Postage Stamps of Italy

by Tony Clayton

Istria and the Slovene Coast

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At the end of the Second World War Yugoslav forces occupied part of the Istrian peninsula around Trieste. In June 1945 short-lived issues for Trieste, Istria and Fiume (now Rijeka) were made by overprinting stamps of the Italian Social Republic. This was followed in August 1945 by issues for Istria and the Slovene Coast which were used until the formation of Trieste Zone B in 1948. The postage due, or Porto, series were created by overprinting definitives. These are full of varieties as different fonts and forms of obliterating blocks (called tassello) were used.

Istria Overprints of June 1945

There is some question over whether stamps of the Social Republic overprinted ISTRA were ever issued for genuine use. Stanley Gibbons thinks not, whereas Sassone does list them used. However, dangerous fakes do exist, so beware!

Genuine mint copy of Sassone 27 The overprint is impressed into the paper, and is sideways.	Fake of Sassone 27. The upright overprint is a bit of a giveaway.
Genuine mint copy of Sassone 39 The overprint is impressed into the paper, and the four bars are clearly distinct from the denomination underneath.	Fake of Sassone 39. The use of a postmark dated 30.11.40 is unlikely on a stamp issued in July 1945. Other aspects of the overprint show that to be forged also

Left: Genuine Sassone 28. Right: Fake Sassone 38 Genuine: ISTRA impressed into the paper, sharp edges Fake: No impression, fuzzy edges, new overprint contemporary with that underneath, no stop or comma in old value

Details of the L. 1,50 area

Clearly a fake - it should be L.1,00 and not L.0,10

Philatelic Cover with four ISTRA overprints Sassone 28, 34, 35 & 36

Postage Due Issues of December 1945

There were five denominations: 1 lire on 25c olive, and 4, 8, 10 and 20 lire on 50c red-brown, each printed in sheets of 100. Each had 80 stamps with a solid cancelling block (type I) and 20 with a block split vertically in two (type II).

8 lire on 50c, type I (left) and type II 80 and 20 examples per sheet respectively Sassone 3 and 3/II

20 lire on 50c, type I (left) and type II 80 and 20 examples per sheet respectively Sassone 3 and 3/II

Postage Due Issues of February 1946

There were two denominations: 50c on 2l violet, and 2l on 30l lilac, each printed in sheets of 100

50c on 2 lire, curved top to 5, type II (vertical gap) 24 examples per sheet Sassone 6/II

50c on 2 lire, curved top to 5, type III (horizontal gap) 12 examples per sheet Sassone 6/III

50c on 2 lire, straight top to 5, type II (vertical gap) 2 examples per sheet Sassone 6A/II

50c on 2 lire, straight top to 5, type III (horizontal gap) 4 examples per sheet Sassone 6A/III

2l on 30 lire, straight bottom to 2, type I (no gap) 40 examples per sheet Sassone 7

2l on 30 lire, curved bottom to 2, type II (vertical gap) 14 examples per sheet Sassone 7A/II

2l on 30 lire, curved bottom to 2, type III (horizontal gap) 4 examples per sheet Sassone 7A/III

Postage Due Issues of March 1946

There were six denominations: 1, 2 and 4 lire on 1 lire green, and 10, 20 and 30 lire on 30 lire lilac. The stop after the denomination comes in several forms (besides those shown below, one stamp on each sheet has a small square stop); the P of PORTO comes in two forms, one of which was made by converting an R.

1 lire on 1 lire, rectangular dot (left) and round dot both with normal P 74 and 15 examples per sheet respectively Sassone 8 and 8a

1 lire on 1 lire, large square dot found on all 1 lire stamps in a later printing, normal P (left); 2 lire on 1 lire, round dot and modified P made from an R (right) 91 and 4 examples per sheet respectively Sassone 8k and 9c

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