Confirmed varieties of Victory of the USSR Basketball Team — Chile 1959. Overprinted

​

In 1959, a commemorative Soviet postage stamp was issued bearing a brick-red typographic overprint reading “Victory of the Soviet basketball team. Chile 1959,” dedicated to the purported triumph of the USSR national basketball squad at the world championship in Chile. Originally the overprint was applied to a stamp from the 1954 “Sport in the USSR” series, making it a quick way to mark the event — although in reality the Soviet team was disqualified and the title was awarded to Brazil. The overprinted edition was released in a print run of about 150,000 copies, which today makes it a notable item among philatelic collectors.

​

Confirmed varieties of Victory of the USSR Basketball Team — Chile 1959. Overprinted

​

1. "Ч" under "к": Lyapin's catalog P1(2229)

2. "Ч" under "ом": Lyapin's catalog P2(2229)

3. "г" in overprint without dot: Lyapin's catalog P3(2229)

4. broken "г" in date: Lyapin's catalog P5 (2229)

5. vertical spot next to the hand

6. ​dot on the shorts

7. dot above the basketball backboard