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Auction: 26015 - "The Treasure of the Eagles" Collection of Albania - Part I
Lot: 3190

(g) Partisan Liberation of Berat (1943)
Berat. 1943, 1q. slate, 1q. on 2q. olive, 2q. olive, 3q. brown (sheet margin at left), and 5q. green, the complete set of five values, showing the second overprint applied in Berat, in red, featuring a framed five-pointed star and the initials "VF-LP" for "Death to Fascism-Freedom for the People", unmounted mint with original gum. One of only five complete sets recorded, of which one was donated by Robert Ballauri to Giulio Andreotti, the well-known Italian politician -also a philatelist- who served seven times as Prime Minister of Italy.

provenance: Robert Ballauri
note: In 1954, General of the Resistance Gjin Marku, who commanded partisan forces near Berat, explained how the Berat postage stamps were produced and confirmed that they were used only briefly. He further noted that the person who conceived them (whose name he did not know) was an Albanian who had pursued university studies in Italy and had returned to his country to fight against fascism.

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Estimate
£700 to £1,200

Starting price
£650