Varieties of Honoring of Russian Fleet

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The 1959 USSR postage stamp series “Merchant Fleet. Passenger Lines” is considered one of the most striking in Soviet philately and a remarkable variety of Honoring the Russian Fleet. It consists of six stamps dedicated to major passenger routes connecting key ports of the country—from Murmansk and Leningrad to Vladivostok. Each stamp depicts a specific ship, such as Mikhail Kalinin, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Kooperatsiya, Rossiya, and Baltika. The series was printed using offset lithography, providing a high level of detail and a vivid sense of motion. Designed by artist N. E. Kruglov, the set captures the grandeur of Soviet maritime travel in the late 1950s and stands as an artistic tribute to the nation’s naval achievements.

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Despite the precision of the printing process, the offset technique of that era often resulted in small defects—dots, spots, and slight color misalignments—which today hold particular value for collectors. Some stamps show dark or bluish dots in the sky, pale spots on the water, stray specks in the denomination text, or fine streaks near the ship’s outline. These were not part of the original design but appeared due to issues with the printing rollers, contamination of the ink layer, or wear on the printing plates. While they do not affect the main image, they give each stamp a distinct and unique appearance, enriching the philatelic variety of Honoring the Russian Fleet theme by highlighting the individuality of each printed piece.

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Philatelists classify such specimens as rare print varieties, especially when the defect is consistent and limited to a small portion of the print run. For example, some 40-kopeck Kooperatsiya stamps show a visible dot near the mast, while the 60-kopeck Mikhail Kalinin stamp sometimes exhibits a pale spot under the ship’s bow. These deviations are carefully documented by collectors and can be valued significantly higher than standard issues. Thus, the “Merchant Fleet. Passenger Lines” series is notable not only as an artistic reflection of the Soviet maritime era but also as a fascinating field for studying rare printing varieties that make each stamp truly one of a kind.

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Postage stamps specification:

• Design: N. Kruglov

• Print: Offset

• Perforation: Comb 12 : 12½

• Circulation: 2 000 000 pcs

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Confirmed varieties of the stamp of Honoring the Russian Fleet. Steamer, Vladivostok-Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka line

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1. dot under the lower frame​

2. spot on the right edge of the stamp

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Confirmed varieties of the stamp of Honoring the Russian Fleet. M. S. Feliks Dzerzhinski, Odessa-Latakia line

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1. cross between "КИ" in "ЛАТАКИЯ"

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Confirmed varieties of the stamp of Honoring the Russian Fleet. Ship, Murmansk-Tyksi line

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1. dot over "ОР" in "МОРСКОЙ"

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Confirmed varieties of the stamp of Honoring the Russian Fleet. M. S. Mikhail Kalinin at Leningrad

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1. dot under the name of ship