Finland / Grand Duchy of Finland Specialist Stamp & Postmark Collection – 1889 Three Numerals & Russian Period

An extensive old specialist accumulation of used Finnish stamps from the period of the Grand Duchy of Finland under the Russian Empire, housed in a vintage stockbook.

The collection is particularly strong in the 1889 “Three Numerals” Coat of Arms issue, with large numbers of the 5p green, 10p red/carmine, 20p orange and 25p blue values, together with other denominations and later Russian-period material.

The principal interest appears to be the wide variety of cancellations and postmarks. The original collector seems to have organised much of the material according to post office/place name and cancellation type rather than simply accumulating duplicate stamps.

Postmarks observed include numerous Finnish town cancellations, with examples including Tammerfors, Iisalmi, Kajaani, Parikkala, Tammela, Orimattila, Loviisa, Sortavala, Lohja, Nilsiä, Herrala, Lahti and Sakkola, amongst others.

There is also a substantial group of Helsingfors (Helsinki) cancellations across different denominations.

Other interesting material noted includes:

• Finnish Russian-period bilingual/trilingual circular date stamps, including a particularly attractive almost complete Tavastehus / Hämeenlinna / Russian Cyrillic cancellation struck across an intact pair of 10p stamps.
• Viborg / Wiipuri cancellation material.
• At least one K.P.X.P. railway / travelling post office cancellation has been observed.
• A number of conspicuous geometric / patterned cancellations, including large grid/checkerboard-style strikes, particularly amongst the material towards the end of the stockbook.
• Stamps retained on pieces and multiples with cancellations extending across more than one stamp.
• A separately mounted 20p Three Numerals stamp with a particularly clear St. Michel cancellation.
• A considerable range of cancellation styles, dates, shades and apparent printing/perforation differences which may reward further specialist examination.

The collection also progresses into the Russian-design issues associated with Finland's period within the Russian Empire, making it an interesting study of Finnish postal history during this period.

Please note: I have not attempted to catalogue or individually identify every cancellation, shade, perforation or specialist variety. No claim is therefore made that any particular cancellation or stamp is rare unless specifically visible and described. There are several hundred stamps and the lot is offered intact as received, with considerable scope for further specialist research.

Condition is naturally mixed, as expected for used stamps of this age. Some stamps have faults, short perforations, heavy cancellations, toning or other age-related wear, while others are attractive examples with clear postmarks. Mint material is also present, including several apparently never-hinged examples; gum condition should be assessed from the photographs.

The original arrangement has been preserved, including multiples, stamps on piece and the collector's individual mounting/positioning.

A particularly interesting lot for the Finland specialist, postmark/cancellation collector, Grand Duchy collector or collector of Finnish/Russian postal history.

Please study all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the description and show the actual collection offered.