USSR Stamps
Definitives of 1923-1926
The first definitive USSR stamps, issued in late 1923, were identical to those of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, but they are inscribed with the Cyrillic letters "СССР" instead of "РСФСР".
On December 22, 1922, a treaty was signed by representatives from the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, forming the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the USSR or the Soviet Union (Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик or СССР).
Each
socialist republic had its own Supreme Soviet or Congress, and their
representatives would convene at the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in
Moscow, which was the Federal Capitol of the USSR. By 1940, the USSR had grown from four to sixteen soviet socialist
republics, and they would soon emerge as one of the most powerful
nations in the world.
The ten major denomination type definitive USSR stamps shown above were issued in 1923.
The three common designs feature a Soldier, a Worker, and a Peasant.
The catalog attributes, for USSR stamps that are lithographed on unwatermarked paper and imperforate, are as follows:
- 01 K. (1923 - Sc. #250) - Orange.
- 02 K. (1923 - Sc. #251) - Green.
- 03 K. (1923 - Sc. #252) - Red Brown.
- 04 K. (1923 - Sc. #253) - Deep Rose.
- 05 K. (1923 - Sc. #254) - Lilac.
- 06 K. (1923 - Sc. #255) - Light Blue.
- 10 K. (1923 - Sc. #256) - Dark Blue.
- 20 K. (1923 - Sc. #257) - Yellow Green.
- 50 K. (1923 - Sc. #258) - Dark Brown.
- 01 R. (1923 - Sc. #259) - Red & Brown.
The catalog attributes, for USSR stamps that are lithographed on unwatermarked paper and perforated 14 1/2 x 15, are as follows:
- 04 K. (1924 - Sc. #261) - Deep Rose.
- 10 K. (1924 - Sc. #262) - Dark Blue.
- 30 K. (1924 - Sc. #263) - Violet.
- 40 K. (1924 - Sc. #264) - Slate Gray.
The catalog attributes, for USSR stamps that are typographed on unwatermarked paper and imperforate, are as follows:
- 03 K. (1924 - Sc. #273) - Red Brown.
- 04 K. (1924 - Sc. #274) - Deep Rose.
- 10 K. (1924 - Sc. #275) - Dark Blue.
- 50 K. (1924 - Sc. #275A) - Brown.
Other typographed denominations exist imperforate, but they were not regularly issued.
There are small differences between the lithographed stamps of 1923 to 1924 and the typographed stamps of 1924 to 1927. They are as follows:
- Worker - Lithographed - The two white lines forming the outline of the ear are continued across the cheek.
- Worker - Typographed - The outer lines of the ear are broken where they touch the cheek.
- Soldier - Lithographed - At the top of the right shoulder, a white line touches the frame at the left. Counting from the edge of the visor of the cap, lines 5, 6, and sometimes 7 touch at their upper ends.
- Soldier - Typographed - The top line of the right shoulder does not touch the frame. On the cap, lines 5, 6, and 7 run together and form a white spot.
- Peasant - Lithographed - In the angle above the first letter "C", there is a fan shaped ornament enclosing four white dashes. These dashes nearly reach to the point of the angle.
- Peasant - Typographed - The dashes are shorter, and often, only three of them are visible.
On mint condition examples of the typographed stamps, the raised outlines of the designs can be seen on the backs of the stamps.
The eighteen major denomination type definitive USSR stamps shown above were issued between 1924 and 1925.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are typographed on unwatermarked paper and perforated 14 1/2 x 15, are as follows:
- 01 K. (1924 - Sc. #276) - Orange.
- 02 K. (1924 - Sc. #277) - Green.
- 03 K. (1924 - Sc. #278) - Red Brown.
- 04 K. (1924 - Sc. #279) - Deep Rose.
- 05 K. (1924 - Sc. #280) - Lilac.
- 06 K. (1924 - Sc. #281) - Light Blue.
- 07 K. (1924 - Sc. #282) - Chocolate.
- 08 K. (1924 - Sc. #283) - Brown Olive.
- 09 K. (1924 - Sc. #284) - Orange Red.
- 10 K. (1924 - Sc. #285) - Dark Blue.
- 14 K. (1924 - Sc. #286) - Slate Blue.
- 15 K. (1924 - Sc. #287) - Yellow.
- 20 K. (1924 - Sc. #288) - Gray Green.
- 30 K. (1924 - Sc. #288A) - Violet
- 40 K. (1924 - Sc. #288B) - Slate Gray.
- 50 K. (1924 - Sc. #289) - Brown.
- 01 R. (1924 - Sc. #290) - Red & Brown.
- 02 R. (1924 - Sc. #291) - Green & Rose.
The catalog attributes, for USSR stamps that are typographed on unwatermarked paper and perforated 12, are as follows:
- 01 K. (1924 - Sc. #276a) - Orange.
- 02 K. (1924 - Sc. #277a) - Green.
- 03 K. (1924 - Sc. #278a) - Red Brown.
- 04 K. (1924 - Sc. #279a) - Deep Rose.
- 05 K. (1924 - Sc. #280a) - Lilac.
- 07 K. (1924 - Sc. #282a) - Chocolate.
- 08 K. (1924 - Sc. #283a) - Brown Olive.
- 09 K. (1924 - Sc. #284a) - Orange Red.
- 10 K. (1924 - Sc. #285a) - Dark Blue.
- 14 K. (1924 - Sc. #286a) - Slate Blue.
- 15 K. (1924 - Sc. #287a) - Yellow.
- 20 K. (1924 - Sc. #288c) - Gray Green.
- 30 K. (1924 - Sc. #288d) - Violet
- 40 K. (1924 - Sc. #288e) - Slate Gray.
- 50 K. (1924 - Sc. #289a) - Brown.
- 01 R. (1924 - Sc. #290a) - Red & Brown.
WMK 170
Greek Border & Rosettes
The catalog attributes, for USSR stamps that are typographed on paper with WMK 170 and perforated 12, are as follows:
- 01 K. (1925 - Sc. #304) - Orange.
- 02 K. (1925 - Sc. #305) - Green.
- 03 K. (1925 - Sc. #306) - Red Brown.
- 04 K. (1925 - Sc. #307) - Deep Rose.
- 05 K. (1925 - Sc. #308) - Lilac.
- 06 K. (1925 - Sc. #309) - Light Blue.
- 07 K. (1925 - Sc. #310) - Chocolate.
- 08 K. (1925 - Sc. #311) - Brown Olive.
- 09 K. (1925 - Sc. #312) - Red.
- 10 K. (1925 - Sc. #313) - Dark Blue, Pale Blue.
- 14 K. (1925 - Sc. #314) - Slate Blue.
- 15 K. (1925 - Sc. #315) - Yellow.
- 18 K. (1925 - Sc. #316) - Violet.
- 20 K. (1925 - Sc. #317) - Gray Green.
- 30 K. (1925 - Sc. #318) - Violet
- 40 K. (1925 - Sc. #319) - Slate Gray.
- 50 K. (1925 - Sc. #320) - Brown.
- 01 R. (1925 - Sc. #321) - Red & Brown.
- 02 R. (1925 - Sc. #323) - Green & Rose.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are typographed on paper with WMK 170 and perforated 14 1/2 x 15, are as follows:
- 08 K. (1925 - Sc. #311a) - Brown Olive.
- 01 R. (1925 - Sc. #321a) - Red & Brown.
- 02 R. (1925 - Sc. #323a) - Green & Rose.
The two major high-denomination type definitive USSR stamps shown above were issued between 1924 and 1925.
The two common designs are the same as those used on previous definitive postage stamp issues.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are typographed on unwatermarked paper and perforated 13 1/2, are as follows:
- 03 R. (1924 - Sc. #292) - Black Brown & Green.
- 05 R. (1924 - Sc. #293) - Dark Blue & Gray Brown.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are typographed on unwatermarked paper and perforated 10, are as follows:
- 03 R. (1924 - Sc. #292a) - Black Brown & Green.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are typographed on unwatermarked paper and perforated 10 1/2, are as follows:
- 05 R. (1924 - Sc. #293a) - Dark Blue & Gray Brown.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are typographed on unwatermarked paper and perforated 13 1/2 x 10, are as follows:
- 03 R. (1924 - Sc. #292b) - Black Brown & Green.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are typographed on paper with WMK 170 and perforated 13 1/2, are as follows:
- 03 R. (1925 - Sc. #324) - Black Brown & Green.
- 05 R. (1925 - Sc. #325) - Dark Blue & Gray Brown.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are typographed on paper with WMK 170 and perforated 12 1/2, are as follows:
- 03 R. (1925 - Sc. #324a) - Black Brown & Green.
The two high-denomination definitive USSR stamps shown above were issued between 1925 and 1926. The stamps are engraved on paper with WMK 170.
The two common designs feature a portrait of Vladimir Lenin.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 13 1/2, are as follows:
- 05 R. (1925 - Sc. #302) - Red Brown.
- 10 R. (1925 - Sc. #303) - Indigo.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 12 1/2, are as follows:
- 05 R. (1925 - Sc. #302a) - Red Brown.
- 10 R. (1925 - Sc. #303a) - Indigo.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 10 1/2, are as follows:
- 05 R. (1926 - Sc. #302b) - Red Brown.
- 10 R. (1926 - Sc. #303b) - Indigo.
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Return to Russian Stamps from
USSR Stamps - Definitives of 1923-1926
For anyone seriously considering specializing in the stamps of Russia or the Stamps of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a specialized catalog is required.
The Zagorsky catalog is the specialty catalog for Russian philately, and the more recent editions are published in English! Click on the picture above for a link to ordering information on the Zagorsky website.
These catalogs are also frequently available on eBay. Here's a link to the proper eBay category.