Albania Stamps
Issues of 1920-1922
Definitive Albania stamps re-appeared between 1920 and 1922, bearing witness to the post-war survival of the Albanian nation. This period concludes with the first pictorial definitive stamps of Albania.
In the years following the end of World War I, the Albanian nation almost DID NOT survive! During the proceedings of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Italy wanted to establish a military protectorate in Central Albania, Serbia laid claim to Northern Albania, and Greece laid claim to Southern Albania. Had these claims been realized, the pre-war nation of Albania would have ceased to exist!
President Woodrow Wilson of the United States intervened, on the side of the Albanians, to block the Paris Agreement. The United States underscored its support for Albania, by recognizing their diplomatic representative in Washington, D.C. On December 17, 1920, the newly-created League of Nations recognized the sovereignty of Albania, by admitting the nation as a full-member. Some border issues remained unsettled, but the nation of Albania had been saved, and its borders were largely restored to what they had been before World War I.
The six small-format, definitive Albania stamps shown above were issued on April 4, 1920. Each of the stamps was overprinted with a posthorn, as a control marking.
The central design of each of the stamps features the double-headed Albanian Eagle and a portrait of Skanderbeg, as the personification of Albanian independence.
The Scott catalog attributes are as follows:
- 02 Q. (1920 - Sc. #129) - Orange.
- 05 Q. (1920 - Sc. #130) - Deep Green.
- 10 Q. (1920 - Sc. #131) - Red.
- 25 Q. (1920 - Sc. #132) - Light Blue.
- 50 Q. (1920 - Sc. #133) - Gray Green.
- 01 F. (1920 - Sc. #134) - Claret.
The six small-format, definitive stamps shown above were issued on April 1, 1922. Each of the stamps was overprinted with a control marking, consisting of a ribbon containing the word "BESA".
The Scott catalog attributes are as follows.
- 02 Q. (1922 - Sc. #135) - Orange.
- 05 Q. (1922 - Sc. #136) - Deep Green.
- 10 Q. (1922 - Sc. #137) - Red.
- 25 Q. (1922 - Sc. #138) - Light Blue.
- 50 Q. (1922 - Sc. #139) - Gray Green.
- 01 F. (1922 - Sc. #140) - Claret.
What does BESA mean? In Albanian culture, the word "BESA" is a very strong term, meaning "faith", usually interpreted as "keeping one's promise", swearing on "one's word of honor", or of having a "strong commitment". In its use on these stamps, it could most probably be interpreted as "validated" or "genuine".
The two small-format, definitive stamps shown above were issued in November 1922. Each of the stamps was overprinted with a control marking, consisting of a rectangle containing the word "BESA".
The Scott catalog attributes are as follows.
- 05 Q. (1922 - Sc. #156) - Deep Green.
- 10 Q. (1922 - Sc. #157) - Red.
The three sets of small-format definitive Albania stamps shown above were never officially issued without the overprinted control markings.
The seven wide-format, pictorial definitive Albania stamps shown above were issued during 1922.
The catalog attributes and descriptions are as follows.
- 02 Q. (1922 - Sc. #147) - Gjirokaster, the ancient Byzantine Era town in Southern Albania.
- 05 Q. (1922 - Sc. #148) - Kanina, a settlement in Vlore County of South-western Albania. It is the site of the 4th Century B.C. Kanina Castle, reconstructed by Justinian I in the 6th Century A.D.
- 10 Q. (1922 - Sc. #149) - Berat, a city in Southern Albania. It is rated as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World, having been founded in the 6th Century B.C.
- 25 Q. (1922 - Sc. #150) - Vizir Bridge, over the Drin River near Kukes, in Northeastern Albania.
- 50 Q. (1922 - Sc. #151) - Rozafa Castle, near the city of Shkoder in Northwestern Albania. Rozafa Hill was originally an Ilyrian stronghold, until it was conquered by the Romans in 167 B.C. The castle is believed to be of Venetian origin.
- 01 F. (1922 - Sc. #152) - View of Korce, a 13th Century town of Southeastern Albania.
- 02 F. (1922 - Sc. #153) - Durres, a city and seaport on the Adriatic Sea in Central Albania. It is also rated as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World, having been founded in 627 B.C. by ancient Greek colonists from Corinth.
eBay Auction and Store Links
Albania Postage Stamps
The following links feature category-focused affiliated seller listings on various eBay sites worldwide. They may enable visitors to shop
for and to buy specific items for the
particular collecting subject they've just read about.
The
affiliated eBay seller auction lots provided by eBay,
Inc. are not the responsibility of the management of this
website. On high priced material, make sure the lots you are buying are properly authenticated.
Remember
that the lots on European eBay sites are usually priced in EUROS. Shipping
charges may be more, and the lots may take longer to arrive. Also, make
sure the foreign seller ships to your country, before bidding on or
buying his lot.
Return to Albania Stamps from
Issues of 1920-1922
The 2 Q. denomination definitive stamp of 1922, shown above, was re-valued to 1 Q., for use as a Newspaper Stamp (Sc. #154), during 1922.