373rd Heinrich Köhler auction - Day 1

1880, 5 penni violet-grey, two copies with close to good margins, unused without gum, one copy missing design parts at top, one stamp small stain at bottom, otherwise a fine and very rare ensemble with less than five copies recorded. The design of the stamps bears a clear family resemblance to the first of o stamps the Helsingfors Stadspost and to the Tammerfors local post stamps. It is unusual in showing the value 5 penni, at a time when the standard rate for letters and cards carried by the steamers was 10 penni. 
Provenance: one stamp depicted in G.W. Connell "The Private Ship Letter Stamps of the World - Part 4" page 54