Scutari
Scutari is the Italian name for Shkodër, a town in northern Albania. In the early 1900s it was still under Ottoman rule. In 1900, the Shkodër vilayet was split into the sanjaks of Shkodër and Durrës, but the town kept its importance until the end of Ottoman rule in the Balkans. Other countries had opened consulates there since 1718, so Italy was far from the first foreign power in Scutari.
The Italian post office in Scutari opened on November 1, 1901. It was the first Italian office in Albania, followed by Durazzo in 1902 and Valona in 1908. In February 1909, seven denominations were created for it by overprinting Italian stamps with the value in Turkish currency, and the overprint reads “Scutari di Albania.” An eighth value, 40 piastre on 10 lire, was issued in January 1911.
The town was caught up in the Balkan Wars soon after. Ottoman forces held out for seven months against a siege by Montenegrin forces and their Serbian allies, and Esad Pasha surrendered to Montenegro in April 1913. Montenegro was then forced to leave the city to Albania in May 1913, in accordance with the London Conference of Ambassadors. The Italian office itself is listed as open from 1901 until it closed on December 31, 1922.
Note
Here’s another blank album page. I have none of these stamps. I haven’t seen them for sale on any of the Italian stamp dealer sites. I don’t think they’re very rare or cost much. It’s just that collecting Italian stamps from foreign post offices isn’t too popular.
Contains 10 spots: own 0 – 0 unused, 0 used.
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Leoni |
10p (feb 1909) |
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2 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Leoni |
20p (feb 1909) |
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3 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Michetti |
30p (feb 1909) |
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4 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Michetti |
1P (feb 1909) |
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5 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Michetti |
2P (feb 1909) |
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6 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Cellini |
4P (feb 1909) |
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7 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Cellini |
20P (feb 1909) |
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8 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Cellini |
40P (jan 1911) |
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9 |
Savoy Crest |
4p (jan 1915) |
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10 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Michetti |
20c (jan 1916) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
