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Auction: 26015 - "The Treasure of the Eagles" Collection of Albania - Part I
Lot: 3047

(x) Austrian Levant & Ottoman Postal Interaction in Albania (1869-1870)
1870 (Feb. 8). Cover from Venice to Shkodër (Scutari), endorsed "Via Trieste-Col Valore Austriaco di Antivari", franked by Italy 1866 60c. (Sassone T21), tied by "196" dotted lozenge with matching dispatch c.d.s. and adjacent "P.P.", oval d.s. of Trieste (9.2) on reverse, blue "scutari d'albanie" small thimble (19.2) c.d.s. on obverse, together with Turkey postage-due 1869 1pi. (Michel 12Aa) at lower left, paying the inland Ottoman Antivari–Scutari carriage by horse courier, tied by "Iskodra/81" double circle in Arabic for delivery. One of the finest examples available of this desirable mixed franking through Scutari. Signed Enzo Diena.

provenance: Achille Rivolta
note: Until the end of September 1870, letters sent from Venice or Trieste were generally collected by the addressee at the Austrian Consulate in Scutari, an important trading centre of northern Ottoman Albania. To avoid conflicts with the Ottoman Postal Administration, the Consulate required payment of the Turkish inland rate from Antivari (the nearest Ottoman landing port) to Scutari, amounting to 1 piastre. The Consulate then applied a stamp on the envelope (usually a postage due stamp for this rate) and cancelled either the letter or the Turkish stamp with a small “thimble” date postmark, confirming payment before forwarding it to the Ottoman Post Office, which completed delivery after applying its own double-circle postal seal.


Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Estimate
£500 to £1,000

Starting price
£450