Hermitage Museum Stamps Appraisal

1972 USSR State Hermitage Museum Commemorative Stamps

This is a collection of Soviet-era postage stamps issued in 1972 by 'Pochta SSSR' (Post of the USSR) featuring world-renowned paintings from the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad. The stamps exhibit a rich gold-colored border framing high-quality multi-color photogravure reproductions of classical artworks. Visible denominations include 6k (showing 'The Flight into Egypt' by Murillo), 10k ('The Smiler' by Murillo), 16k ('Portrait of a Lady' by Watteau), and 20k ('Arab and Horse' by Delacroix). Each stamp is rectangular with standard comb perforations. Several stamps show clear circular black postmarks, indicating they have been 'canceled-to-order' (CTO) or post-consumer used. The condition shows minor edge wear consistent with age, and they are currently housed in a black-page stamp stockbook or album with transparent protective strips. The printing quality is characteristic of the Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga export-grade philatelic products of the 1970s, designed with slightly oversized dimensions for the era to highlight the artistic detail of the paintings depicted.