Kingdom of Yugoslavia – Postage Dues

9 April 1921. Provisional issue: unissued definitive 5-para stamp bearing the effigy of Regent Alexander I, overprinted with new values in red (10 para) and black (30 para). Printed in letterpress in panes of 100.

The stamp was originally intended for use as a definitive issue throughout the entire territory of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. However, the design was rejected by the decision-makers, and production was halted. Printing of the first definitive stamps was instead entrusted to the American Bank Note Co. of New York, while the stock of rejected, already-printed stamps was used as a provisional issue of postage dues.

A total of 837,000 stamps were surcharged with the 10-para overprint in red, and 3,740,000 stamps with the 30-para overprint in black. The ink used for the overprints is water-sensitive and may partially or completely dissolve when soaked in water.

In some post offices, these stamps were further overprinted FRANCO and used as definitives.

Stamps were in use until 22 September 1928.

A. Varieties of basic stamps

CONSTANT VARIETIES OF BASIC STAMPS
I Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp plate flaw: Second letter A in HRVATA white The second letter “A” in HRVATA is white.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
II Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp plate flaw: Letters P and A in PARA damaged The letters “P” and “A” in PARA are damaged.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
III Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp plate flaw: Letters O and V in SLOVEN retouched The letters “O” and “V” in SLOVEN retouched.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
IV Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp plate flaw: Dot between letters O and V in SLOVEN A dot between the letters “O” and “V” in SLOVEN.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
Va Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp plate flaw: Letter Н in СЛОВЕН with two horizontal lines Letter “Н” in СЛОВЕН with two horizontal lines.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
Vb Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp plate flaw: Letter Н in СЛОВЕН with thick horizontal line Letter “Н” in СЛОВЕН with a thick horizontal line.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
VI Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp plate flaw: Upper left frame broken in the lower left frame of denomination box The upper left frame is broken in the lower left frame of the denomination box.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
UNLISTED VARIETIES OF BASIC STAMPS
1 Green spot on the right frame. Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp error: Green spot on the right frame
2 Letter “A” in PARA with colored spots and broken. Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp error: Letter A in PARA with colored spot and broken
3 A green spot near the King’s chin. Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp error: Green spot near king’s chin
4 Colored line below the frame on the left side. Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp error: Colored line below the frame on the left side
5 Letter “L” in KRALJEV. prolonged at the top.

B. Varieties of overprints

TYPES OF OVERPRINTS
10 para
Yugoslavia 1921, 10 para postage due, overprint type 1 Yugoslavia 1921, 10 para postage due, overprint type 2 Yugoslavia 1921, 10 para postage due, overprint type 3
Type I:

  • numeral 1 in denomination exactly below letters “О” and Р in ПОРТО.
 Type II:

  • numeral 1 in denomination below letter “О” in ПОРТО.
 Type III:

  • numeral 1 in denomination below letter “Р” in ПОРТО.
30 para
Yugoslavia 1921, 30 para postage due, overprint type 1 Yugoslavia 1921, 30 para postage due, overprint type 4
Type I:

  • numeral 3 in denomination exactly below letters “О” and “Р” in ПОРТО.
 Type II:

  • numeral 3 in denomination exactly below letters “О” and “Р” in ПОРТО,
  • numeral 3 thick.
 Type III:

  • numeral 3 in denomination exactly below letters “О” and “Р” in ПОРТО,
  • zero in denomination thick and standing higher than the numeral 3.
 Type IV:

  • numeral 3 in denomination exactly below letter “О” in ПОРТО,
  • zero in denomination exactly below letter “P” in ПОРТО.
30 para
Yugoslavia 1921, 30 para postage due, overprint type 5
Type V:

  • numeral 3 in denomination exactly below the letter “Р” in ПОРТО.
 Type VI:

  • numeral 3 in denomination exactly below letter “Р” in ПОРТО,
  • zero in denomination thick and standing higher than the numeral 3.

 

 

CONSTANT VARIETIES OF OVERPRINTS
10 para
I Yugoslavia 1921, postage due overprint flaw: numeral 1 in overprint flat on top The numeral 1 in the overprint is flat on top.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
30 para
I The letter “O” in ПОРТО is indented at the bottom.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
COINCIDENTAL VARIETIES
1 Overprint omitted. Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due stamp error: overprint omitted
2 Offset. Yugoslavia 1921, postage due, overprint error, offset
3 The numeral zero damaged. Yugoslavia 1921 provisional postage due overprint error: damaged zero

22 October 1921 – 4 June 1922. The first issue of postage due stamps – numbers in oval circles.

Designed by M. Peroš and engraved by D. Vagner. The stamps were printed in letterpress at the State Printing Works in Belgrade on smooth white paper with a network structure, perforation 11½.

Values of 10 para – 2 din
The printing plates were produced by a local company using the zincographic technique. The stamps were printed in two runs in panes of 25 (5 × 5), and the second run of the 2-din stamps was printed in panes of 50 (5 × 10). Image size: 22½ × 28 mm.

Values of 5 – 50 din
The printing plates for the 5-, 10-, 25-, and 50-din stamps were produced at the State Printing Works in Vienna. The stamps were printed in panes of 100 (10 × 10). Image size: 21½ × 28 mm.

TYPES APPEARING ON SEVERAL DENOMINATIONS
Multiple denominations
I Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Dot on letter V in KRALJEV. Dot on the letter “V” in KRALJEV.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: more examples: 10 para, 50 para: example 1, example 2, 1 din: example 1, example 2, 2 din: example 1, example 2
Value €: –
II Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Colored line in letter П in ПОРТО (the ШОРТО flaw). Colored line in letter “П” in ПОРТО (the ШОРТО flaw).
Field №: 10 para: 5, 11, 13-18, 20, 21, 24, 25
30 para: 1, 4-6, 8, 11, 14-16, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25
Other values: ?		 Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: more examples: 10 para, 2 din
Value €: –
III Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Letter C in СРБА broken, lower inscription SRBA, HRVATA I smudged. The letter “C” in СРБА is broken; the lower inscription “SRBA, HRVATA I” is smudged.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: more examples: 1 dinar, 30 para: example 1, example 2
Value €: –
CONSTANT VARIETIES
50 para, violet
I Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Letter C in СРБА deformed, dot in letter V in KRALJEV., small circle on top left side of zero. Letter C in СРБА is deformed; a dot in the letter V in KRALJEV.; a small circle on the top left side of zero.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
II Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Left frame broken next to letter В in КРАЉЕВ. Broken. The left frame is broken next to the letter “В” in КРАЉЕВ.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
III Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Small indentation in top left frame next to letter С of СРБА, dark spot below loop of letter P in PORTO. Small indentation in the top left frame next to the letter С of СРБА, dark spot below the loop of the letter P in PORTO.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
IV Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Letter V in KRALJEV. Broken at the bottom. The letter “V” in KRALJEV is broken at the bottom.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example
Value €: –
V Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Vertical stroke of letter P in PARA broken, dot on left frame above letter Љ КРАЉЕВ., black dot after letter П in ПОРТО. The vertical stroke of the letter P in PARA is broken; a dot on the left frame above the letter “Љ” КРАЉЕВ.; a black dot after the letter “П” in ПОРТО.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
VI Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Letter T in HRVATA deformed (on Type I stamp). The letter “T” in HRVATA is deformed (on the type I stamp).
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
VII Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: White spot before letter O in PORTO (On Type I stamp) White spot before letter “O” in PORTO (on type I stamp).
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example
Value €: –
2 din, blue
I Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Colored spot on lower left frame next to letter S of SRBA, second vertical stroke of letter Н in ДИН broken and dot after ДИН missing, double impression at the end of numeral 2, colored spot over letter T in PORTO. Colored spot on the lower left frame next to the letter S of SRBA; the second vertical stroke of the letter Н in ДИН is broken, and the dot after ДИН is missing; double impression at the end of numeral 2; a colored spot over the letter T in PORTO.
Field №: 10 Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
UNLISTED VARIETIES
1 din, brown
1 Inscription PORTO on dark background. Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Inscription PORTO on dark background.
2 din, blue
1 The letter “Р” in СРБА is deformed and looks like D. Yugoslavia 1921 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Letter Р in СРБА deformed, looks like D.
COINCIDENTAL VARIETIES
1 Wrong color: brown instead of red.
During print preparation, one 10-para form was accidentally inserted into a 10-din plate. When noticed, the stamp with the error was withdrawn from circulation. About 1.054 examples exist.		 Yugoslavia postage due color error 10 para brown

July 1923 – May 1931. Numbers in oval circles — the second issue of postage due stamps.

Yugoslavia postage due, used halved
Stamps of this issue
were also used halved.

The second issue was printed in letterpress at the State Printing Works in Belgrade, using printing plates produced in Vienna. Image size: 21½ × 28 mm. Stamps were printed on various paper types with different perforations, in panes of 100 (10 × 10).

The stamps were issued between 1923 and 1931 in ten runs, using different paper and gum types, perforations, plate layouts, and other variations. For more details,  click here to access the table.

Valid until 30 November 1931.

CONSTANT VARIETIES
50 para, violet
I Yugoslavia 1923 postage due stamp flaw: Colored dot between letters П and О in ПОРТО The colored dot between letters “П” and “О” in ПОРТО.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
II Yugoslavia 1923 postage due stamp flaw: Letters Р and Б in СРБА connected with a dot Letters “Р” and “Б” in СРБА are connected by a white dot.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
III Yugoslavia 1923 postage due stamp flaw: Horizontal line in letter Б in СРБА damaged The horizontal line in the letter “Б” in СРБА is damaged.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
IV Yugoslavia 1923 postage due stamp flaw: White dot on the upper left side of the letter О in ПОРТО The white dot on the upper left side of the letter “О” in ПОРТО.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
V Yugoslavia 1923 postage due stamp flaw: Letters SLOVE in SLOVENACA and С and В in СЛОВЕНАЦА damaged Letters “SLOVE” in SLOVENACA and “С” and “В” in СЛОВЕНАЦА are damaged.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
VI The frame between the last letter “А” in ХРВАТА and И is damaged.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: the difference between dents: they can be sloping or horizontal. Example 2. Example 3.
Value €: –
1 dinar, brown
I Yugoslavia 1923 postage due stamp flaw: Broken frame below letter V of HRVATA, the letter V is damaged The frame below the letter “V” of HRVATA is broken, and the letter “V” is damaged.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
II Yugoslavia 1923 postage due stamp flaw: Damaged base of the letter T The base of the letter “T” in PORTO is damaged.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
UNLISTED VARIETIES
10 para, rose
1 A colored horizontal line between letters “П” and “О” in ПОРТО. Yugoslavia 1923 postage due stamp error: Colored horizontal line between letters П and О in ПОРТО
30 para, green
1 Colored spots in the top right corner.
50 para, violet
2 The right frame is damaged next to the letter “В” in СЛОВЕНАЦА. Yugoslavia 1923 2 din postage due stamp error: Right frame damaged next to letter В in СЛОВЕНАЦА
1 dinar, brown
1 The frame between the last letter “А” in ХРВАТА and “И” is damaged.
2 Both vertical strokes of the letter “N” in DIN are broken.

2 May 1928. Numbers in oval circles, overprinted with new values. Printed in letterpress in panes of 100.

High-denomination postage dues of 25 and 50 dinars were used for paying postal customs taxes. From April 1927, the tax was to be paid in cash, making the high denominations unnecessary. Unused stocks of these stamps were overprinted with lower values, with both denominations using the same overprint form.

During the overprinting process, stamps from different production runs were used. Stamps with brighter colors and well-defined perforations come from the 6th run, while poorly perforated stamps originate from the 4th run.

TYPES OF OVERPRINTS
Both denominations
I Regular number 1 (left stamp).
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
II The flag of the number 1 is prolonged (right stamp).
Field №: 6, 7, 16, 26, 36, 46, 56, 66, 76, 86, 96 Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
III Number 1 is shorter than zero.
Field №: 17 Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: –
Value €: –
COINCIDENTAL VARIETIES OF OVERPRINTS
1 Misplaced overprint. Yugoslavia, 1928, postage dues with misplaced overprint
2 Overprint partially missing. Yugoslavia, postage dues with partially missing overprint Yugoslavia, postage dues with partially missing overprint
3 Tilted overprint. Yugoslavia 1928 postage due overprint error tilted overprint

1931/32 – 1940. Coat of Arms, without the inscription “Д.ВАГНЕР” below the bottom frame.

The stamps were designed by Sreten Pavlović and engraved by D. Vagner. They were printed in letterpress at the State Printing Works in Belgrade in panes of 100 (10 × 10). Printing sheets consisted of 200 stamps. Perforation: comb 12½.

CONSTANT VARIETIES
1 din, deep magenta
I Dot after the numeral 1.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
II White spot in the top right corner of the denomination box.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
III White spot in front of the numeral 1.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
IV The right box with the letter “D” is connected to the right frame by a horizontal white line.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
V The lower left frame is broken; a white dot at the beginning of the numeral 1.
Field №: ? Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
2 din, deep blue Field number
I Yugoslavia 1931 Postage due stamp plate flaw: White dot close to the right border of denomination box. A white dot close to the right border of the denomination box.
Field №: 3 Pane: N/A
Other nomenclatures: –
Notes: another example.
Value €: –
UNLISTED VARIETIES
50 para, violet
1 White dot touching number 5. Yugoslavia 1931 Postage due stamp plate flaw: White dot touching numeral 5.
2 The bottom frame below the letter “П” is broken. Yugoslavia 1931 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Bottom frame below letter П. Broken.
3 The top frame of the denomination box is broken; numeral 5 is dark at the bottom.
4 A comma after the letter “П” in ПОРТО.
1 din, deep magenta
1 The lower right corner is damaged. Yugoslavia 1931 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Lower right corner damaged.
2 A white dot in front of the numeral 1.
3 An apostrophe after the letter “D”. Yugoslavia 1931 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Apostrophe after letter D.
4 The lower right corner is broken. Yugoslavia 1931 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Lower right corner broken.
5 Dot in the upper left corner of the box with the letter “D”. Yugoslavia 1931 Postage due stamp plate flaw: Dot in upper left corner of the box with letter D.
6 A thick vertical line above the letter “И” in ЈУГОСЛАВИЈА.
2 din, deep blue
1 White scratch below the first letter “Ј” in ЈУГОСЛАВИЈА.
10 din, brown
1 White scratch below letter “П” in ПОРТО.

5 September 1933. Numbers in oval circle overprinted ЈУГОСЛАВИЈА / JUGOSLAVIJA.
Printed in panes of 100.

COINCIDENTAL VARIETIES
1 Inverted overprint. Inverted overprint Philately postage stamp invert overprint error
2 Double impression of overprint.

 

Bibliography

  1. Katalog poštanskih maraka jugoslovenskih zemalja (1991), Jugomarka (Belgrade), YU ISSN 0351-4447.
  2. Novak, Dragan: Priručnik maraka jugoslovenskih zemalja (1951), Tome 9, Filatelistički savez Hrvatske (Zagreb).