Mail bearing the Split Provisional Issue stamps, posted in southern Lika, is rarely seen. The coastal and island post offices, where the newly issued stamps were mainly used, did not cover the Lika area. Censorship in Lika was also not part of the broader censorship system, so the unified censorship mark "CENZURIRANO / Br. N" was not applied there.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
1945 SPLIT - Mail from Lika
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Pre-overprinted parcel card for civilian internees
Preserved concentration camp mail is rare, but parcel cards are even rarer. I have encountered them only for a few parcels, all addressed to major camps in Italy. Most were returned to the sender because the addressee was unavailable—either transferred to another camp or deceased.
Recently, I discovered an intriguing parcel card pre-overprinted with the Italian Red Cross symbol and with some fields already prefilled in red. The field "Valore" (= Value) contains the inscription: "Pacco per prigioniero internato civile di guerra" (= Parcel for Interned Civilian Prisoner of War). The overprint was done using the letterpress technique, suggesting a large circulation. However, to date, I have only come across this single example.
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
1943/44 ŠIBENIK - Mixed franking
In the spring of 1944, the Croatian Kuna was introduced as the regular currency. The postage was denominated in Kuna as follows: Postcard 2.00 Kn, Ordinary Letter 3.50 Kn, Registration Fee 9.00 Kn, and Express Delivery Fee 10.00 Kn. As all stamps were overprinted with the 3.50 Kn face value and in the absence of appropriate denominations, minor tariff divergences of one or two Kuna were tolerated. Mixed frankings with the First Šibenik Issue denominated in Italian Lira was calculated based on 1.00 Lira = 4.00 Kn.
Registered letter, franked with 10.50 kn and 80 cents, surcharged 2 kn with War Tax stamp, mixed franking of first and second Šibenik issue, sent from Šibenik (26.VII.44) to Osijek (4.VIII.44), censored in Osijek "CENZURA / 43 / OSIJEK". Since the addressee travelled away ("Otputovao / Parti"), the letter was returned (handwritten "Retur / Šibenik") via Split (21.VIII.44) to Šibenik. Certificate Zrinjšćak.
Monday, September 23, 2024
1943/44 ŠIBENIK, Unique item
Soon after the Italian capitulation and withdrawal, between September 13 and 16, Italian stamps and stationery postcards found in post offices and retail kiosks in Šibenik were overprinted with rubber cachets bearing the initials "N. D. / H." for Nezavisna Država Hrvatska (the Independent State of Croatia). Non-philatelic mail using these stamps and stationery is very rare, with only a few known items. Furthermore, until now, I have never seen an item from the second usage period, which lasted from November 17, 1943, to March 14, 1944.
Stationery were overprinted with the same rubber cachets used for overprinting stamps.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Political confinement - Pisticci
Political confinement was a specific form of repression used by the Italian authorities during WWII against Slovenes, particularly those who were considered politically dangerous or suspicious. Unlike internment, which involved the mass imprisonment of people in camps, confinement was an individual measure where individuals were forcibly relocated to remote towns or villages in Italy, where they were under constant police supervision. Confinees were not placed in camps, but their movements and communication with the outside world were strictly limited, with their mail being closely monitored and censored.
Thursday, September 12, 2024
1941 Banja Luka - $10,000 cover
The Cherrystone auction, featuring the Alfred F. Kugel collection, yielded excellent results for Croatian items. Eleven out of thirteen lots were sold, most fetching more than double their starting prices.
One item stands out in particular: a Banja Luka cover with both stamps in blocks of four addressed to the philatelic bureau in Zagreb. The starting price was $1,000, and the final realization was $7,500. Taking into account the buyer’s premium and, for EU buyers, potential customs duties, the total price approaches $10,000. This undoubtedly makes it one of this period's more expensive Croatian pieces.
1941 Banja Luka local issue, express registered letter, franked with 12 din (express delivery fee 4 din, registration fee 5 din, second weight letter 3 din), sent from Banja Luka (13.VI.41) to Zagreb (14.VI.41).
I also considered purchasing this item but ultimately decided against it because the odd placement of the Express sticker bothered me a lot. I can not shake the feeling that it was affixed later.
It seems the label was adjusted to avoid covering the cancellation. Or am I mistaken?
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
1945 MARIBOR, Largest multiple of Hindenburg
The rarest postage stamp among Slovenian provisional issues is a stamp with an overprint on Hindenburg 4pf. Only 20 sheets were overprinted. It appears on the market almost exclusively as a single piece. I only know two blocks of four and one block of six, which is also the largest known multiple...
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
1941 MEĐIMURJE, CTO or fraudulent
When the German Army occupied Međimurje, they halted all postal traffic until the Hungarians assumed control on April 21, 1941. Despite this, approximately twenty letters franked with the Međimurje Issue have been recorded. These letters were processed through regular postal channels and successfully delivered to their addressees. Since all post offices in Čakovec and the entire Međimurje region were closed then, the mail was dispatched from the nearby city of Varaždin.
Thursday, August 8, 2024
1941 MEĐIMURJE, unique letter
- It is not on Dr. Wolf's law office stationery.
- It includes a 0.25 Din stamp.
- It features stamps with both types of coat-of-arms.
- It contains a stamp with the typical "Hrvatska država" error.
- Most importantly, it was correctly franked with 2 din for internal use.
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
1945 SPLIT, St.1 stationery
Saturday, July 27, 2024
1945 ZAGREB, imperforated vertically
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
1943 IMOTSKI - Official letter
For a short period in 1943, the Imotski post office used a temporary provisional postmark "POŠTA - IMOTSKI" and a handwritten dispatch date...
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
1945 MOSTAR - Unique combination
Two sheets measuring 10x10 of No. 2 10/0.5 Kn on intaglio paper were overprinted. Initially, both sheets were in the tête-bêche format. Before the overprinting, one sheet was cut down the middle and reassembled in the normal orientation, while the other sheet remained in the tête-bêche format by mistake. As a result, the overprinting process produced 150 stamps with a regular overprint and 50 stamps with an inverted overprint.
The quantities of the three common flaws on the No. 2 intaglio paper are:
- Demokrntska normal overprint - unique
- Demokrntska inverted overprint - unique
- Jngoslavija normal overprint - unique
- Jngoslavija inverted overprint - unique
- Jugosiavija normal overprint - 2 pieces (possibly one of them in a tête-bêche pair)
Monday, May 20, 2024
1944 SENTA, Letter franked with rare stamps
It is scarce to see stamps from a set of Big Senta on letters...
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
1944 Senta - SOLD
The Philadria auction on April 13th witnessed, among other things, an outstanding sale of 1944 Senta items, with all Senta lots surpassing their asking prices. It is gratifying to observe such significant interest among collectors. Here are some notable highlights:
- Complete set of Small and Big Senta: Asking price €1,800, realized €2,700 (€3,240 with provision).
- National Liberation Committee's commemorative sheet of type B: Asking price €750, realized €1,600 (€1,920 with provision).
- Trial print of the entire row (10x1): Asking price €500, realized €750 (€900 with provision).
Monday, February 26, 2024
1945 Postage Due
After liberation, postage was free for military personnel sending or receiving mail. The Post Office typically overlooked cases where this was not evident. However, occasionally, specimens are found where postage due is charged. Early examples with overprinted postage due stamps are rare.
Friday, January 12, 2024
1945 SPLIT - A letter to the United States
Shipments abroad were very rare. Most of them were sent to Bari, where a division of the Yugoslav Army was stationed. So far, I have come across only three letters destined for the USA, one of which is registered. This letter is truly remarkable — it was sent from a small island near Šibenik, correctly franked for foreign postage, double-censored, and bears three transit and arrival cancellations.
Monday, January 1, 2024
2024
Thursday, December 28, 2023
1945 ZAGREB, Letter from Slavonski Brod
Thursday, December 21, 2023
1945 SPLIT - small format letter
In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, there existed specific circumstances under which letters could be sent at a reduced tariff:
- Unsealed envelopes were eligible for shipment at the stationery tariff.
- Small envelopes carrying concise messages (such as business cards or greetings) qualified for postage at the rate applicable to stationery or printed matter, depending on whichever was more cost-effective.
Although these regulations were not formally enforced in 1945, a few preserved items indicate that such practices persisted.
Saturday, December 9, 2023
Large Vermeil Medal
I am pleased to share that at the philatelic exhibition, Thailand 2023 World Stamp Championship, the manual "Local Issues of Independent State of Croatia" was awarded the Large Vermeil medal (87 points).
I extend my gratitude to everyone who contributed in any capacity to the publication of the manual, especially those who ordered a printed copy or contributed through donations.
If you haven't received the manual yet, you can obtain the digital version for free...
The Philatelic Manual
Aleš Marinšek
2020
Thursday, December 7, 2023
PODLIPA auxiliary post office
The Podlipa auxiliary office of the Vrhnika post office used two different postmarks during the period I am collecting. Both are two-line rectangular postmarks with the inscription "PODLIPA / (VRHNIKA)". The first is a bit smaller and originates from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, measuring 58.1 x 13.2 mm, while the second appeared during the German occupation, measuring 59.5 x 16.5 mm. There is no information on why the postmarks were changed, but the first was likely damaged or lost. Interestingly, the second postmark stands out with two large five-pointed stars, which was unusual given their association with the Partisans.
The usage of the auxiliary post office Podlipa was, in general, very rare, but usage was even scarcer during the Italian occupation from 6 April 1941 to 8 September 1943. It was also extremely scarce to find it together with stamps of the Ljubljana Provisional Issue during the Democratic Federative Yugoslavia...
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
1945 SPLIT, Small Petar
Friday, December 1, 2023
1945 ZAGREB, Official express letter
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Thailand 2023 WSC
The Thailand 2023 World Stamp Championship is currently underway. Let's wait and see how the visitors and judges respond to my book...
The Philatelic Manual
Aleš Marinšek
2020
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Late usage of Vuk stationery
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
1945 Montenegro - Letter from Šavnik
Only a few postal items sent from Šavnik in the spring of 1945 are known...