1945 LJUBLJANA, Telegraph wires

The most attractive typical error of 1945 Ljubljana issue is so-called "telegraph wires" found on the base stamps of 50 cent. Error resembles to telegraph wires and extends over the horizontal strip of five stamps at positions 54-58.

1945 Ljubljana, local provisional issue, 50 cent horizontal strip at positions 54-58, typical error on base stamps known as telegraph wires.

Schematic view of telegraph wires.

Enlarged view, position 57.

1945 MARIBOR, Letter from Ruše

The Maribor provisional issue was issued on 16.06.1945. On the same day, only the post offices Kranj and Maribor received stamps, along with the task of distributing them also to the smaller post offices in the surrounding areas. However, it is known that most of the post offices never received these stamps.

1945 Maribor, local provisional issue, letter, correctly franked with 12 pf, paid in cash, sent from Ruše (29.VI.1945) to Sisak, Croatia. Cancelled with provisional "RUŠE" cancellation. Censored in Maribor.

Provisional "RUŠE" cancellation with date and cash payment cancellations.

Maribor censorship cachet.

1943/44 ŠIBENIK, Article

New Acta Philatelica was published! A high quality magazine with full of interesting articles, including my latest work about the first and second provisional issue of Šibenik 1943/44.

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Croatian philatelic almanac

Independent State of Croatia
First and Second Provisional Issue of Šibenik 1943/44

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1945 SARAJEVO, Military censor mark

Sarajevo stationery postcards were used from Jun 1945 to March 1946. Those from Jun 1945 should have censor marks as the censorship was in effect until July 2nd, 1945.

1945 Sarajevo local provisional issue, stationery postcard type Ia, sent from Bosanska Gradiška (16.VI.1945) to Belgrade. Rare military censor mark.

Two-line Bosanska Gradiška military censor mark

Вој. цензура

Бос. Градишка

1943 ŠIBENIK, Inverted overprint

Why is 1943 Šibenik inverted overprint so rare? When using the printing machine a whole sheet is overprinted at once, hence one mistakenly inverted sheet results in many (usually 100) inverted stamps. On the other hand, printing by the hand allows that each inverted overprint is noticed and corrected immediately, so the next hit is already the correct one.

1943 Šibenik local provisional issue, 1 lire air mail stamp with inverted overprint. Certificate Zrinjšćak, Marinšek. This is one of the two inverted overprints I have ever seen.

1945 LJUBLJANA, Payment order

I found an interesting document that shows the continuity of the civil authorities after the liberation. A payment order to the Social Insurance Office of Ljubljana Province for employees in the period between 1st and 8th of May (so, just before the end of the German occupation!) was paid on 19th of June under the new government.

1945 Ljubljana, local provisional issue, payment order to the Social Insurance Office of Ljubljana Province, filed 15th of June, paid 19th of June and confirmed on 25.VI.45.

50 cents offset fee paid on 19.VI.45.
Illegible cancellation at which date is seen only after some hue/saturation calibration.

1943 ŠIBENIK, Largest known set

I managed to gather a set of 29 stamps out of 32. I am missing the following values:

• No. 9   - 1 Lire (the existence of this value is questionable)
• No. 14 - 10 Lire
• No. 17 - 30 cent. (war propaganda stamp with the airplane)

1943 Šibenik local provisional issue with N.D. / H. hand overprint. 29 values out of 32. Certificates Zrinjšćak, Ercegović, Marinšek. This is the largest set known to me.

1945 SARAJEVO, Railway cancellation

Quite a lot of 1945 Sarajevo stationery postcards were preserved. Most of them are common, but from time to time you can still find one with some kind of specialty - like stationery with a rare railway cancellation.

1945 Sarajevo local provisional issue, stationery type Ia, sent to Zemun (12.X.1945). Rare railway cancellation 108 Tuzla - Doboj.

1944 SENTA, Proof sheet

From my article (see here): The overprinting was done in letterpress technique with a small, manually operated, printing machine called “Trigerica”. Five-pointed stars were cut out from the linoleum strip in horizontal setting (10x1) while inscriptions were composed of the lead letters. Overprints were done row by row, all five rows until complete half-sheet of 50 was overprinted. For some values - "Famous women" and Porto - smaller pieces were used. Overprints were done in multiple phases: first five-pointed star in red color and then on top of it text in black color.

1944 Senta local provisional issue, proof sheet. Certificate Veličković. Very rare.

Since stars were carved in linoleum strip by hand, they are not of ideal form nor are identical to each other. The first star is different from the second, the second from the third and so on. Also, note that the relative position between star and text is not constant and that each phase of each row has its own shift and rotation.

1945 ZAGREB, Late usage

Zagreb provisional issue has been in use for only six days, from 25th to 30th of Jun 1945. It is known that usage was tolerated for additional ten days, but only for official use.

1945 Zagreb provisional issue, stationery sent from Valpovo (12.VII.45) to Ljubljana. The stationery was not accepted for postage, so 1 Din was accounted for in cache and marked accordingly by rubber stamp. Very rare example of non official use after the expiry of postal validity.

1945 SPLIT, Overprint on partly printed stamp

Check out this attractive error...

1945 Split local provisional issue, No. 7 on pelure paper, 20 kn / 3.50 kn, block of four (positions 9-10 / 19-20) with exceptionally rare and attractive error of overprint on partly printed base stamp.

There is no print on the backside, so this is not a classic paper foldover error. Therefore, I assume that a piece of trash paper accidentally came in between the sheet and the printing plate. Such items are rare because they should passed two inspections: first after the base print and second, four years later, after the overprint.

A possible situation...

1945 DB Laibach, Famous Slovenians

The series depicts six famous Slovenians (click on name):

Simon Gregorčič, Janez Vajkard Valvasor, Primož Trubar

Ivan Tavčar, Ivan Cankar, Anton Martin Slomšek

1945 German occupation of Laibach, unreleased issue, complete sheet in red-brown color. Certificate France, FES.

1945 MARIBOR, Slanting overprint

All 1945 Slovenian provisional issues were overprinted in enviably high quality. That is a reason for a small number of errors and specialties that are available today. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised when I found the entire sheet of Maribor issue with very large slanting overprint.

1945 Maribor local provisional issue, entire sheet of 12pf (Mi. 8) with large slanting overprint.

Extract of the overprint.

Lower right detail, showing one overprint extended to four adjacent stamps.

1945 SPLIT, Unique AR letter

At that time, a mail with advice of receipt (AR) was not on the list of the available post office services, and therefore has not been used. The only known exception was shown at the Croatica 2015 exhibition as a part of the Greatest Rarities of Croatian Philately display.

1945 Split local provisional issue, registered letter with advice of receipt (marked with hand as "Povratnica"), properly franked with 60kn (20kn for letter, 30kn for registration and 10kn for the advice of receipt), sent from Dubrovnik (2.VI.45) to Osijek. The only known AR letter using stamps of Split provisional issue.

43 days delivery

Strange but true - it took 43 days for delivery of the registered and priority letter from the USA to Slovenia :(

It looks like something went wrong at Isc New York (USPS).

1945 SARAJEVO, Stationery

Sarajevo local provisional issue stamps were on sale for only three days, from 4.7.1945 to 6.7.1945, when they were withdrawn from the post office counters. On the other hand, stationery postcards were used from Jun and until the whole stock was used up in April 1946. Therefore, there are quite a lot preserved stationery postcards available on the market and it is important to know which are more valuable than others - here is a quick guide:

• stationery postcards of type III (see here)
• stationery postcards with censorship marks send before 2.7.1945
• stationery postcards sent abroad or sent from the outside of Bosnia
• the combination of the above

1945 Sarajevo local provisional issue, stationery type Ia, sent from Ljubljana (14.07.1945) to Sarajevo. Rare usage from the outside of Bosnia.

1945 SLOVENIA, Forgeries

All three Slovenian provisional issues (Ljubljana, Maribor and Murska Sobota) have been overprinted with the same overprint composition that was adjusted only to the size and orientation of base stamps.

Recently, somebody showed me a negative to be used for etching the cliches, but under the high magnification it turns out that it is a fake. See more about the forgeries here.

Negative

Enlargement shows dotted structure that is typical of today's printers.

1941 UŽICE, Stationery

The Republic of Užice was a short-lived liberated Yugoslav territory and the first liberated territory in World War II Europe, organized as a military mini-state that existed in the autumn of 1941 in the western part of the Serbia. The Republic was established by the Partisan resistance movement (see more). On the liberated area postal service was functioning fairly normal. In addition to German occupation stamps, some provisional attempts were in use too.

1941 Republic of Užice, provisional stationery.

1945 SARAJEVO, Largest known multiple

No complete sheets of any value have been preserved. The largest known multiple is a half sheet of 2 Din / 2 Kn on the offset paper. Analyzing typical errors of base stamps shows that this half sheet is a left part (positions 1-95) of fourth printing cylinder plate. 

1945 Sarajevo local provisional issue, the largest known multiple.

White spot just behind the right side of the coat-of-arms - position 1.

White spot below the "U" in "KUNE" - position 55.

1941 MEĐIMURJE, SF Exhibit

This single frame exhibit is the most complete display of stamps, specialties and postally used items of the Unofficial Local Issue of Međimurje. The exhibit is based on my research showing that two main types of coat-of-arms were used, each with two subtypes and that a total of ten different clichés were assembled during the four separate printings.

This is a 2nd revision that was reorganized and supplemented with some additional items. The exhibit contains especially rare material, some of them unique and exhibited for the first time. Among others, I would highlight:

• a unique complete set in block of four from the second printing
• one of two known 0,25 din se-tenant vertical pairs with "Hrvatska država"
• one of two known letters franked with “Hrvatska država” error stamp
• a unique Easter greeting card sent from the post office in Čakovec

The First Croatian WWII Local Issue
Unofficial Local Issue of Međimurje

Digital version of the exhibit is available here.

1945 SPLIT, Letter from Biograd na Moru

I finally found a letter sent from Biograd na Moru and cancelled with the censor cancellation No. 8...

1945 Split local provisional issue, letter sent from Biograd na Moru (7.IV.45) to Niš - Serbia, free of charge as the sender was a military person. Censor cancellation No. 8 (Biograd na Moru).

Rare cancellation "BIOGRAD NA MORU 2" with removed Cyrillic inscription.

Philately at wholesale

Ha, ha, ha ... now you can show your wife who is the boss!

12 meters of shelving - a single lot at the next DBA auction.

1944 ŠIBENIK, Letter to Zagreb

Due to military activities in the hinterland of Dalmatia the communications were unreliable and postal traffic remained poor and intermittent. Most of the mail traveled by the German military vehicles or trains via Split and Mostar or via Knin and Bihać. 

1944 Šibenik, local provisional issue, registered letter, franked with Mi. No. 5 in block of four (14 kn) and charged with 2 kn war tax, sent from Šibenik (2.VIII.44) to Zagreb (17.VIII.44) and traveled via Split (9.VIII.44). Letter reached the destination only after fifteen days.

Back side of the letter.

1945 SARAJEVO, Cancelled stamps

Sarajevo provisional stamps have been sold on a single post office in Sarajevo from 4th to 6th of July, 1945. Therefore, it is not surprising that cancelled stamps are extremely rare - less than ten have been recorded, including three affixed to the only known letter and two affixed to the only known letter fragment. 

1945 Sarajevo local provisional issue, a fragment of a registered letter, sent from Sarajevo (9.VII.45), franked with 6 din (2 din for letter and 4 din for registration). The only known letter fragment. Certificate Vilfan.

1945 SPLIT, Military mail from Lika

Split issue was intended only for the area of Dalmatia. Letters and stationery cards from other areas are rare and valuable. There are known some examples of postage items used in southern Lika (Gospić, Otočac and Grašac) as well as some very rare items sent by the military mail.

1945 Split local provisional issue, stationery of type St.2IIa, sent by the military mail of 6th Lika Division from Otočac (9.VI.45) to Osijek. Military censor cancellation in Cyrillic. Only two such items are recorded. 

1945 SPLIT, Transadriatic mail

Transadriatic mail was established in 1944 and continued in 1945. The majority of shipments were sent by military persons, who were exempt from postage. Therefore, it is preserved more letters without stamps as those with stamps. Especially rare are private letters with full postage.

1945 Split local provisional issue, Transadriatic registered letter, properly franked with 50 kn (20kn for letter and 30kn for registration), sent from Split (30.III.45) to Bari. 

The backside of the letter with the ATC censors cancellation No. 602 and label "Examined by Allied Transadriatic Censorship".

1941 MEĐIMURJE, The famous Easter card

At the beginning of the April war in 1941, immediately after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Royal Army and before the occupation of the Hungarians, a group of Croatian patriots produced the first Croatian WWII local issue. Printing was done with remaining Yugoslav "King Petar" stamps by the "Kraljek & Vezić" printing house in Čakovec between 12th and 15th of April, 1941.

Stamps of this issue were never sold at the post offices nor were they officially recognized. The German army did not allow any postal traffic until the Hungarians occupied Međimurje and reopened postal service on April 21st, 1941. However, it is known that about 20 letters were actually sent from the post office in Varaždin and delivered to addresses in Zagreb as well as locally.

The Easter greeting card shown below is a unique postal item that was actually sent from the post office in Čakovec. From the message on the postcard is obvious that it was written by the owners of the “Kraljek & Vezić" printing house on April 8th, just before the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and before stamps were overprinted.

The postcard was overprinted on top of the previously affixed stamp and mailed through Hungarian postal authorities on April 21th. The stamp was not recognized but postage due was not charged.

1941 Međimurje, unofficial local provisional issue, unique Easter card with the overprint on the previously affixed stamp, sent from Čakovec(21.IV.1941) to Zagreb. Certificates Ercegović & Vilfan.

1943 MONTENEGRO, Nationaler

In September 1943, after the capitulation of Italy, Germans took over the Montenegro. In November 1943 they overprinted Italian occupation stamps with the inscription: Nationaler / Verwaltungsausschuss / 10.XI.1943. This issue is known as "Nationaler".

10 Lire stamp is one of the most expensive items of the Yugoslav philatelic area!

1943 German occupation, regular and air mail issues, "Nationaler". Certificate Brunel.