Up for sale is a beautiful estate collection of 15 vintage Soviet Union (USSR) philatelic First Day Covers and commemorative cards dating from 1970 to 1988. This lot is perfectly split into highly visual, complete, and sought-after thematic sub-series.
Complete Checklist of All 15 Pieces Included:
1. Soviet National Folk Epics "Epic of the Peoples of the USSR" (Complete 5-Piece Series - 1988):
A complete, matching 1988 First Day Cover run honoring historical folklore, all featuring identical stylized blue graphic book margin cachets and crisp, circular Moscow Premier Jour cancels dated September 22, 1988. • Cover 1: Alpamysh / Uzbek Epic (Алпамыш) 10k stamp. • Cover 2: David of Sasun / Armenian Epic (Давид Сасунский) 10k stamp. • Cover 3: Ilya Muromets / Russian Bylina Epic (Илья Муромец) 10k stamp. • Cover 4: Kalevipoeg / Estonian Epic (Калевипоэг) 10k stamp. • Cover 5: Manas / Kyrgyz Epic (Манас) 10k stamp.
2. "Tourism in the USSR" Fine Art Series (3-Piece Series - 1970):
A beautiful vintage sub-set featuring classical graphic art margins paired with vibrant matching definitive stamps, all canceled at the central Moscow Post Office on November 29, 1970. • Cover 6: Cultural Art & Performance (6k Blue/Orange stamp). • Cover 7: Wildlife Hunting & Wilderness Preservation (10k Ochre/Brown stamp). • Cover 8: Car Tourism / Road Trip Lifestyle (16k Pink/Teal stamp).
• Cover 9 (1976) Intercosmos Manned Space Program Launch FDC: Features a bold blue-and-gold central medallion cachet, 6k deep-blue orbital stamp, and a crisp circular Moscow Intercosmos Premier Jour cancel. • Cover 10 (1976) Soyuz-21 & Salyut-5 Space Mission FDC: Beautifully illustrated envelope featuring dual portrait cachets of cosmonauts Boris Volynov and Vitaly Zholobov, complete with matching flight stamps and an August 1976 launch cancel. • Cover 11 (1976) Intercosmos Joint Mission (India Theme) FDC: Commemorating joint scientific space collaboration, featuring the 10k deep blue Earth orbit stamp. • Cover 12 (1976) Intercosmos Joint Mission (France Theme) FDC: Marking cooperative Earth-observation flights, featuring the 16k forest green space stamp. • Cover 13 (1984) Cosmonautics Day Commemorative Envelope: Vibrant, large-scale graphic cachet reading "12 апреля - День космонавтики" (April 12 - Cosmonautics Day). Paired with space flight stamps and a special commemorative Baltic philatelic exhibition cancellation (Прибалтфил-84).
4. Historic Anniversaries & Cultural Figures (2 Pieces):
• Cover 14 (1974) Moscow Mint 250th Anniversary FDC: Commemorates two and a half centuries of the Goznak Moscow Mint (Московский Монетный Двор). Features a stylized layout of various minted numismatic coins and medals, franked with a deep purple commemorative stamp and canceled on December 11, 1974. • Cover 15 (1987) Yuri Shaporin Centenary FDC: Dedicated commemorative postcard envelope honoring the 100th birth anniversary of Soviet composer Yuri Shaporin (1887–1966). Features an ornate sheet music and book graphic stamp, clean portrait cachet, and an official Moscow November 8, 1987 first-day cancel. Condition Report: All 15 covers are in excellent vintage condition. The paper stock remains crisp and white with sharp, unbent corners. Postal handstamps and typographical inks are incredibly clean, sharp, and highly legible. No major staining, water damage, or tearing present. They have been carefully kept flat in standard philatelic archive storage. Please inspect the high-resolution images carefully to examine individual stamps and cancellations