This letter was sent from Bansko
in Bulgaria on January 5 1948 (-5.I.948), via Sofia, London (?),
New York and Toronto, then by railway to Woodstock, Ontario, January 16.
The postal services of today would have a hard time beating that schedule!
Postage is a total of 190 Leva, which at first sight seems an enormous
amount even for a REG-letter to Canada. Scroll down the page to see why!
Assuming the rate for foreign
letters in 1948 to be the same as in 1940-1942, the postage for such a
letter should be:
7 L for the weight up to 20 g
In the 40's there was an extremely high inflation, however, and the postal service
must have devaluated these stamps from 1945 with a factor 10 to 1. So the apparent
postage of 190 Leva was in reality the old rate of 19 Leva for this letter. If you have more information about the postage rates from this period, or perhaps
have other theories about this cover, I would appreciate an email from you!
+ 7 L for registration
+ 5 L for airmail
= 19 L total
This page is made in cooperation with N. Penev, Bulgaria.