ELVA
Various Soviet stamps were overprinted with a twoline rubber handstamped
OPT "Eesti Post". The overprinting was done by the Postmaster
of Elva with the approval of the local Militia commander. The postal
service in the area was at f irst quite limited and the issuing of
stamps was mainly regarded as a political manifestation.
Overprint:The handstamp used was compiled of loose
rubber-stamp letters and shows many variations. Most of these varieties:
the length of OPT, damaged letters etc., were caused by wear and tear.
However the handstamp was taken apart several times for cleaning purposes
and re-assembled. As a result two distinct types of OPT can be distinguished:
the letters "t" were interchanged. The exact date of this
re-assembley is not known but the earliest cancellation with the type
II dates from July 14, 1941.
One additional distinct re-assembley has been reported. The cancellations
are known only from a time period, where the stamps of the Tartu Issue
already had been distributed and there was no postal need for additional
stamps. The so-called type III OPT must consequently be considered
as entirely philatelic.
The color of the OPT is black and the OPT was applied horizontally.
The reported OPT in lilac as well as the known OPT varieties inverted,
diagonal and vertical OPT's, pairs with only one stamp overprinted
- were produced at the request of philatelists. This was contrary
to instructions and they should be considered as philatelic. The same
applies to the OPT on the stamps of the Carrier Pigeon and Tartu issues.
The handstamp was handed over to the German authorities on Octoberber
20, 1941 and was forwarded to Riga. In 1943 the handstamp was sent
to the Postal Museum in Tallinn.
Print: It is important to observe that two procedures
were used for the overprinting:
1) Most of the issued stamps stem from the stock of Soviet stamps
held by the P.O. at Elva.
2) An additional part (minor) stems from the Soviet stamps submitted
by the public and overprinted for payment of a cash fee equal to the
face value.
The P.O. recorded the stamps by denomination only. This explains why
the number of different stamps today cannot be verified by documentary
evidence. When the Postmaster at a later date was requested by the
GPO to provide a list of different stamps overprinted, he was unable
to comply with the request.
With the help of local collectors (Mr. Poll was not a philatelist
himself) the Postmaster put together a collection of 30 different
stamps and declared this to be the overprinted issue. We know today
that other Soviet stamps were on sale over the counter. However,
Mr. Poll's list is still the one and only documentary evidence in
existence.
Org in his catalogue strictly follows the official list and has recorded
30 stamps only. Eichenthal (in 1944 and 1962) has recorded 35 different
stamps, believed to be sold at the P.O. and additional 67 stamps,
which were submitted foroverprint by the public. Michel has from time
to time increased their listing finally to total 56 stamps (1985)
without any attempt to differenciate between the two categories.
We are going to present the issue in four groups:
1)
Stamps included in the official list.
2) Stamps which admittedly were sold in the P.O.
3) Stamps submitted for overprinting by the public and authenticated
as genuine OPT's.
4) OPT varieties recorded but being considered as philatelic.
We know that from the stock of the P.O. 7.200 various Soviet stamps
and 300 items of postal stationery were overprinted. There is no evidence
about the number of stamps submitted by the public. There are indications
that for some values the number may be of importance. We have therefore
decided to omit the number of OPT's issued completely.
Valid: The stamps were placed on sale July 10, 1941
and were sold in the P.O. until August 12, 1941. Cancellations are
known until the end of September and there are many with the August
14 cancellation. According to Org. the overprinting and sale of Elva
stamps was continued until the first days of September. We consider
this report to be trustworthy and believe that during this time period
many OPT's, mostly to philatelists, were produced.
The stamps were cancelled with the ELVA EESTI, A, B (most) and C cancellers.
A few cancellations are also known from a few neighboring P.O.'s such
as Puka, Tartu etc.
Forgeries. Both crude and excellent forged overprints
are in existence. More than 25 different forgeries have been recorded.
Also cancellations have been forged. A detailed description of all
known forgeries cannot be given within the scope of this catalogue.
Expertizing by a knowledgeable Estonian expertizer is mandatory.
Literature:
Julius Bleyer: "Kohaliku ja ülemaalise tähtsusega ajutised
postimaksu vahendid, mis 1941.a. postiliiklusel olid tarvitusel"
(Local and official provisional postage stamps used in Estonia in
1941). Tallinn 1941/44. (In Estonian).
Votele Org: "Frimärkesutgivningen i det ockuperade EstJand
under Andra Världskriget" (The Issues of Postage Stamps
in the Occupied Estonia during the Second World War). Frimärksbladet
No 3, Stockholm 1948 (In Swedish).
"Eesti Post ja Postmargid 1940-42" (Estonian Post and Postage
Stamps in 1940-42). Stockholm 1959 (in Estonian).
Dr H. Meyerholz: "Hannoversche National Postwertzeichen Ausstellung
1966 Katalog". 1966. (In German.)
Vello Mtindvere: "Elva Local Issue 1941 ". Eesti Filatelist
No 16/17 and 18/19. Stockholm 1975-76.
| A.
OPT's included in the official list sent to the GPO |
| |
Ei
No |
Mi
No |
 |
 |
| 1 |
1
kop. |
Worker |
1 |
1 |
40:- |
50:- |
| 1a |
1
kop. |
WM |
1a |
- |
500:- |
500:- |
| 2 |
2
kop. |
Woman
|
2 |
2 |
40:- |
50:- |
| 3 |
3
kop. |
Farmer
|
3 |
3 |
165:- |
200:- |
| 4 |
4
kop. |
Farm
girl |
4 |
4 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 5 |
5
kop. |
Miner |
5 |
5 |
40:- |
50:- |
| 6 |
10
kop. |
Woman worker |
6 |
6 |
70:- |
90:- |
| 7 |
10
kop. |
Fair
|
24 |
24 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 8 |
15
kop. |
Soldier
|
7 |
7 |
70:- |
90:- |
| 9 |
20
kop. |
Farm
girl |
8 |
8 |
70:- |
90:- |
| 10 |
30
kop. |
Aviator
|
9 |
9 |
70:- |
90:- |
| 11 |
30
kop. |
Timiryazev |
14 |
14 |
500:- |
500:- |
| 12 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Georgia |
29 |
29 |
240:- |
320:- |
| 13 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Karelen |
33 |
35 |
240:- |
320:- |
| 14 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
North East |
26 |
A25 |
500:- |
500:- |
| 15 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Turkmenia |
30 |
32 |
240:- |
320:- |
| 16 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Ukraine |
27 |
26 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 17 |
50
kop. |
Farm
girl |
10 |
10 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 18 |
50
kop. |
Perekop |
15 |
16 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 18a |
50
kop. |
Perekop,
one side imperforate |
15A |
- |
230:- |
350:- |
| 19 |
50
kop. |
Fair
|
34 |
37 |
240:- |
320:- |
| 20 |
60
kop. |
Coat
of Arms |
11 |
11 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 21 |
60
kop. |
Mayakovsky |
18 |
17 |
300:- |
400:- |
| 22 |
60
kop. |
Sports |
17 |
18 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 22a |
60
kop. |
Sports,
one side imperforate |
17A |
- |
230:- |
350:- |
| 23 |
60
kop. |
Fair
|
35 |
36 |
300:- |
400:- |
| 24 |
80
kop. |
North
Pole |
19 |
19 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 25 |
1
Rbl. |
Chapaev |
20 |
20 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 26 |
1
Rbl. |
Perekop |
21 |
21 |
200:- |
300:- |
| 27 |
1
Rbl. |
Industry
|
22 |
22 |
300:- |
400:- |
| 28 |
1
Rbl. |
Suvorov |
23 |
23 |
300:- |
400:- |
| 29 |
3
Rbl. |
Lenin |
12 |
12 |
300:- |
400:- |
| 30 |
5
Rbl. |
Lenin |
13 |
13 |
300:- |
400:- |
| B.
The stamps admittedly on sale in the P.O. |
| 31 |
15
kop. |
Fair
|
25 |
25 |
400:- |
500:- |
| 32 |
15
kop. |
Tchaikovsky |
B31 |
- |
500:- |
500:- |
| 33 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
White Russia |
28 |
27 |
400:- |
500:- |
| 34 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Kirghiz |
31 |
28 |
500:- |
500:- |
| 35 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Azerbaijan |
B34 |
30 |
500:- |
500:- |
| 36 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Armenia |
B35 |
31 |
500:- |
500:- |
| 37 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Tadzhik |
B36 |
33 |
500:- |
500:- |
| 38 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Kazakh |
32 |
36 |
500:- |
500:- |
| 39 |
50
kop. |
Sports |
16 |
47 |
400:- |
500:- |
| 40 |
60
kop. |
Perekop |
B41 |
- |
500:- |
500:- |
| 41 |
1
Rbl. |
Kremlin |
B66 |
A11 |
500:- |
500:- |
| 42 |
2
Rbl. |
Kremlin |
B67 |
B11 |
500:- |
500:- |
| C.
The stamps submitted by the public and overprinted |
| 43 |
5
kop. |
Red
Army |
B48 |
- |
|
|
| 44 |
10
kop. |
North
Pole |
B2 |
- |
|
|
| 45 |
10
kop. |
USA
Flight I |
B5 |
- |
|
|
| 46 |
10
kop. |
USA
Flight II |
B9 |
- |
|
|
| 47 |
10
kop. |
Chekhov |
B18 |
- |
|
|
| 48 |
10
kop. |
Western
Ukraine |
B22 |
- |
|
|
| 49 |
10
kop. |
Perekop |
B38 |
A38 |
|
|
| 50 |
10
kop. |
Industry
|
B42 |
- |
|
|
| 51 |
10
kop. |
Red
Army |
B49 |
- |
|
|
| 52 |
10
kop. |
Suvorov |
B61 |
39 |
|
|
| 53 |
15
kop. |
Far
East Flight |
B15 |
- |
|
|
| 54 |
15
kop. |
Chekhov |
B19 |
- |
|
|
| 55 |
15
kop. |
Mayakovsky |
B27 |
- |
|
|
| 56 |
15
kop. |
Sports |
B30 |
- |
|
|
| 57 |
15
kop. |
Perekop |
B39 |
- |
|
|
| 58 |
15
kop. |
Industry
|
B43 |
- |
|
|
| 59 |
15
kop. |
Red
Army |
B50 |
- |
|
|
| 60 |
15
kop. |
Zhukovsky
|
B56 |
40 |
|
|
| 61 |
15
kop. |
Kirghiz |
B59 |
41 |
|
|
| 62 |
15
kop. |
Suvorov |
B62 |
42 |
|
|
| 63 |
20
kop. |
North
Pole |
B3 |
- |
|
|
| 64 |
20
kop. |
USA
Flight I |
B6 |
- |
|
|
| 65 |
20
kop. |
USA
Flight II |
B10 |
- |
|
|
| 66 |
20
kop. |
Chelkhov |
B20 |
- |
|
|
| 67 |
20
kop. |
Industry
|
B44 |
- |
|
|
| 68 |
20
kop. |
Red
Army |
B51 |
- |
|
|
| 69 |
30
kop. |
Far
East Flight |
B13 |
- |
|
|
| 70 |
30
kop. |
New
York Fair |
B15 |
- |
|
|
| 71 |
30
kop. |
Ditto,
imperforate |
B16 |
43 |
|
|
| 72 |
30
kop. |
Chelkhov |
B21 |
- |
|
|
| 73 |
30
kop. |
Western
Ukraine |
B23 |
44 |
|
|
| 74 |
30
kop. |
Mayakovsky |
B28 |
- |
|
|
| 75 |
30
kop. |
Sports |
- |
A14 |
|
|
| 76 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Rjazan-Tula |
B33 |
B25 |
|
|
| 77 |
30
kop. |
Fair,
Uzbekistan |
B37 |
34 |
|
|
| 78 |
30
kop. |
Perekop |
B40 |
- |
|
|
| 79 |
30
kop. |
Industry
|
B45 |
46 |
|
|
| 80 |
30
kop. |
Red
Army |
B52 |
- |
|
|
| 81 |
30
kop. |
Zhukovsky |
B57 |
- |
|
|
| 82 |
30
kop. |
Kirghiz |
B60 |
- |
|
|
| 83 |
30
kop. |
Suvorov |
B63 |
45 |
|
|
| 84 |
30
kop. |
Karelian
Finland |
B64 |
- |
|
|
| 85 |
40
kop. |
North
Pole |
B4 |
- |
|
|
| 86 |
40
kop. |
USA
Flight I |
B7 |
- |
|
|
| 87 |
45
kop. |
Red
Army |
B53 |
- |
|
|
| 88 |
45
kop. |
Karelian
Finland |
B65 |
15 |
|
|
| 89 |
50
kop. |
USA
Flight I |
B8 |
- |
|
|
| 90 |
50
kop. |
USA
Flight II |
B11 |
- |
|
|
| 91 |
50
kop. |
New
York Fair |
B17 |
- |
|
|
| 92 |
50
kop. |
Western
Ukraine |
B24 |
- |
|
|
| 93 |
50
kop. |
Tchaikovsky |
B32 |
- |
|
|
| 94 |
50
kop. |
Industry
|
B46 |
- |
|
|
| 95 |
50
kop. |
Red
Army |
B54 |
- |
|
|
| 96 |
50
kop. |
Zhukovsky |
B58 |
A47 |
|
|
| 97 |
60
kop. |
Far
East Flight |
B14 |
- |
|
|
| 98 |
60
kop. |
Western
Ukraine |
B25 |
- |
|
|
| 99 |
60
kop. |
Industry
|
B47 |
48 |
|
|
| 100 |
80
kop. |
Mayakovsky |
B29 |
- |
|
|
| 101 |
1
Rbl. |
Western
Ukraine |
B26 |
- |
|
|
| 102 |
1
Rbl. |
Red
Army |
B55 |
- |
|
|
| 103 |
10
Rbl. |
Lenin |
B1 |
- |
|
|
Price:
300 USD each, mint or used
It should be noticed that the OPT's on 3s. and 15s. of
the Carrier Pigeon and
on the Tartu issue owe their existence to a missuse of the handstamp
|
| D.
The OPT varieties recorded but considered to be philatelic |
| 1 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:3 |
Téte-béche |
| |
E:4 |
Pair
with and Mo OPT |
| 2 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:7 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT, OPT inverted |
| 3 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:3 |
Téte-béche |
| |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| 5 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| 6 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:3 |
Téte-béche |
| |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| |
E:6 |
Lilac
OPT |
| 8 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:3 |
Téte-béche |
| |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| 9 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:3 |
Téte-béche |
| |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| 10 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:6 |
Lilac
OPT |
| 11 |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| 12 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:5 |
Double
OPT |
| 15 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| 16 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| 17 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:3 |
Téte-béche |
| |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| 18 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| 19 |
E:3 |
Téte-béche |
| 20 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| 23 |
E:4 |
Pair
with and w/o OPT |
| 25 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Téte-béche |
| |
E:4 |
Vertical
OPT |
| 26 |
E:3 |
Téte-béche |
| 27 |
E:5 |
Double
OPT |
| |
E:6 |
Lilac
OPT |
| 29 |
E:1 |
Diagonal
OPT |
| |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| 30 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
| |
E:5 |
Double
OPT |
| 41 |
E:2 |
Inverted
OPT |
Please
note that all prices are estimates in USD, based on the average retail
market of 1985, when the original catalogue/handbook
was written. The prices are considerably higher today.
