The Kolchak issue of 1919

INTRODUCTION
According to the major catalogs, this is a set of ten stamps issued for general use in Siberia, the Far East and Manchuria. The date of issue is sometimes given as 1919, sometimes as 1919-1920. Their place of origin is usually given as Omsk, Kolchak's capital city. Many of these statements can be questioned, but few definite conclusions can be drawn: until the archives of Kolchak's postal administration have been examined fully this will remain an intriguing issue, brimming with unsolved mysteries. 

Although most catalogs list ten stamps in this set, one of these - the 1R/4k imperf. - was not listed by Pappadopulo in his April 1923 booklet. That, and the fact that not a single used copy has turned up since 1919 led Ceresa (1983) to state that this value was never issued. I can only agree with this conclusion wholeheartedly, and as far as I'm concerned, the "Kolchak issue" consists of nine stamps: 

1. 35 on 2 kopeck green perf
2. 50 on 3 kopeck red perf
3. 70 on 1 kopeck orange perf
4. 1 rubl' on 4 kopeck red perf
5. 3 rublya on 7 kopeck blue perf
6. 5 rublei on 14 kopeck blue & red perf
7. 35 on 2 kopeck green imperf
8. 50 on 3 kopeck red imperf
9. 70 on 1 kopeck orange imperf 

Although several different shades of the basic stamps, stemming from different printings were used and it is tempting to list these, there is only one shade I can recommend to all collectors as worth acquiring, and this is the 1R/4k in the light pink shade of the very early Arms printings. The number of stamps so overprinted is not known, but of the lower values in particular it must have been enormous, as these are among the most common stamps of the Civil War period. In contrast, the ruble values are much less plentiful, and finding a large block of the 3R/7k and 5R/14k stamps is quite difficult, a sure sign initial quantities were not large. Used copies of some values are rarely seen, the 35/2k imperf. being particularly difficult to find. 

CHARACTERISTICS
It is still not quite certain if the Arms stamps were overprinted one 100-sheet at a time, or if larger units were overprinted. The basic stamps were printed in 400-sheets, and complete printing sheets may have been available in Omsk, so overprinting could have been on 100-sheets, on 200-sheets and on 400-sheets. For at least one value, the 70 kopeck overprint, at least two 100-settings of the overprint can be identified, and both settings have thus far been found only on "left sheets" (sheets with a wide margin at left, often but not always with a gum stop at left). The two plates may have been next to each other in a vertical pair on the overprinting stone, so 200-sheets are still a possibility. 

Overprinting was by typography, although sources differ where the overprinting took place, with some sources naming the State Bank in Omsk, others the Omsk branch of the EZGB (State printing works for stamps, banknotes, etc.), and of course these two may be one and the same. The overprinting was in deep black ink that frequently left off-sets on the reverse of sheets. Pinholes in the corners of sheets (usually two pinholes per sheet, another indication that overprinting may have taken place on 200-sheets) are probably the result of pins immobilising the sheets during overprinting. There are many identifiable positions in the sheet for each value, but the more spectacularly odd positions will be dealt with in the next paragraph. 

VARIETIES
The Kolchak issue is responsible for the vast majority of Siberian varieties, and there are reasons for suspecting that some of these may have been produced to order. The varieties fall into three categories: overprinting errors (inverts, double overprints), plate varieties (the "missing 5" and "missing 3"), and incidental errors (mostly shifts). 

Overprinting errors
The following varieties have turned up:

Inverted overprint:  Known on all values.
Double overprint: Known on 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8.
Double overprint, one inverted: Known on 4 and 9. 

Note that no cases of overprinting on the reverse of the sheet have been recorded, nor have genuine examples of overprints on the wrong stamp or overprints in the wrong color. In view of the abundance of varieties with this issue, this is surprising... Many of these varieties bear the guarantee mark of the Soviet Philatelic Association on the reverse, and this worries me. While Kolchak ran a pretty inept government, the number of varieties seems a little excessive, and one might suspect that Soviet reprints were produced, complete with LOTS of varieties. However, I have been unable to identify such reprints, so perhaps I'm just being paranoid. 

Plate varieties
Two important plate varieties have been recorded, along with many less-spectacular plate varieties. 
The first is the "missing 5" error, which occurs on the 35/2k perforated stamp, but not on the imperforate stamp, oddly enough. There is an interesting complication with this error, which appears to have escaped attention thus far. Originally, it occurred on position 48 in the sheet: upper right pane, bottom row, centre stamp. Then the error was corrected. Then the overprinting plate was damaged slightly: in position 38, the "3" was slightly flattened at left. Finally, the error was reintroduced, this time in position 47! So one can find the "35"overprinting plate in four states: 

Missing "5" in position 48, normal "3" in position 38
Normal position 48, normal "3" in position 38
Normal position 48, damaged "3" in position 38
Missing "5" in position 47, damaged "3" in position 38 

The chronological order is based on the assumption that damage to the "3" occurred as a result of wear. It also implies that at least some of the "missing 5" varieties were created to order, late in the production process. Soviet reprints? 

The other major plate variety was first described by Blekhman, and the first copy to be recorded in the Western literature was found by Werbizky. It is a missing "3" on the "3 rublya" overprint on the 7k stamp. Nothing is known about its position in the sheet, but it appears to be far more rare than the "missing 5" variety. In addition to these major plate varieties there are many positions in the sheet that look quite different from their neighbors. In the "35" plate, position 50 has a "fat 3" (also noticed by Werbizky), and one of the two "70" plates has a "fat 7" in position 47. No doubt there are many others, but complete sheets of these stamps are scarce, and very scarce for the ruble values. 

Incidental errors
Shifted overprints have been recorded for all values except, apparently, the 5R/14k. These shifts may be horizontal, vertical or indeed in any other direction, occasionally creating pairs, horizontal or vertical, with one stamp missing the overprint entirely. It may be prejudice, but I am unable to get very excited about such errors, particularly if the overprint has been shifted wildly and diagonally and we are obviously dealing with a sheet that never should have left the printers. As the USSR was not averse to creating philatelic varieties for sale to foreign useful idiots (so-called makulatura), the suspicion of Soviet reprints again rears its head. Other incidental varieties include partially missing overprint (presumably caused by something covering part of the stamp during overprinting), and some minor varieties of the basic stamp, such as a paper fold (known on the 70/1k imperf). 

POSTAL USE
The first question we run into is: when were these stamps issued? The earliest cover franked with these stamps I am aware of is dated 25 May 1919 and is franked with the 35/2k perf stamp. Since the stamps were undoubtedly issued with the increase in postal rates of late April 1919 in mind, I doubt if any of the Kolchak stamps were issued before May 10th. I am aware that Ceresa mentioned a cover dated May 18th, but the postmark - Vladivostok Telegraph office - is known to have been used for cancelling-to-favor, occasionally backdated, so I am reluctant to accept that cover as evidence of postal use. 

For a long time I was convinced the kopeck values were issued in May 1919 (possibly slightly later for the 50k surcharges) and the ruble values in the last months of 1919 or even as late as 1920. This opinion was based on two suppositions: no Kolchak ruble values were known with 1919 postmarks, and the ruble values did not appear to have reached Eastern Siberia as they were not overprinted by the Vladivostok government, which overprinted every stamp in sight. Since communications between Eastern Siberia and the rest of Siberia were cut off in early 1920 this seemed to indicate the ruble values could not have been issued before 1920. As Omsk - the alleged source of the stamps - fell to the Red Army in November 1919, this seemed to indicate that the ruble values were issued by the Soviet authorities as "trophy stamps." 
However, I've seen a money letter sent from Omsk in July 1919, and it is franked with Kolchak stamps, including the three ruble values. So I am forced to accept that the Kolchak ruble values were in existence by July 1919. Their scarcity with 1919 postmarks and non-distribution within Eastern Siberia indicates they were not sold to the public, only used in the post offices on high-tariff postal items such as money letters, money orders and parcel cards. The non-distribution within Eastern Siberia is explained by the reminiscences of a German or Austrian, published in 1921. He stated that the Irkutsk post office still had a plentiful supply of Arms ruble stamps. Apparently the Kolchak ruble values were not needed there, and were never issued to post offices in that region and beyond. 

If we assume for the moment that all Kolchak stamps were issued in May 1919, when were they taken out of use? They certainly continued in use in Central Siberia throughout 1920, as parcel cards and money orders attest, and in Eastern Siberia the lower values were used at face value in Vladivostok until late November 1920. Late 1920 - early 1921 seems like the latest feasible date of use for these stamps, with April 1921 the latest date known to me. 

As for the area of use, Central and Eastern Siberia of course, and within the latter only the kopeck values (and very few of the 50k overprints!). The Kolchak stamps were also used in Manchuria. For example lot 2689 in the Cherrystone auction of March 30-31, 1993 was a registered cover sent from Kharbin on 25-5-1919 (!) and franked with Arms stamps and a 35/2k perf Kolchak stamp. 
Usage at other Russian post offices in Manchuria is known, although examples of such use are very rare and apart from Kharbin, only the postmarks of Manchuli, Mulin, Myangdukhe, Anda and Chalantung are known to me on Kolchak stamps (mostly the 35/2p and 70/1i stamps). Note that this does not imply the stamps were actually sold there, only that they were postmarked there (and presumably accepted for postage). 
Usage in Mongolia is also a possibility, but no examples have come to light as far as I know, and if they exist at all they must be very rare. 
The westernmost point at which Kolchak stamps were used is difficult to determine. At the time of issue, Kolchak's realm was already crumbling. The Perm' - Ufa - Orsk line seems like the most westerly feasible extent of distribution. 
Similarly, the southernmost point of distribution is difficult to identify. I would not be surprised to see Kolchak stamps used in the northernmost areas of Central Asia (Akmolinsk district). South of that lies desert, mostly, and I don't believe the Kolchak stamps crossed the desert to the Central Asian oasis areas. Barnaul, and possibly the outer reaches of the Altai mountains, is probably as far south as the Kolchak stamps ever got. 
Some postmarks are easier to find than others. The majority of used Kolchak stamps I have seen were used in Vladivostok. Usages from Omsk, the alleged point of origin of these stamps, are surprisingly scarce. 

FORGERIES
There is only one useful reference one may consult for forgeries and that is the groundbreaking work of Ceresa (1983,1991). Ceresa identifies a number of different forgeries for most values of the Kolchak issue, but I fear that at least two of these (F6(35) and F6(70)) are in fact not forgeries but slightly aberrant plate varieties (the "fat 7" variety having been mentioned above). This is a severe problem with all overprinted issues: what appears to be a forgery may in fact be a plate variety, and one is never sure until full sheets of the genuine stamp are available for comparison. That said, Ceresa's work is indispensable when checking for forgeries, and I fully agree with his advice to obtain genuinely used copies as reference material. There are forgeries aplenty out there and even forged postmarks so caution is definitely warranted. I also refer the reader to the section on Siberian postmarks for identification of notorious CTO postmarks. 

SUMMARY
A set of stamps about which many questions remain unanswered. Covers are fairly difficult to come by, particularly with 1919 dates, and usages of the rouble values are downright scarce, with usages of the 5R/14k stamp very scarce to rare. Postcards and letters are found with the greatest frequency, with parcel cards and money orders from resovietised Central Siberia more unusual. I know of only one insured letter with Kolchak stamps. As for postmarks, this issue is not found used often enough to allow for an extensive postmark collection to be built up, at least not by me. In principle all Siberian postmarks of the period should be out there, and some values have even been found with the postmark of Field Post Office No.66, almost surely a Soviet usage as "trophy stamp".