1943 SPLIT, The most famous overprint flaw

The most famous overprint flaw is missing upper right stroke of K at position 38.

Position 38, missing upper right stroke of K.

1943 Split local unreleased issue for Dalmatia, 3.50 kn / 1.25 Lire in pair with double overprint from positions 37 and 38.  Note that only one sheet of 3.50 kn / 1.25 Lire was double overprinted, so this item is unique.

1944 Transadriatic route

In the summer of 1944, Transadriatic mail was established. Military aviation maintained the connection between the island of Vis and airports in Bari and Lecce.

Transadriatic military route.

Until recently, a letter from Lecce was not known.

Transadriatic military mail from Lecce (21.IX.1944) to the position of VIII corpus.

The backside of the envelope with affixed label and bilingual cancel "★ / JUGOSLAV. OFICIR ZA VEZU / YUGOSLAV LIAISON OFFICER / LECCE".

The same bilingual cancel was used as the letter header. 

WWII Kun's Partisan, just published...

Hrvatska Filatelija No. 4/2015 

Tajna eseja Kunovog Partizana

Croation | HF 4/2015

1945 SPLIT, Military forerunners

Prior to the outcome of the 1945 Split local provisional issue in 1st of March, payment in cash was used. Postage for military shipments was free of charge.

Forerunner of the 1945 Split provisional issue, postcard sent from island Korčula (30.XI.44) to Trpanj, free of charge as the recipient was a military person. Military censor cancellation No. 3.

Forerunner of the 1945 Split provisional issue, Christmas card sent from Sinj (23.XII.44) to the headquarters of II division, free of charge as the recipient was a military person. Military censor cancellation No. 1.

Forerunner of the 1945 Split provisional issue, postcard sent from Šibenik (10.II.45) to Makarska, free of charge as the recipient was a military person. Censor cancellation No. 6, Šibenik.

Similar items exists for the period after the 01.03.1945. 

Forerunner of the 1945 Split provisional issue, postcard sent from Sinj (7.III.45) to Makarska, free of charge as the recipient was a military person. Censor cancellation No. 17, Sinj.

Easter greetings card sent from Split (30.III.45) to Konavle. Non military mail but sent without postage. Censor cancellation No. 3, Split.

  

Postcard sent from Knin (probably in late April 1945) to island Rab, free of charge as the recipient was a military person. Censor cancellation No. 13, Knin.

1943 ŠIBENIK, Stationery with hand overprint

Several Italian stationery (15, 30, 50 and 75 Cent.) were overprinted with the N.D. / H. hand overprint. Among all, the most rare are those with 75 Cent.

1943 Šibenik local provisional issue, 75 Cent. stationery with N.D. / H. hand overprint.

1945 SPLIT, Letter with both key stamps

1945 Split local provisional issue was issued in three separate phases. The last, both key stamps: 20 kn / 6 kn Dubrovnik and 30 kn / 8 kn Sarajevo were issued on 21.3.1945.

1945 Split, local provisional issue, correctly franked registered letter, sent from Split (21.III.45) to Šibenik. Censor cancellation No. 3 (Split) on the back side. Very rare usage of key stamps.

1945 LJUBLJANA, Single stamp letter

Here is another item from the Slovenian provisional issues...

1945 Ljubljana, local provisional issue, single stamp letter, correctly franked with 1 Lire, sent from Ljubljana (27.VI.45) to Dobrunje.

1945 MARIBOR, Provisional rubber cancellation

Finally got some nice items from the Slovenian provisional issues....

1945 Maribor, local provisional issue, registered letter, correctly franked with 42 pf (8 x 6 pf), sent from Mojstrana (27. JUN. 1945) to Ljubljana, cancelled by the provisional rubber cancellation.

Provisional rubber cancellation enlarged.

1944 ŠIBENIK, Letter with Mi. 304 in block of 4

Although philatelically motivated, nice and valuable letter franked with Mi. 304 in block of four.

1944 Šibenik, local provisional issue, registered letter, franked with Mi. 304 in block of four, charged with 2 kn war tax, sent loco Šibenik (15.VI.44). Signed Alberto Diena.

Post office receipt.

1944 DB BRAČ, Just published...

Hrvatska Filatelija No. 3/2015 

German WWII Occupation Issue of
Island of Brač

English | Croation | HF 3/2015

1944 SENTA, Fakes

Today, fakes of two Senta commemorative sheets were sold on eBay for a lot of money. I wanted to buy them for the analysis of Senta forgeries, but my limit of 50$ has been exceeded a lot! I am afraid that the buyer does not know that he bought the fakes...

Fake of a commemorative sheet, type B1.

 Fake of a commemorative sheet, type B2.

1945 SPLIT, Island to island mail

Immediately after the end of the WWII, most of the routes between Dalmatian islands and the mainland were very poor or even disconnected. Consequently, the postal service was unreliable, especially for the shipments between the islands.

1945 Split, local provisional issue, letter, properly franked with 30 kn, sent from island Korčula (11.VI.45) to island Lopud near Dubrovnik. Censor cancellation No. 16 on back side. Certificate Vilfan.

1945 NDH, Storm Division sheets

The 1st Croatian Storm Division was an elite unit formed on 9th October 1944. Stamps in support of this division were released on 9th January 1945.

Mi. 170, 50 + 50, Soldiers of the Storm Division.

Mi. 171, 70 + 70, A battlefield at the night.

Mi. 172, 100 + 100, The Storm Division insignia on top of Croatia map.

1941 BANJA LUKA, Letter

Another nice and rare item...

 1941 Banja Luka, provisional issue, letter correctly franked for the second weight tier, sent from Banja Luka (21.IV.41) to Zagreb. 1945 HFS certificate & 2015 Ceremuga certificate. 

1944 ŠIBENIK, Properly franked letter

Correctly franked letters are very rare. Mainly due to insufficient amount of war tax stamps used in summer and early autumn of 1944...

1944 Šibenik, local provisional issue, registered letter, properly franked with 12,50 kn (3,50 * 3 = 10,50 kn of Šibenik II and 2 kn of NDH definitive), charged with 10 kn war tax, sent from Šibenik (4.IX.44) to Split. Certificate Zrinjšćak.

1945 SARAJEVO, 70th Anniversary

Today (07.07.2015) we mark the 70 year anniversary of the Sarajevo provisional issue.

See posts taged with DFJ 1945 Sarajevo.

The Sarajevo provisional issue is the latest among all DFJ provisional issues, therefore I conclude the series of posts about the anniversaries...

1944 DB BRAČ, Another cover

I managed to get another DB Brač cover, this one affixed with an entire set. This is  probably one of the ten most rare items I have.

1944 German occupation of Brač, local provisional issue, cover from Nerežišče to Piotta, Switzerland (16.V.44). Certificate Krische.

1945 MURSKA SOBOTA, 70th Anniversary

Today (22.06.2015) we mark the 70 year anniversary of the Murska Sobota provisional issue.

I should post something about this interesting issue...

1945 ZAGREB, 70th Anniversary

Today (20.06.2015) we mark the 70 year anniversary of the Zagreb provisional issue.

See posts taged with DFJ 1945 Zagreb.

1944 ŠIBENIK, Classic NDH stationery

In the first half of June 1944 a few classic NDH stationery cards were sent from Šibenik. It is not clear if this was due to the lack of the usual Šibenik stationery cards (see here) or simply because the sender had a stock of a few classic NDH stationery cards and he wanted to use them.

1944 Šibenik, local provisional issue, classic NDH stationery card, properly franked for express delivery and War Tax surcharge, sent from Šibenik (12.VI.44) to Slavonska Požega. One of the rarest uses of classic NDH stationery cards. From the well known Novak correspondence.

HOWTO, Using a scanner as a magnifier

It is well known that four different types of paper have been used for the Croatian Landscapes issue, named as follows:

• Offset paper,
• Intaglio paper,
• Porous paper and
• Pelure paper

I always wanted to check how each type of paper looks under very high magnification. Below are 4800 dpi scans (click on the detailed image for a larger view)...

Offset  paper - also called ordinary or German paper

0.09 mm thick, non-transparent, white paper with white gum

Intaglio paper - also called photogravure paper

0.08 mm thick, partially transparent, white paper with white gum

Porous paper - also called wartime paper

0.09 mm thick, slightly transparent, yellowish paper with yellowish gum

Pelure paper - also called cigarette paper

0.05 mm thick, transparent, smooth paper with clear gum

One important hint: mechanisms of the conventional scanners are very sensitive, so do not shake the table during your 4800 dpi scanning! 

1945 MARIBOR, 70th Anniversary

Today (15.06.2015) we mark the 70 year anniversary of the Maribor provisional issue.

1945 LJUBLJANA, 70th Anniversary

Today (07.06.2015) we mark the 70 year anniversary of the Ljubljana provisional issue.

I should post something about this interesting issue...

1945 SARAJEVO, Stationery Type III

I had a lot of luck! I found type III stationery for a price of the usual one :)

1945 Sarajevo local provisional issue, postal stationery, type III, sent from Radovljica (22.1.46) to Sarajevo. Correctly franked with an additional 0.50 din "Partisan" stamp. Rare type, rare usage and unique route - from Radovljica Slovenia to Sarajevo Bosnia. Certificate Vilfan.

1945 ZAGREB, Partial overprint on the back

Overprint on the back is quite common for his issue. However, partial ones are not often seen.

1945 Zagreb provisional issue, 60 kn / 3.50 kn, atractive partial overprint on the back.

1945 SPLIT, Overprint proofs

Split overprint proofs are very rare. Three full sheets and three half sheets [1] have been found long after the 1945. Over the last years, most of the sheets were cut and sold to the collectors. Only two half sheets remained whole and both are now with me.

Note that overprint plate with only half setting was used because base sheets were in tête-bêche orientation.

 1945 Split local provisional issue, overprint proof with value of 30 kn in darker green color, complete half sheet. Certificate Vilfan.

1945 Split local provisional issue, overprint proof with value of 30 kn in final green color, complete half sheet. Certificate Vilfan.

Dark green and final green overprint proofs enlarged.

[1]

• full sheet, 10 kn in red color
• full sheet, 10 kn in black color
• full sheet, 30 kn in green color, tête-bêche
• half sheet, 30 kn in black color
• half sheet, 30 kn in dark green color
• half sheet, 30 kn in green color

1945 ZAGREB, Overprint error

Stationery were overprinted with one phase in red color using setting composed with a bunch of different lines, five-pointed star, the inscription of a new state and a new nominal. Everything was fixed together quite well, so only minor displacements are recorded.

1945 Zagreb local provisional issue, stationery type Ib, with unusually large displacement of just one part of the overprint setting.

Such displacements have occurred because of loose cliches. Normal distance for a measure shown on the picture is 5.0 mm (type I) or 4.7 mm (type II and III).

1945 ZAGREB, Forerunner from Vinkovci

After the partisans takeover the continental part of Croatia and before the outcome of new stamps, payment in cash was used. In the first period the tariffs from the Split provisional issue were applied (10kn for stationery, 20kn for letter and 30kn for registration).

Note that such postal items sent from the continental Croatia (and especially from Srijem and Slavonija) are classified as forerunners of the 1945 Zagreb provisional issue.

Forerunner of the 1945 Zagreb provisional issue, registered letter sent from Vinkovci (29.V.45) to Stari Bečej - Bačka (31.V.45) via Beograd, properly charged of 50kn in cash (Split tariff: 20kn for letter and 30kn for registration), censored by the military censor in Vinkovci.

Payment in cash

Military censor mark.