135.00€
Imperial Russia, 1901 – exceptional insured postal-history cover connected with Mount Athos.
Original Insured Money Letter (Страховое письмо), sent on 24 April 1901 from the Kazan Governorate, enclosing 13 Rubles and addressed to the representative/trustee of the Mount Athos St Elijah Skete (Аѳонскаго Ильинскаго Скита) at its Odessa Podvorye, with instructions for forwarding to Mount Athos.
The envelope measures approximately 14 × 9 cm and is handwritten in pre-revolutionary Russian cursive.
The destination wording reads:
“для Передачи На Аѳонъ” – for forwarding to Athos
“Отцу Настоятелю Гавріилу съ Братіею” – to Abbot Father Gabriel with the Brotherhood.
Sent by Ivan Ivanov, a peasant from the village of Koshaki, Kurguzinskaya Volost, Spassky Uyezd, Kazan Governorate:
“отъ Ивана Иванова Крестьянина Села Кошаки… Казанской Губерніи”
This provides a particularly interesting connection between provincial Imperial Russian postal history and the established monastic postal network serving Mount Athos through Odessa.
The front bears:
Purple hand-stamped insurance/registration marking with capital “С”, associated with Страховое (Insured)
Handwritten number “301”
Clearly legible circular date stamp “КАЗАН. Г. ПОЧТ. КОНТ.” dated 24 April 1901
Rectangular auxiliary marking “Спасскъ”
The reverse bears:
Two complete red Tsarist wax seals with the Imperial double-headed eagle and Cyrillic postal-office wording
Original blue/purple pencil routing notation, including “3060”
The surviving seals are particularly noteworthy as evidence of the original security measures used for the insured cash contents.
The letter was addressed to the St Elijah Skete (Ильинский скит) at its Odessa Podvorye for onward transmission to Mount Athos. The explicit instruction for forwarding to Athos makes the cover especially relevant to collectors of Mount Athos postal history and Orthodox monastic correspondence.
The date of April 1901 also places the correspondence within the lifetime of Father Gabriel of Mount Athos (1849–1901), to whom the letter is addressed as Abbot.
An important crossover item for collectors interested in:
Imperial Russian postal history
Insured and registered mail
Kazan Governorate postal markings
Odessa postal transit
Mount Athos postal history
St Elijah Skete
Orthodox monastic correspondence
Tsarist postal seals
Early 20th-century Russian manuscript mail
Date: 24 April 1901
Origin: Kazan Governorate, Imperial Russia
Amount: 13 Rubles
Destination: St Elijah Skete, Mount Athos, via Odessa
Dimensions: approx. 14 cm × 9 cm
Type: Insured Money Letter (Страховое письмо)
Condition: Please refer to the photographs for the complete condition of the cover, including folds, handling marks, paper wear and the preservation of the wax seals.
An original and historically interesting Imperial Russian postal-history cover with a documented Mount Athos destination and exceptionally attractive surviving postal and security markings.
