Albania Stamps
Issues of 1913
In May of 1913, the first Albania stamps appeared, with them being
hand stamped seals applied
directly to letter envelopes. An example is shown above.
The six major type overprinted Albania stamps shown above were issued during June 1913. These Turkish stamps were all hand-stamped with the Albanian Arms and "SHQIPENIA".
Varieties will be noted in the tables and text below. Stamp descriptions will refer to the text about the Turkish stamps of 1908 and 1909 in the column at the right.
The catalog detail, for overprinted Turkish stamps of 1908, is as follows.
- 02 1/2 Pi. (1913 - Sc. #1) - Violet Brown.
The catalog detail, for overprinted Turkish stamps of 1909, is as follows.
- 05 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #4) - Ocher.
- 10 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #5) - Blue Green.
- 20 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #6) - Carmine Rose.
- 01 Pi. (1913 - Sc. #7) - Ultramarine.
- 02 Pi. (1913 - Sc. #8) - Blue Black.
- 02 Pi. (1913 - Sc. N/L) - Black. (NOT REGULARLY ISSUED)
- 05 Pi. (1913 - Sc. #10) - Dark Violet.
- 10 Pi. (1913 - Sc. #11) - Dull Red.
- 25 Pi. (1913 - Sc. N/L) - Dark Green. (NOT REGULARLY ISSUED)
- 50 Pi. (1913 - Sc. N/L) - Red Brown. (NOT REGULARLY ISSUED)
These Albanian hand-stamped overprints exist doubled and inverted. The hand-stamped overprints on some of the 20 Para, 1 Piaster, and 2 Piaster denominations also exist in red, blue, and violet, though they were not officially issued in those colors.
The six Albania stamps shown above illustrate other major varieties of the 1913 hand-stamped overprints. The three stamps at the top of the image show the hand-stamped overprints with the additional "ب"overprint. The three stamps at the bottom of the scan show other varieties and the re-valued 20 Para stamp. These varieties will be described in the tables below.
The catalog detail, for overprinted Turkish stamps of 1908 that have the additional "ب" overprint in carmine or blue, is as follows.
- 10 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #2) - Blue Green.
The catalog detail, for overprinted Turkish stamps of 1909 that have the additional "ب" overprint in carmine or blue, is as follows.
- 10 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #13A) - Blue Green.
- 20 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #14) - Carmine Rose.
- 01 Pi. (1913 - Sc. #15) - Bright Blue.
The catalog detail, for overprinted Turkish NEWSPAPER stamps of 1910-1911, is as follows.
- 02 Pa. on 05 Pa. (1913 - Sc. N/L) - Ocher. (NOT REGULARLY ISSUED)
- 02 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #17) - Olive Green.
The catalog detail, for overprinted Turkish POSTAGE DUE stamps of 1908, is as follows.
- 01 Pi. (1913 - Sc. #18) - Black on Deep Rose.
- 02 Pi. (1913 - Sc. N/L) - Black on Deep Rose. (NOT REGULARLY ISSUED)
The catalog detail, for overprinted 20 Para Turkish stamps of 1909 that are re-valued to 10 Para, is as follows.
- 10 Pa. on 20 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #19) - Carmine Rose.
These hand-stamp-overprinted Turkish stamps that are marked ... (NOT REGULARLY ISSUED) ... were not regularly issued for postal use, but they were provided to some stamp dealers. They occasionally appear in major auction sales, usually bringing five-figure realizations.
The seven Albania stamps shown above were issued in July and August of 1913. They are hand-stamped on white laid paper, imperforate, and they were issued without gum. The denominations are typewritten in violet.
The catalog detail, for hand-stamps WITHOUT eagle and typewritten denomination, is as follows.
- 01 Pi. (1913 - Sc. #20) - Black.
This stamp exists with sewing machine perforations, and as such, it is very scarce.
The catalog detail, for hand-stamps WITH eagle and typewritten denomination, is as follows.
- 10 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #21) - Violet.
- 20 Pa. (1913 - Sc. #22) - Red & Black.
- 01 Gr. (1913 - Sc. #23) - Black.
- 02 Gr. (1913 - Sc. #24) - Blue & Violet.
- 05 Gr. (1913 - Sc. #25) - Violet & Blue.
- 10 Gr. (1913 - Sc. #26) - Blue.
DANGER!
With very few exceptions, most of the stamps described on this page are VERY EXPENSIVE, and EXCELLENT FORGERIES exist for ALL of them! Extreme caution should be exercised, when purchasing any of these early hand-stamp-overprinted Albania stamps. It is recommended that only examples that are properly authenticated or certified should be purchased!
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Albania Postage Stamps
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Return to Albania Stamps from
Issues of 1913
TURKISH STAMPS
USED IN
ALBANIA
The Turkish stamps of 1908 have the Tughra of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
Some of these stamps are overprinted "ب" , the Arabic letter "B" for "Béhié" meaning "discount", usually in carmine or blue. Stamps with this overprint were sold to merchants at a discount from
face-value to encourage the use of Turkish stamps for foreign
correspondence, instead of those of the various European post offices in
Turkey.
The Turkish stamps of 1909 have the Tughra of Sultan Mehmed V (Mohammed V).
At least to the author of this page, who is not familiar with Arabic language calligraphy, the main differences in the stamps of 1908 and 1909 seem to be in the small element on the right side of the Tughra and in the elements of the Arabic text below the Tughra.