Two Stamps Dating from Tsarist Russia Sold in Helsinki

Two rare stamps issued in 1856 in Russia in a denomination of 10 kopecks have been sold at an auction in Helsinki.

The stamps were pasted onto an envelope dated March 19, 1859. The envelope was sent from Helsinki to Germany via Russia, and in addition to the stamp of the post office of the capital of the Great Principality of Finland also carried an imprint with the text "Aus Russland Franco". The envelope with the glued-on stamps was auctioned off for 8,220 euros.

A well-preserved postage stamp from tsarist times with a denomination of five kopecks was sold for 2,300 euros, against a starting price of 800 euros.

Specialists note that Finland has recently been seeing a veritable philatelic boom. Thus, a philatelic auction in Helsinki, held in February by company Kai Hellman Ltd, registered the highest prices in the history of such sales in Finland. The total sum of receipts reached 436,000 euros. Out of nearly 2,000 lots put up, more than 88 per cent were sold.