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Hi fellas,

Just wanted to share an interesting auction. Not mine, not willing to bid just wanted to share..



The cancellation looks a little bit fishy since it is written "SHKODER" not "SHKODËR" and the "SHQIPNI" part on the bottom of the cancellation has a weird "Q". But on the other hand, on that time Albanian had not a standardized writing form and plus i do not know the postal history of Shkodras Cancellations during the first World War and the immediate aftermath of the war, so i am just speculating in the dark. The Michel Catalog of 1998 says that this stamp is found halved a lot of times but not in the middle like this but from one corner of the stamp to the other corner, giving 2 triangles and not 2 rectangles like in this case where the stamp is halved in the middle.

But still, halved stamps, haven't seen much of them around and thought it would be interesting to share.

I hoped you enjoyed it and i didn't waste your time
Bardhi

p.s. the link for the auction: http://delcampe.net/page/item/id,167133 ... age,E.html

Fixed the problem..

Ahoj bardhi!

As you say there is a lot of dodgy material around in early Albania from phantasy issues to cancelled by favour pieces.

This postmark has a French feel to it both in its shape and the lettering. I think I have seen that type of Q in French postmarks.

Did the Allies operate a postal service in the north of Albania after the war?

Anyway, welcome to Stampboards and I look forward to seeing more Albanian material.

Cheers,

Honza

Hi Honza,

This set of Austrian fiscal stamps issued for use in Albania during the World War (KuK occupation zone), was overprinted after the war in 1919 and they were used as postal stamps. By 1919 except the Italians who continued to occupy a part of the south-western Albania, namely the town of Vlora - Vlona - and the countryside around that town, no other country had any real presence and especially no postal activity (except maybe the foreign Consulates).

Shkodra (the town in northwest) where the cancellation comes from, was never under French protectorate or occupation. It was always a zone under the influence, protection and occupation of the Habsburg Empire , since it borders Montenegro and has a strong Catholic population. This means that if we were to expect any foreign influence of cancellations in Shkodra region, it would have been Austro-Hungarian not French.

The French controlled Korça - Koritza, Kortcha - (south east Albania) during the WW1 and there are a few local stamp sets printed for that region during the War and Brandy production is a legacy from that time (Skenderbeg Cognac).

I am not an expert in Albania (but i want to specialize in that part) , since i had a very long pause from stamp collecting and I am basically a guy with a "semi kiddies collection" that just started to get back to stamp collecting - stampboards is one of the first steps - but i suspect that this stamp might be a fake (the halving is not as described by Michel), and the cancellation seems even more faker than the stamp itself, unless i am totally wrong.

I hope your eyes are not bleeding from the long and boring post from an amateur.

Best wishes,
Bardhi

How much is the bisected stamp catalogued in Michel?

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My wantlist for Malta Revenues

Hi there HalfpennyYellow,

I have an old Michel (pre Euro time) and it states no difference between a normal or halved stamp. The price for Mint or Used is 15DM (around 7.5€).. I guess the price has moved up in 12 years but i doubt it has moved up much.

I guess that since it was authorised for bisecting, it didn't matter in which way the stamp was cut (vertically or diagonaly) unless there were specific regulations on how to do it. However you are right - most bisects are from the corners (triangular).

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My wantlist for Malta Revenues

Looks fine to me

This cancel was made in France, so follows their style.

There are many bisects with this same date, so probably philatelic, but all genuine enough.

Thanx Mike,

Nice to know... I think you and Nigel are the guys i should hang out with on Stampboards ... You know Albania "philatelically" speaking ...

Bardhi- Try to find a copy of 'The Stamps and Posts of Albania and Epirus' by Phipps.

The best reference in English. If you know Italian, there are a couple of good reference books still in print that are easier to obtain.

Then throw out your Michel, SG & Scott

Hey Mike,

It seems there has been an Albanian translation of the book.. I can't seem to find any original English (which i would prefer) on sale... But i guess i will have more luck when i go in Albania this summer to get at least the Albanian copy of this book and some others that seem to be translations. Sadly i do not speak Italian, therefore the books regarding postal history in Italian would not make sense at all ...

Ahoj Mike!

Thanks for confirming the French connection.

Can you go further?

Who was it made for? What postal service used it, if any?

It certainly has a cancelled to order feel.

Cheers,

Honza

I've just looked in my copy of Phipps and cannot find any reference to a bisect of these overprinted Austrian revenue stamps, but he does illustrate the French-type cancellation as being in use at Shkoder.

The cancel he illustrates is slightly different though - the centre is "9 30 / 13 -2 /21", ie. time above, then day-month, then year at the bottom - but it does have the same inscription around the outside with a broken circle.

PS. A quick advert - if anyone is in Evesham, UK on Monday 16th April, I'm giving half an evening's display on Albania (the other half is the Ottoman Empire). Visitors are very welcome, the meeting starts at 7:30pm in Wallace House on Oat Street.

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Regards,
Leamphil

Somerset Postal History Blog
Leamington & Warwick Philatelic Society

Leamphil- Page 205- Phipps has the other half (although not of the same stamp) with same cancel and date on piece.

Maybe even cut from the same cover?

Wish I could be there for your presentation

Honza- As Albania was occupied by everyone who could make their way there, the material used by the Albanian post came from many different sources.

The small Skandenberg stamps were printed in France, the large ones in Italy, and the Prince issue in Austria.

Cancelers and overprinting devices came from Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Serbia, Montenegro, and who knows where else.

The only ones who seem to have stayed out of Albania were the Australians

mike,

with the small Skanderbeg stamps you mean the 1920 issue with "BESA" and a post-horn overprints?

Bardi- Yes. They were ordered by the French, but were never used until later overprinted by the Albanian post.

I think the French cancel above was sent along with these stamps.

The stamps were only used with overprints since there were probably still stock of the stamps in Paris.

Hmmm, i find it weird that stamps thought of as local stamps in the beginning (for Shkodra - north-west Albania) have been ordered by France. Probably happened after the WW, since during the war Shkodra was all the time under Austrian administration.... Does this information come from Phipps?