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Epirus
February 1914
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Europe | 33, 33a |  |
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Chimarra Issue † |
Provisional Government Issues ‡ |
xxx | ||
| 1914 Sc1 SG1 | 1914 Sc5 SG25 | 1914 Sc7 SG23 | ||
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Koritsa Issue
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Chimarra Issue |
Greek Occupation
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| 1914 Sc26 SG47 | 1914 Sc34 SG31 | 1914 ScN1 SG49b § | ||
† Image from David Olson, with the comment, "A second printing was made from original handstamps, on similar thin wove paper, but not transluscent, known as Spetsiotis Reprints.'"
‡ There are two designs in this set. Scott lists them all in order of denomination, Gibbons separates them in its listing.
§ The stamp shown is the double overprint variant.
Gibbons [1] only has two categories for Epirus, Provisional Govt 1914, SG1-58 and Northern Epirus, Greek Occupation 1914, SG59-85.
Scott [2] is more nuanced, with general and regional headings. Scott also illustrates a number of designs described as "not regularly issued for postal purposes in the opinion of the editors" that are actually listed by Gibbons.
| Entity (listed under Epirus) | Date | Sc# | Gibbons (listed under Epirus) | SG# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chimarra Issue | 1914 |
Sc1-4 |
Provisional Government Issues | SG1-SG4 |
| Provisional Government Issues | 1914 |
Sc5-22 |
SG23-30 |
|
| Koritsa Issue | 1914 |
S26-27 |
SG47-48 |
|
| Chimarra Issue | 1914 |
Sc34-41 |
SG31-38 |
|
| Greek Occupation | 1914 |
Sc-N1-N32 |
North Epirus, Greek Occupation | SG59-85 |
listed under Greece
| listed under Albania |
|||
| for use in North Epirus (Albania) | 1940 |
Sc-N202-238 |
Greek Occupation | SG1-45 |
Wikipedia traces the history of Epirus back to Neolithic times, but looking at the more recent labyrinthine balkanisation, "While the Treaty of Berlin (1878) awarded large parts of Epirus to Greece, opposition by the Ottomans and the League of Prizren resulted in only the region of Arta being ceded to Greece in 1881. It was only following the First Balkan War of 1912–1913 and the Treaty of London that the rest of southern Epirus, including Ioannina, was incorporated into Greece. Greece had also seized northern Epirus during the Balkan Wars, but the Treaty of Bucharest, which concluded the Second Balkan War, assigned Northern Epirus to Albania." This was unpopular with the Greek population of Northen Epirus who revolted and "proclaimed the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in February 1914".
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for use in North Epirus |
| 1940 Greece Sc-N202 Albania, Greek Occ. SG1 |
Gibbons [1] on the 1940 occupation issues states that, "Italian troops invaded Greece from Albania [in 1940]. The Greeks counter-attacked and occupied part of Southern Albania, including Koritza, until the German invasion of Greece forced them to surrender [in 1941]."