2nd auxiliary issue. Odessa issue.
The so-called "Odessa issues" of ROPiT appeared on the philatelic market in 1918–19, during the Russian Civil War. By all indications, these stamps had nothing to do with the postal service and, possibly, with ROPiT as well. The production of large numbers of varied, often meaningless overprints and very primitive stamps of original design in different color schemes indicates the purely speculative nature of these issues. A well-known Odessa dealer, Trastenberg, took direct part in the production of the stamps.
Russian Post in the Ottoman Empire was a postal service of the Russian Empire that operated in various cities of the Ottoman Empire from the 18th century until September 1914. According to L. L. Lepeshinsky (1967), a total of 73 postage stamps of the Russian Post in the Ottoman Empire were issued; according to the Scott catalog, 231 stamps. The postage stamps of the Russian Post in the Ottoman Empire bore the inscriptions "Wrapper mail to the East," "ROPiT," and "Eastern Correspondence."
In the mid-19th century, Russia carried on lively trade with Turkey, which needed light-industry goods. Turkey was supplied with various fabrics, sugar, matches, and so on. In return, it sent to Russia so-called "colonial goods"—coffee, tobacco, spices, etc. Because there was no direct railway route, cargoes were carried across the Black Sea. But Turkey had almost no merchant fleet. Then the Russian Society of Steam Navigation and Trade was organized (abbreviated ROPiT). In 1856, the functions of the Russian postal service in Turkey were also assigned to this society.
ROPiT carried mail between its various branches and also forwarded correspondence destined for Russia via Odessa. In 1863, ROPiT branches received a status similar to that of ordinary Russian post offices.
In 20 cities of that country, postal agencies were opened through which the mail was handled. All postal items (wrappers, letters, parcels, money orders, etc.) were paid for with special stamps, the revenue from which went to Russia. Special stamps were also issued for sending mail to Turkey. They are called Levant stamps (for Eastern correspondence).
The first stamp, with a value of 6 kopeks per 1 lot (1/32 of a pound or 12.797 g), was intended for sending printed matter to Turkey by wrapper: newspapers, magazines, books. It was issued in 1863. The rectangular stamp showed a double-headed eagle in the center, and around it in a circle the inscription "wrapper mail to the East." The same stamp, printed in a different color, was issued a second time in 1866.
Several stamps were issued for sending letters from Turkey. Thus, in 1865 two miniature stamps of original design were issued, depicting a steamship and the imperial eagle. Instead of the words "postage stamp," which appeared on all all-Russian stamps, the inscription printed was: ROPiT. Stamps with this inscription were issued two more times in 1866 and 1867. They were sold for Turkish currency, but their value was not indicated.
From 1868, the imperial government took control of all mail in Turkey and issued the first state stamps with the inscription "Eastern Correspondence," but without the imperial emblem. These postage-payment signs were sold at ROPiT Russian postal agencies and came in different colors. They received an overprint with a new price. They remained in use until 1900. In that year, all-Russian postage stamps were issued with an overprinted new value in paras and piastres. In 1909, similar overprints were made on ROPiT jubilee stamps issued in Russian currency, but they did not enter postal circulation.
In 1909–1910, in addition to the overprint of the new value, additional overprints were applied to these postage-payment signs with the names of 13 Turkish cities where these stamps were sold.
Later, overprints in Turkish currency were applied to the then-current general-issue stamps of Russia.
Russian postal offices were closed in connection with the outbreak of the World War in 1914, in which Turkey opposed Russia.