Postage Stamps of Italy

by Tony Clayton

Trieste Zone B

Trieste Zone A Postal Staionery <<-- : -->> 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, and while the political map was negotiated the area was divided into two parts, Zone A occupied by the Allies and Zone B by Yugoslav forces. Zone B first issued stamps in May 1948.

1948 Red Cross Issue

One of the very early issues on 23rd May 1948 consisted of two Red Cross stamps. The brown version was an obligatory tax used until the 30th May. The green version being marked PORTO was a postage due stamp used if the tax stamp was absent.

2 lire + 0.5 dinar Red Cross Tax stamps Sassone 4 and 5

1949 UPU Anniversary Issue

Issued to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Postal Union.

5 dinar blue Sassone 17

12 dinar brown Sassone 18

1950 Railway Centenary Issue

Issued to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Yugoslav Railways.

2 dinar green Sassone 19	3 dinar carmine Sassone 20
5 dinar blue Sassone 21	10 dinar yellow-orange Sassone 22

A miniature sheet was issued in both perforated and imperforate form

10 dinar imperforate sheet in rose-lilac Sassone 22

1950 and 1951 Definitives

In 1950 a set of 8 values was issued. A year later the four lowest values were reissued in different colours. The two 0.50 dinar values are extremely hard to distinguish by colour.

0.50 dinar light grey and dark grey The biggest difference is in the letter in the top right corner, which is much more distinctive in the 1950 printing. The denomination differs slightly as well. Sassone 23 and 35

1 dinar carmine and orange brown Notice the letter in the top right corner, which is much more distinctive in the 1950 printing. Sassone 24 and 35A

2 dinar blue and light blue Sassone 25 and 35B

3 dinar brown and rose Sassone 26 and 36

1951 May Day Issue

The existence of a version perforated 12½x11½ instead of the usual 12½ has only recently been acknowledged in Sassone.

3 dinar red-brown; Perf 12½ on left; Perf 12½x11½ on the right Sassone 37 and 37/I

1951 Red Cross Issue

The blue version was an obligatory tax used from October 7th until the 14th. The green version being marked PORTO was a postage due stamp used if the tax stamp was absent.

0.5 dinar Red Cross Tax stamps Sassone 39 and 40

1953 Definitives

Two dies of the 15 dinar exist. In the first issue with sans-serif overprint, the second die is scarce. They can be distinguished by the presence or absence of a vertical line below the worker's left hand.
For the second issue with serif overprint the first die used to be listed, but has been withdrawn. It is likely that examples appearing to use type I had forged overprints.

15 dinar red, types I and II Sassone 79 and 79/I

Details of the two types

1953 Esperanto Conference

In 1953 an Esperanto Conference was held in Zagreb. Two stamps were issued: 15 dinar grey and green and a 300 dinar air mail in violet and green. 12,000 of the latter were issued in sheets of 12, while a further 246 miniature sheets of 8 were issued where the stamps had a significant difference in colour, being lilac and green.

300 dinar Esperanto Conference Air Mail. Sassone A20

Trieste Zone A Postal Staionery <<-- : -->> Istria and the Slovene Coast
Trieste Area Index
Main Italian Stamps Index