Vietnam Stamps And Philatelic Items

Vietnamese ethnic group costumes, a set of 54 stamps issued in in a sheet by Vietnam on August 30, 2005:

Tay Phuong Pagoda is a Buddhist pagoda located in Thach That District, near Hanoi in Vietnam, built at the end of the 18th century. Due to its outstanding collection of lacquered wooden statues, the pagoda belongs to the list of special national heritage established by the Vietnamese government.

Two sets were issued by North Vietnam (1971) and by Vietnam (1978) show the wooden statues of main Buddhist figures located in Tay Phuong Pagoda:

North Vietnam, 1971:




Vietnam, 1978:

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist-nationalist revolutionaries. It was, from the French view before the event, a set piece battle to draw out the Vietnamese and destroy them with superior firepower. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that influenced negotiations over the future of Indochina at Geneva.

The 10th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu battle, issued by North Vietnam on May 7, 1964:

The 50th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu battle, issued by Vietnam on May 4, 2004. Please note that the stamps are less militaristic than the stamps of 1964 (previous post) and 1984 (first page of this thread) and sending a message of peace:




France also issued a stamp on May 10, 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the battle:

Dear LaoPhil, I'm just starting a Viet Minh collection and wondered if there is a significant problem with counterfeit stamps within this category. Look forward to hearing from you.

Wish you success in your new collection.
- Yes, there are bogus stamps of the Viet Minh with fantasy overprints and there are bogus philatelic items, mainly covers and postmarks. You can see here several examples:
https://www.sicp-online.org/fakes/drvn/index.htm
There is a short article in The Indochina Philatelist (ICP March 1988) by Steven Carol about bogus Viet Minh items.
I personally believe these bogus items are very rare and most stamps in the market are genuine.
BTW, I created an album for the Viet Minh stamps based on Scott catalogue with all images of the legitimate issued stamps and translations of the overprints. If you (or other collectors) need a PDF copy, I will be glad to send by email. Regards

I've just started working on a Viet Minh collection and have some questions for those of you that have been doing it far longer than I. I'm curious about counterfeit, different paper quality, and varieties.

Dear LaoPhil, I'd certainly like to see the PDF images, if you be so kind as to send them to me. Thanks a bunch. "Khong co gi quy hon tu do, doc lap, va hanh phuc!"

Cover sent in 1949 from Haiphong to Casablanca, Morocco - a very rare destination. The cover is franked with stamps of French Indo-China that were in use in that period. Arrival postmark applied in Casablanca on the back:

"Wandering Souls' Day" (Vietnamese: Le Xa Toi Vong Nhan), is a spiritual festival held on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month to honor ancestors and aid wandering spirits. Families prepare offerings of food, incense, and prayers to support their deceased loved ones, especially those who may not have received proper burials. Temples also hold ceremonies where people chant, make offerings, and sometimes release captive animals like fish to generate good karma for these souls. The festival is rooted in Vietnamese Buddhist and folk beliefs and reflects values of compassion, filial piety, and remembrance. It's one of Vietnam's most important days for honoring both family ties and spiritual compassion.

Vietnam (under Bao Dai, later South Vietnam) issued on September 3, 1952 a set of engraved airmail stamps to publicize the festival:

Vietnamese Traditional Costumes, issued by Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) on March 13, 1970:

The 50th anniversary of the October Revolution 1917-1967, issued by North Vietnam on October 15, 1967:

The 20th anniversary of Vietnamese civil aviation, airplane over Vietnamese landscapes, issued by South Vietnam on April 18, 1972:

As your account of Dien Bien Phu hints at, the battle was just a really dramatic moment that expedited France's decisons at the Geneva conferences. It was not if but when as French popular sentiment was to get out that determined the elections and actions to get out and stop the bleeding. One side note was the Indochina war also essentially wiped out a significant part of the French Foreign Legion and never recovered.

Many thanks, angore, for your comment!

The bamboo tree (cay tre) holds an important place among lots of trees in the Vietnamese countryside. It is not only a prominent member of the Vietnam trees family but also a significant symbol of the country's culture. Here is a set issued by North Vietnam on February 5, 1967 shows different Bamboo species:

- Arundinaria racemosa
- Arundinaria rolleana
- Bambusa arundinaceu
- Bambusa bingami
- Bambusa nutans
- Dendrocalamus patellaris



Imperforate stamps: