Customs post-office order is a less well-known service by the post office that could be paid for with M30 definitives. What the customs post-office order is all about is nevertheless rather simple: post (usually a parcel) had come from abroad and had been intercepted by the customs, the adressee did not have to personally come to the customs post office to pay for the customs fees, but could pay it in the local post office with the customs post-office order; customs would have sent information about the payment due to the addressee. After payment the customs post office would then send the post to the final destination. The postal rate for the customs post-office order was the same as for a normal post-office order, but the money would go to the customs and a special for-the-purpose form would be used.
Above: Customs post-office order from Närpiö (Närpes) 26.11.1930 to Turku Customs office, where it has arrived 28.11.1930. The amount (the payment due to the customs) 13,25mk, including the postal rate for the post-office order 15.1.1926 – 30.11.1931 (- 100mk) 1,50mk. A 1½mk violet M30 definitive is used.
In the above item the ”coupon” is still intact, it tells us that the actual postal item had come from Helsingborg in Sweden. Customs post-office orders are available now and then, but they are not very common. The prices of these items are very variable. In auctions the starting prices are from 5-10 euro up, but sometimes pieces can be found from ”boxes” for very low prices. Customs post-office orders are a speciality object for M30 postal history collectors so there is a very limited market for these.