the 35 kop imperforate at the end of Row 2 (ex Zelonka)

SVENSON A2: always in black. Look for the spike ending more or less level with the top of the wings. See Row 3 of the scan.

SVENSON B1: normally in the same black, but look for the spike extending above the wings. Only one value is common to both A2 and B1, the 10 kopeck, and I have put the example I have in the wrong row. You should now be able to see why it should be in Row 4 not Row 3.

One value, the 5 kopeck imperforate, is found with B1 in violet-black and it is shown in Row 5 of my scan.

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Kyiv 1 Broken Tridents: a little theory

I have been looking at Kyiv I Broken Tridents from Lot 84 of the Zelonka sale (Bulat 62 - 108). These are not very interesting, since they are almost entirely philatelic productions. Most are cancelled to order at PROSKUROV in Podillia: see the strip of 5 above with cancellation dated 14 5 19.

(By the way, Bulat prices the 35 kopeck at $40 mint and $35 used [Bulat 76]. This is simply a misprint. The 35 kopeck seems to be one of the most common Broken Tridents and Dr Seichter gives it a value of 3 DM. In contrast, the 50 kopeck which Bulat prices at 20 cents, mint or used [Bulat 77] is an unpriced rarity in Dr Seichter. I don't have a copy but I have 20 copies of the 35 kopeck, so I am pretty convinced that the Bulat listing is wrong and Dr Seichter's right)

Anyway, in addition to the regular Broken Trident overprints in violet there are a few in red (a sort of pink - red). Bulat lists red overprints on the 10/7 kopeck, the 25 kopeck and the 50 kopeck imperforate (Bulat 71a, 75a, 90a). Dr Seichter also lists this overprint on the 7 kopeck, which I have - see the three stamps illustrated above. Both catalogs agree that these red overprints are rare, with Bulat using a price range of $75 - $150.

I now have a total of 9 copies of these stamps (but I don't have a copy of the 50 kopeck imperforate)and all are cancelled KIEV and none are cancelled Proskurov. And the date is later and where readable in 2 7 19.

So my little theory is this: though most of the Broken Trident overprints were exported to Podillia in mint conditon and cancelled to order there (in an area under UNR control), the handstamp remained in Kyiv. To mark the Bolshevik (Red) take-over of Kyiv, someone had the idea of making Broken Trident overprints in red. They clearly did not make very many. Dr Seichter listed and signed these overprints, though sometimes he marks them as "Neudruck" which of course they are in relation to the original printings both of Kyiv I and the Broken Trident variant. My suggestion is that they should be thought of as Bolshevik - flavoured Tridents.

Postscript 15 July 2012:

Here is a cover from a recent auction. Dated even later (29 1 20)and addressed to Moscow (though I do not think it travelled), it has two red Broken tridents in the middle flanked by Kyiv IIgg in red on two other stamps, all clearly from the same ink pad. When I looked inside the envelope, I found Dr Seichter's signatures combined with his Opinions: the Kyiv I Broken Tridents he treats as Reprints (Neudruck) and the Kyiv IIgg overprints as philatelic productions (Philatelisten Druck). Interestingly, the KIEV canceller appears to be the same as the one used on my loose stamps.

Added February 2020: Most of my Ukraine-related Blog posts are now available in full colour book form. To find out more follow the link:

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Kyiv I Broken Tridents: Seichter and Bulat

I have recently added to my stock of Broken Tridents - I bought Lot 84 in the Zelonka sale [ unsold during the auction; I paid the Start price after the auction].

Looking at what I have, I realise that the Seichter and Bulat listings are different. Bulat adds to Seichter's list, as one would expect, but there are errors and omissions.

Seichter lists a red overprint on the 7 kopeck, pricing it as 120 DM either mint or used. I now have three copies with normal and inverted overprints, all CTO.

Bulat omits this overprint, though he lists other red overprints. Had he listed it, it would be # 69a in his catalog.

In my holding, the 35 kopeck perforate is as common as the 3, 4 and 5 kopeck values. But Bulat prices it at $40 mint and $35 used. All my copies are used. I checked with Seichter. Seichter prices it at 3 DM for used only [ mint unknown].I think that there is a mistake in the Bulat listing and, in proportion to his other valuations, the 35 kopeck should merit only a few dollars [But see further comments below]. Whether it exists mint should also be investigated.

I don't have any copies of the 50 or 70 kopeck perforated though Bulat gives these the lowest of all valuations, 20 cents each. I checked back to Seichter. He makes the 50 kopeck an unpriced rarity [ - - ] known only mint. He puts 10 DM on the 70 kopeck mint, but has no used listing.

Clearly, we have a a problem - specifically, yet another problem with the Bulat catalog. The valuations on his #76, 77, 78 must be regarded as typographical errors.

For all the Kyiv I special types [ Bulat 62 - 145] his pricings are generally modest. But so too are Seichter's. This no doubt reflects their sense that these are purely philatelic productions. But it is also the case that most of these Special Types are very scarce.

When I tried, maybe ten years ago, to get some from Ron Zelonka, he was very reluctant to part with any and wanted a very good price for what he sold me. He could see that his own holdings [made public in Lots 77, 81 and 84 of the Zelonka sale] were really quite small.