Hi,

This is from the Greek Occupation of Albania in 1940.

 
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The Italians advanced through Albania and attempted to occupy Greece on 28 October 1940. The Greeks counter-attacked and occupied southern Albania two weeks later. That lasted five months before the German army took charge of both countries. During that time Greece issued plenty of these 'Hellenike Dioikesis' ('Greek Occupation') overprints in the usual way of occupying forces, nearly all of which can be had mint and cheap.

My old Gibbons catalogue reckons used copies are just as cheap, but I suspect there was a lot of philatelic cancelling going on - I wonder if genuine used copies are as common.

Wartime occupation overprints had propagandist value where mass-produced, and putative transportable monetary value where not (e.g. German occupations of Adriatic islands).

 
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