Croatia year 1941 set with Gold Overprint stamps with tabs
In 1941, during World War II, the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska or NDH) issued a series of stamps with gold overprints on existing stamps of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Here are some key details about these stamps:
- They were issued in April 1941, shortly after the NDH was established by the Nazis following the invasion and occupation of Yugoslavia.
- The overprints consisted of the inscription “NEZAVISNA DRŽAVA HRVATSKA” (“Independent State of Croatia”) and the value in the Croatian kuna currency, printed in gold ink.
- The overprints were applied to stamps from the 1938-1940 definitive series of Yugoslavia depicting King Peter II as a child.
- Denominations ranged from 0.50 kuna up to 12 kuna.
- Both regular and semi-postal (charity) stamps received the overprints.
- The gold overprints made these some of the most striking stamps issued by the short-lived NDH regime between 1941-1945.
- They remain quite popular with stamp collectors today as artifacts linking philately to the complex historical events surrounding World War II in Yugoslavia.
So in summary, this 1941 overprinted set represents the initial Croatian stamp issues during the establishment of the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia through visible gold overprints on previously issued Yugoslav stamps.
