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Auction: 8030 - Important Great Britain, British Empire & Foreign Stamps & Covers, including items from the Royal Philatelic Collection
Lot: 88

x Long Island Mount Athos 1916 "on his majesty´s service." envelope (240x108mm.) addressed by Lieut. Maxse to Lieut-Comdr. Pirie-Gordon on board H.M.S. "Exmouth", c/o Army Base Post Office, Salonika, bearing 1916 1/2d. black on green, 1d. black on carmine, 2 1/2d. black on pink, 2 1/2d. black on pale blue, 4 1/2d. black on pink, 4 1/2d. black on yellow, 6d. black on lilac, 6d. black on green and 1/- black on buff, all cancelled and/or tied by "agion oros/25.1.1916" straight-line datestamp, showing "field post office/g.x" double-ring d.s. (2.3) and framed "on active service/passed censor" h.s. in red (additionally tying the 1/2d., 2 1/2d. black on pale blue and the 6d. black on lilac). The only cover recorded to bear all nine of the Mount Athos stamps Estimate £ 4,000-5,000 provenance: Pirie-Gordon literature: The Mystery of Mount Athos by Robson Lowe; The Philatelist, December 1943 (photocopy included in the lot) Note: These stamps were prepared on a warship, H.M.S. "Ark Royal", in time of war and thet were the first stamps in the world to bear the currency of three different languages and alphabets.

Sold for
£5,200