AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STAMPS OF CARPATHO-UKRAINE, 1939 and 1945
| The National Council Definitive Issues | Cancellations |
| First Definitive Issue | Censorship |
| Second Definitive Issue | Epilog |
| Third Definitive Issue | Conclusion |
Carpatho-Ukrainian Postal Rates
The Czechoslovak postal rates in force in mid-March of 1939, at the time Carpatho-Ukraine declared its independence, were as follows:
| Local letter (to 20g) | 60 haléřů |
| Domestic postal card | 50 haléřů |
| Domestic letter rate (to 20g) | 1 koruna |
| Domestic Registration | 2 koruny |
| Domestic Special delivery | 2 koruny |
| Foreign postal card to neighboring countries | 1.20 koruny |
| Foreign postal card to other countries | 1.50 koruny |
| Foreign letter to neighboring countries (to 20g) | 2 koruny |
| Foreign letter to other countries (to 20g) | 2.50 koruny |
| Foreign registration to neighboring countries | 2 koruny |
| Foreign registration to other countries | 2.50 koruny |
| Foreign special delivery (express) | 5 koruny |
Unfortunately, the postal rates in Carpatho-Ukraine following liberation from Hungary are far less clear. The Hungarian expert Béla Simády (1984) provided the following list of rates:
| Local letter | 40 fillér (0.40 Pengő) |
| Domestic postal card | 40 fillér (0.40 Pengő) |
| Domestic letter | 60 fillér (0.60 pengő) |
| Foreign postal card | 1 Pengő |
| Foreign letter | 2 Pengő |
| Registration | 1.40 Pengő |
Although, this information is useful, the franking on a great many covers still goes unexplained. In particular, there are many court letters and official correspondences of the NRZU that are franked with 10 fillér and 20 fillér, which causes one to assume the existence of special rates (printed matter?) for those classes of mail.
Furthermore, five years later, Simády (1989) stated the following in regards the 1945 tariffs: "I have no exact data about the then-valid rates, but the franking of letters shows a very colorful picture."! Obviously, this subject presents opportunities for additional research
If one discards the blatantly philatelic covers, the above rates "fit" about 50% of the covers known. The foreign rates seem to be consistently applied, but there are many exceptions to the domestic (including local) rates.
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