German Occupation of Montenegro: Issues for Boka Kotorska
After capitulation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 17 April 1941, Montenegro was occupied by Italian Army. By the decree of its King, Vittorio Emanuele III, the city of Boka Kotorska was annexed by Italy. Newly formed Provincia Bocche di Cattaro became part of the Governatorato di Dalmazia.
When Italy capitulated, German forces took the city and its strategically important coastline (at the time, it was speculated the area was a potential landing ground for possible Allied invasion). In times of German occupation Boka Kotorska had its own administration and post.
10 February 1944. Italian stamps of Imperiale set overprinted in letterpress with “Deutsche Militär-Verwaltung Kotor” and new value in Italian lira.
In total, 5.000 complete sets were overprinted in printing house Obod in Cetinje, Montenegro. Original stamps have watermark (crown). Inverted overprints are known in cases of:
- 1 Lira in 25 Centesimi,
- 1.50 Lira on 50 Centesimi.
Stamps were not postally used, cancelled stamps are from cancelled-to-order sets.
| BASIC DIFFERENCES IN THE OVERPRINT | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| I |  |
|
| II |  |
|
| COMBINATIONS OF OVERPRINT TYPES | ä small, w small | ä large, w small | ä small, w large | ä large, w large |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.50 Lit. on 10 Centesimi, brown |  |
 |
 |
|
| 1 Lit. on 25 Centesimi, green |  |
|||
| 1.50 Lit. on 50 Centesimi, purple |  |
 |
 |
|
| 3 Lit. on 30 Centesimi, dark brown |  |
 |
 |
|
| 4 Lit. on 20 Centesimi, carmine |  |
 |
||
| 10 Lit. on 20 Centesimi, carmine |
| CONSTANT VARIETIES ON OVERPRINT | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All values | |||
| I | |
Dentsche instead of Deutsche: letter u inverted. | |
| Field №: 9 (?) | Pane: N/A | ||
| Other nomenclatures: – | |||
| Notes: another example. | |||
| Value €: 45 | |||
16 September 1944. Stamps of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with effigy of King Peter II overprinted in black color with inscription Boka Kotorska and new value in Reichmarks.
Stamps were overprinted in letterpress in print house Obod in Cetinje in 50.000 complete sets. Overprint form consisted of 50 fields (10 x 5) and used twice in order to overprint panes of 100. Varieties therefore appear uniformly, twice on every pane.
Stamps were not postally used, cancelled stamps are from cancelled-to-order sets.
| TYPES OF OVERPRINTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 RM on 4 din | ||
 |
Type I: numeral 2 rounded on top. | |
| Field №: ? | Pane: N/A | |
| Other nomenclatures: Michel Mi. 9I | ||
| Value €: 11 | ||
| Type II: numeral 2 pointed on top. | ||
| Field №: ? | Pane: N/A | |
| Other nomenclatures: Michel Mi. 9II | ||
| Types I & II | Value €: 30 | |
| CONSTANT VARIETIES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All values | |||
| I |  |
Lower point of letter M in R.M. broken. | |
| Field №: 24, 74 | Pane: N/A | ||
| Other nomenclatures: Michel Mi. III | |||
| Notes: – | |||
| Value €: 40 | |||
| II |  |
Right diagonal line in M broken. | |
| Field №: 8, 58 | Pane: N/A | ||
| Other nomenclatures: Michel Mi. VI | |||
| Notes: – | |||
| Value €: 40 | |||
| III |  |
Zero open on top. | |
| Field №: ? | Pane: N/A | ||
| Other nomenclatures: – | |||
| Notes: – | |||
| Value €: – | |||
| UNLISTED VARIETIES | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Left side of the letter M in R.M. damaged |   |
| 3 | Numeral 1 in denomination damaged |  |
| 4 | Letter s in Kotorska thin |  |
| 5 | Letter o in Kotorska damaged |  |
| 6 | Letter a in Boka damaged |  |
| 7 | Letters o and s in Kotorska damaged |  |
Bibliography
- Michel Deutschland-Spezial 2005, Band 1: 1849 bis April 1945. Schwaneberger Verlag GmbH, ISBN 3-87858-144-0
- Katalog poštanskih maraka jugoslovenskih zemalja (1991), Jugomarka (Belgrade). YU ISSN 0351-4447
