November 1944
[Below: Note the following two stamps are different, the edges of this one are a normal perforation, while the next one is rouletted. This one is from a sheet of stamps, while the other is from a roll.
[Below: Inverted shifted overprint.]
[Below: Off-center overprint.]
December 1944
The plane carrying these stamps was shot down. The only remaining copies were at the printers in Croatia. Needless to say, it is very rare.
[Below: Inverted overprint.]
[Below: Double overprint.]
[Below: Inverted double overprint.]
December 1944
[Below: Close-up.]
November 1944
[Below: Shifted overprint.]
[Below: Inverted off-center overprint.]
[Below: Off-center overprint.]
November 1944
[Below: A small picture, but I wanted to show you how badly off-center the 'INSELPOST' overprint is...]
[Below: Close-up of stamp.]
[Below: The back of this envelope has interesting 'Heeres Nachrichtendienst' stamps, which mean 'Military Intelligence'.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Back of envelope shows Italian censor tape, not many of these have this censor tape, so it's pretty rare to find.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Here is an interesting one, it has 'Zurück an den Absender' (return to sender) stamps and a vignette that says ' Wir kapitulieren nicht' (We will not capitulate).]
[Below: The stamp here has been ruined... what a shame. But historically it is still valuable.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Here is an example of an expertized piece (the envelope above). An expert has examined it, catalogued it and the next page even has a color photograph of it, so someone could't switch them around with a fake one.]
[Below: Off-center and inverted overprint.]
February 1944
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Off-center overprint.]
[Below: Off-center overprint.]
[Below: Off-center overprint.]
December 1944
Weihnachten trial overprints. These were prepared on the island of Rhodes and rejected, December 1944.
The following stamps were done for collectors, they were never sent. They were done on Italian postcards and contain a mix of very rare stamps.
[Below: One of the original Italian postcards.]
[Below: One of the original Italian postcards.]
[Below: A special folder was prepared for stamp collectors. It is obviously very rare today (this one is damaged and the corners are clipped).]
[Below: Inside folder.]
[Below: Inside folder.]
[Below: An oddity, a small number of overprints like this exist from the island of Leros, February 1944.]
The following are forgeries and fantasies. A forgery is a replica of an existing stamp, while a fantasy is a stamp that never existed. Both are meant to fool collectors and the hobby is filled with fakes and various bogus items. Some are crudely done, while others can be VERY good. Many times these scumbags use original stamps and fraudulently apply an overprint.
[Below: A selection of INSELPOST fakes.]
[Below: The next two stamps are fantasies, these never existed. The maker did a great job on the overprint, it looks very professional.]
To find it on an envelope is even rarer. In 2009 a stamp on envelope was valued at 32,000 Euros!
