I bought a $10 box of foreign covers at a live auction. this one is particularly interesting. I'm guessing Russia or Finland; Scott numbers 48 and 50. Probably Russia due to the lower Scott value. Posted according to the back stamp in 1906. I'm not sure what the machine on the front is. Nice bicycle on the back. Any possibility it is something else. Any translations of the text would be appreciated.
It is indeed a cover from the old Russian empire. The business cover is from the modern Lithuanian city of Kaunas, formerly known as Kowno. The writing at the top is in German (Machin-Lager) which means machine shop. The shop is located on "? Street, located next to the Catholic Church". It is addressed to the German city of Stettin-Grunhof to a "Beruh Hoerner". "Litwak" according to Wikipedia is the word used to describe Lithuanian Jews that have their "roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania". I can't help you with the writing on the back it is likely some advertising quip about the superiority of the bicycle. I'm thinking because of the nature of the history of this advertising cover that it would be quite a desirable one, likely worth more than the total cost of the box.
Here's a challenge.... Anyone have a cover out there with more than 13 stamps and $6500 in postage? Let's see if there is a higher stamp count and total postage on one non-philatelic cover.
Here is a famous cover with 27 stamps valued at a combined 220 billion Marks from the Weimar Republic era. http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/topicals-thematics/german-inflations/
Most likely the letter was posted in Rowno in the governement Wolhynia.This was Russian Poland. Today it is named Riwne and belongs to the Ukraine.The poulation was polish (catholics) and jewish.The daily language of the Jews was jiddish, what resembles a lot to German.But the business language of the Jews was High-German. After WW I Rowno was part of Poland.In WW II Poland again was divided between Germany and Russia.After the war Russia kept her booty and incorporated it into Bjelorussia and the Ukraine. As compensation Poland became the eastern provinces of Germany.So Stettin became the most western city of Poland and is named Szcezecin since then.
Quite funny: I´ve checked the postal tariffs from November 26th,1923.220 Milliarden (Billions) was in no way sufficient.A 20 g letter (cheapest category) to foreign destinations was 320 Milliarden. Registration was 80 Milliarden.So a letter,if not more than 20 g,was 400 Milliarden. From Nov.20 till Nov.25 the rate for such a letter was 100 Milliarden "only".On Dec.1st the rate was 600 Milliarden or 60 Rentenpfennig in new money.
Since only the front of the cover is being shown on the website perhaps there is additional postage on the back?
You are perhaps right.To me the cover looks very much like a philatelic and not like commercial one. (Why were no 50 Milliarden stamps used ?) If there is an arrival-cancel on the backside,it would prove at least,that the cover really went through the mail.
Werner you raise some interesting points. I think you are correct about it being a philatelic cover. I too would be curious about the backside, whether it had other stamps plus receiving cancels.
