61st AUCTION - day 4

Italy: 1941 (July 25), ITALIAN OCCUPATION OF ZANTE (Zakynthos) military postcard

Italy

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1941 (July 25), ITALIAN OCCUPATION OF ZANTE (Zakynthos) military postcard of Greece with framed "OCCUPAZIONE/MILITARE DI/ZANTE/1-5-XIX" in blue, sent by a "Black Shirt" member of the "60° Btg. CC.NN. da Sbarco" to Pola (Italy), "Zakyntos" cds at right and Italian censorships. This item is Illustrated in the Sirotti handbook on page 114. On May 1, 1941 the 60th Battalion "Black shirts" supported by 50 paratroopers occupied the island. The Greek postal official fled. The Italian military commander appointed a new director and organized a civilian mail. This Greek military postcard used by an Italian soldier in Zakynthos in July 1941 demonstrates that the handstamp of Zante (used only between May and August 31) was not only used to overprint the stamps but also to "cancel" the symbols of the Greek military postcards in order to avoid taxation. The stamps showing this overprint catalogued in Sassone under chapter "Zante - Occupazione Militare Italiana 1941",Items of similar rarity are catalogued at €50,000 to €80,000. A TOTAL OF 5 KNOWN, THIS IS THE ONLY ONE ON THE BROWN ORANGE CARD, REPRESENTING ONE OF THE RAREST POSTAL STATIONERIES OF GREECE USED DURING THE ITALIAN OCCUPATION OF ZANTE.

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Condition: postal stationery