Austrian Empire
Offices in Crete
The Austrian Empire maintained postal agencies in Crete
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1903, they began
issuing postage stamps denominated in French Francs for their postal
agencies in Chania, Heraklion and Rethymno.
These stamps, valued in French currency, were largely unnecessary though. Stamps denominated in Lombardy-Venetian Soldi, French Francs, and Turkish Piasters were all valid for postage in Crete, and stamps denominated in French Francs were valid for postage throughout the Turkish Empire.
An example is shown in the image above. The Austria Offices in the Turkish Empire stamp on the left was used in Canea, Crete, and the Austria Offices in Crete stamp on the right was actually used in Jerusalem, Palestine.
As
a result, very few of these stamps were actually used for mail from
Crete. Mint examples are common, whereas authenticated used examples
are very scarce. These stamps, in used condition, are frequently found
with forged postmarks. The most common usage for these, oddly enough,
was on mail from the Austrian post office in Jerusalem, which normally
used the Austrian Offices in the Turkish Empire postage stamps.
Between 1903 and 1904, the seven major-type Austrian Empire stamps of 1899 to 1901, shown above,
were overprinted in French currency for use in Crete.
Some of these stamps stamps were produced with two different perforation gauges, 13 x 13 1/2 and 13 x 12 1/2.
The catalog attributes, for Centime denominated stamps with black numerals and with varnish bars, are as follows.
- 05 C. on 05 H. (1903 - Mi. #1, Sc. #1) - Blue Green.
- 10 C. on 10 H. (1903 - Mi. #2, Sc. #2) - Rose.
- 25 C. on 25 H. (1903 - Mi. #3, Sc. #3) - Ultramarine.
- 50 C. on 50 H. (1903 - Mi. #4, Sc. #4) - Gray Blue.
- 01 F. on 01 K. (1903 - Mi. #5, Sc. #5) - Carmine Rose, Carmine.
- 02 F. on 02 K. (1904 - Mi. #6, Sc. #6) - Gray Violet.
- 04 F. on 04 K. (1904 - Mi. #7, Sc. #7) - Gray Green.
The catalog attributes, for Centime denominated stamps with black numerals and without varnish bars, are as follows.
- 05 C. on 05 H. (1906 - Mi. #12, Sc. #8a) - Blue Green.
- 10 C. on 10 H. (1906 - Mi. #13, Sc. #9) - Rose.
During 1905, the four major-type Austrian Empire stamps of 1904-1905, shown above,
were overprinted in French currency for use in Crete.
Some of these stamps stamps were produced with two different perforation gauges, 13 x 13 1/2 and 13 x 12 1/2.
The catalog attributes, for Centime denominated stamps with varnish bars, are as follows.
- 05 C. on 05 H. (1905 - Mi. #8, Sc. #8) - Blue Green.
- 10 C. on 10 H. (1905 - Mi. #9, Sc. #9a) - Carmine.
- 25 C. on 25 H. (1905 - Mi. #10, Sc. #10) - Ultramarine.
- 50 C. on 50 H. (1905 - Mi. #11, Sc. #11) - Dull Blue.
During 1907, the three major-type Austrian Empire stamps of 1906-1907, shown above,
were overprinted in French currency for use in Crete.
The catalog attributes, for Centime denominated stamps without varnish bars, are as follows.
- 05 C. on 05 H. (1907 - Mi. #14, Sc. #12) - Yellow Green.
- 10 C. on 10 H. (1907 - Mi. #15, Sc. #13) - Carmine.
- 15 C. on 15 H. (1907 - Mi. #16, Sc. #14) - Violet.
The six pictorial definitive stamps shown above (Mi. #17-22, Sc. #15-20) were issued during July 1908 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Reign of Emperor Franz Josef I.
These new definitive stamps were printed on surface-colored paper.
During 1914, the 10 C. and 25 C. denomination stamps, were re-issued on paper that was colored all the way through. They are shown directly above (Mi. #23-24, Sc. #21-22).
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Offices in Crete
