Cefalonia & Itaca

From late 1940 until Spring 1941, Italy fought against Greece (i.e., the Italo-Greek War). As a result, Italy occupied the Ionian Islands until the Germans took them in 1943 when the Italian king sided with the Allied Powers against Germany.

Cephalonia is the largest of the Ionian Islands with the main city called, Argostoli. Incidentally, Zakynthos is nearby in the southeast and part of the Ionian Islands. I visited there one Summer with my wife and step-daughter. It’s beautiful and the people are very nice. Northeast and very close to Cephalonia is another large island, Ithica.

These stamps are overprinted with the names of Cephalonia and Ithica, but they were meant to be used by all of Italy’s occupations of the Ionian Islands. The Sassone catalog also lists another fifty stamps stamped Zante, which is Zakynthos. Plus, I have seen on-line the same Greek stamps overprinted with the name of the island Leucade, which is near Cephalonia and Ithica but closer to the mainland of western Greece. I may later add pages for those stamps.

Occupations, Page CE-4 (GR-3)

Occupations, Page CE-3 (GR-3)

Occupations, Page CE-2 (GR-3)

Occupations, Page CE-1 (GR-3)

Note

This is another new set of album pages for me. There are two pairs of pages. The first pair (i.e., CE-1 and CE-2) is meant for Greek stamps that were overprinted with text indicating that the islands were occupied then by the Kingdom of Italy – overprinted using printing presses. The second pair of pages are the same Greek stamps and a few more that were stamped manually with rubber stamps containing the same message.

When I was putting together these album pages, I first had to decide if I would design pages for both machine and hand overprinted stamps, or just one set – and which set. The machine printed ones are numbered by Sassone from 1 to 35, plus the air mail stamps A2 to A10 – Sassone had originally identified an overprinted Greek stamp as A1, but since they discovered all of the ones found were fakes, they eliminated it from the catalog but didn’t renumber the subsequent ones. If I made album pages for only the second set, there would be the oddness of the catalog numbers starting at 36 and A11. Plus, the second batch doesn’t look as nice: the hand stamps are blurry. So at first, if I were to choose, I’d have only the first set.

There’s another factor, though, regarding which stamps to collect from this particular occupation: cost to acquire. Stamps from both sets are expensive. The first set is more in demand, which drives up the prices. The second set, though, is rarer – they hand stamped fewer stamps – which keeps their prices high. There’s yet another factor to consider: the overprint for the first set spans two stamps; it’s not confined to one stamp. It reads over four lines, Italia Occupazione Militare Italiana isole Cefolonia e Itica. It’s too wordy. As a result, people collect and sell them in pairs showing the whole overprint. That translates to a smaller supply given that collectors are buying two of each instead of one. The price of an unused pair is in the thousands – although singles that can be found might be under one-hundred euros each. The rubber stamps fit on single stamps, so those are available in singles. They’re close to a hundred euros each, making they a better choice, financially.

Given that I can’t afford any of these stamps at this time, I decided to design the pages for singles for all of them and to post the pages here as a reference. Maybe one day I’ll stumble across some inexpensive used ones. Until then, these pages will remain empty in my collection.

Next Album

Cefalonia & Itaca (CE-1)

spot	own	catalog	subject	description	comment
1.1		1	King George II Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (may 1941) definitive, dark green
1.2		2	King George II Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	8₯ (may 1941) definitive, dark blue
1.3		8	King George II Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (jun 1941) definitive, dark green
1.4		9	King George II Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	3₯ (jun 1941) definitive, red brown
1.5		10	King George II Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	8₯ (jun 1941) definitive, dark blue
2.1		3	Naval Battle of Salamis Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	2₯ (may 1941) definitive, ultramarine
2.2		5	King Constantine Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	1.50₯ (may 1941) definitive, dark green
2.3		4	Naval Battle of Salamis Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	2₯ (may 1941) definitive, ultramarine
3.1		12	Court Lady of Tiryns Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	10Λ (jun 1941) definitive, brown & light blue
3.2		13	Zeus of Dodoni Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	20Λ (jun 1941) definitive, black & dark green
3.3		28	Social Welfare Fund Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	10Λ (jun 1941) tax, carmine
3.4		16	Venus of Melos Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	80Λ (jun 1941) definitive, orange brown & black violet
3.5		23	Glory of Psara Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	25₯ (jun 1941) definitive, black blue
4.1		14	Amphiktyony Coin Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	40Λ (jun 1941) definitive, black & black green
4.2		15	Diagoras of Rhodes Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jun 1941) definitive, black & dark brown
4.3		18	Panathenaic Procession Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	5₯ (jun 1941) definitive, red
5.1		17	Naval Battle of Salamis Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	2₯ (jun 1941) definitive, ultramarine
5.2		11	Minoan Bull Leaping Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	5Λ (jun 1941) definitive, dark blue & red brown
5.3		22	Leo III & Saracens Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	15₯ (jun 1941) definitive, dark green
6.1		19	Alexander the Great at Issos Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	6₯ (jun 1941) definitive, olive brown
6.2		20	Apostle Paul on Arios Pagos Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	7₯ (jun 1941) definitive, violet brown
6.3		21	Church of St. Demetrios at Thessaloniki Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	10₯ (jun 1941) definitive, carmine brown

Cefalonia Air Mail (CE-2)

spot	own	catalog	subject	description	comment
1.1		32	Goddess Hygeia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	10Λ (jun 1941) definitive, green & ochre
1.2		33	Goddess Hygeia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	20Λ (jun 1941) definitive, blue & ochre
2.1		6	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (may 1941) definitive, dark green
2.2		7	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (may 1941) tax, dark green
2.3		30	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jun 1941) definitive, green
3.1		31	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (may 1941) tax, dark blue
3.2		34	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jun 1941) definitive, bistre
3.3		35	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jun 1941) tax, dark green
4.1		24	King Constantine Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	1.50₯ (jun 1941) definitive, dark green
4.2		26	Coats of Arms: Greece Turkey Romania Yugoslavia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	6₯ (jun 1941) definitive, blue
4.3		27	Coats of Arms: Greece Turkey Romania Yugoslavia Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	8₯ (jun 1941) definitive, dark blue grey
4.4		25	King Constantine Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	30₯ (jun 1941) definitive, red brown
5.1		A2	God Helios Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (jan 1941) air mail, red
5.2		A3	Goddess Iris Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	2₯ (jan 1941) air mail, green blue
5.3		A8	Triptolemus on Dragons Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	30₯ (jan 1941) air mail, green
5.4		A10	Frixos & Helli on Gold Sheep Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	100₯ (jan 1941) air mail, red brown
6.1		A4	Daedalus & Icarus Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	5₯ (jan 1941) air mail, violet
6.2		A5	Goddess Pallas Athena Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	7₯ (jan 1941) air mail, blue
6.3		A6	Hermes Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	10₯ (jan 1941) air mail, orange
6.4		A7	Abduction of Ganimedes by Zeus Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	25₯ (jan 1941) air mail, lilac carmine
6.5		A9	Vellerefontis on Winged Horse Overprint Cefalonia e Itaca	50₯ (jan 1941) air mail, violet

Cefalonia – Manual Overprint (CE-3)

spot	own	catalog	subject	description	comment
1.1		36	King George II Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (jan 1941) definitive, dark green
1.2		37	King George II Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	3₯ (jan 1941) definitive, red brown
1.3		38	King George II Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	8₯ (jan 1941) definitive, dark blue
1.4		39	King George II Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	100₯ (jan 1941) definitive, dark carmine
2.1		44	Court Lady of Tiryns Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	10Λ (jan 1941) definitive, brown & light blue
2.2		45	Zeus of Dodoni Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	20Λ (jan 1941) definitive, dark blue & black blue
2.3		74	Social Welfare Fund Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	10Λ (jan 1941) definitive, carmine
2.4		48	Venus of Melos Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	80Λ (jan 1941) definitive, orange brown & black violet
2.5		55	Glory of Psara Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	25₯ (jan 1941) definitive, black blue
3.1		46	Amphiktyony Coin Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	40Λ (jan 1941) definitive, black & black green
3.2		47	Diagoras of Rhodes Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jan 1941) definitive, black & dark brown
3.3		50	Panathenaic Procession Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	5₯ (jan 1941) definitive, red
3.4		51	Alexander the Great at Issos Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	6₯ (jan 1941) definitive, olive brown
4.1		52	Apostle Paul on Arios Pagos Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	7₯ (jan 1941) definitive, violet brown
4.2		43	Minoan Bull Leaping Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	5Λ (jan 1941) definitive, dark blue & red brown
4.3		53	Church of St. Demetrios at Thessaloniki Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	10₯ (jan 1941) definitive, carmine brown
5.1		49	Naval Battle of Salamis Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	2₯ (jan 1941) definitive, ultramarine
5.2		69	King Constantine Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	1.50₯ (jan 1941) definitive, dark green
5.3		70	King Constantine Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	30₯ (jan 1941) definitive, red brown
5.4		73	Coats of Arms: Greece Turkey Romania Yugoslavia Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	8₯ (jan 1941) definitive, dark blue grey
5.5		54	Leo III & Saracens Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	15₯ (jan 1941) definitive, dark green
6.1		76	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	10Λ (jan 1941) definitive, lilac carmine
6.2		77	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jan 1941) definitive, dark green
6.3		78	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (jan 1941) tax, dark blue
6.4		84	Queen Olga and Queen Mother Sophia Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jan 1941) definitive, green

Cefalonia Air Mail & Postage Due – Manual (CE-4)

spot	own	catalog	subject	description	comment
1.1		A11	Social Welfare Fund Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jan 1941) air mail, brown
1.2		A16	Daedalus & Icarus Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	5₯ (jan 1941) air mail, violet
1.3		A17	Goddess Pallas Athena Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	7₯ (jan 1941) air mail, blue
1.4		A12	Social Welfare Fund Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jan 1941) air mail, lilac brown
2.1		A13	God Helios Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (jan 1941) air mail, red
2.2		A14	Goddess Iris Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	2₯ (jan 1941) air mail, azzure
2.3		A21	Triptolemus on Dragons Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	30₯ (jan 1941) air mail, green
2.4		A23	Frixos & Helli on Gold Sheep Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	100₯ (jan 1941) air mail, red brown
3.1		A18	Hermes Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	10₯ (jan 1941) air mail, orange
3.2		A19	Hermes Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	10₯ (jan 1941) air mail, blue green
3.3		A20	Abduction of Ganimedes by Zeus Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	25₯ (jan 1941) air mail, lilac carmine
3.4		A22	Vellerefontis on Winged Horse Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	50₯ (jan 1941) air mail, violet
4.1		S1	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (jan 1941) postage due, dark azzure
4.2		S2	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	10Λ (jan 1941) postage due, red
4.3		S3	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	50Λ (jan 1941) postage due, brown violet
4.4		S4	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	80Λ (jan 1941) postage due, violet brown
5.1		S5	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	1₯ (jan 1941) postage due, azzure
5.2		S6	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	2₯ (jan 1941) postage due, red
5.3		S7	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	5₯ (jan 1941) postage due, gray ultramarine
5.4		S8	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	10₯ (jan 1941) postage due, green
6.1		S9	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	15₯ (jan 1941) postage due, red brown
6.2		S10	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	25₯ (jan 1941) postage due, red
6.3		S11	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	50₯ (jan 1941) postage due, orange
6.4		S12	Postage Due Stamped Cefalonia e Itaca	100₯ (jan 1941) postage due, green gray

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.