Italian Aegean Island stamps year 1912 Italian Stamps Overprinted “Patmos”

Italian Aegean Island stamps year 1912 Italian Stamps Overprinted “Patmos” MNH (**)

Italian Aegean Island Stamps (1912): Italian Stamps Overprinted “Patmos”

Historical Context

In 1912, after Italy occupied the Dodecanese Islands during the Italo-Turkish War, Italian authorities issued stamps for each of the 13 main islands by overprinting regular Italian stamps with the island’s name. Patmos (Italian: Patmo) was among these islands, and thus received its own overprinted stamps for local postal use

The 1912 “Patmos” Overprints

• The first set of Patmos stamps consisted of standard Italian definitive stamps (primarily the “Michetti” and “Leoni” series) overprinted with “PATMO” in black.
• These overprints were applied to several denominations, typically ranging from 2 centesimi to 50 centesimi.
• The overprinted stamps were perforated 14¼ and did not have a watermark in the initial 1912 issues

Key Features

• Overprint: “PATMO” (the Italian name for Patmos) in black, applied to existing Italian stamps.
• Denominations: Usually the set included 2c, 5c, 10c, 15c, 25c, 40c, and 50c.
• Perforation: 14¼ for the 1912 issue.
• Watermark: None for the 1912 issue; later issues (after 1916) could have the Italian crown watermark.
• Designs: The stamps used the typical Italian designs of the era, such as the “Michetti” (portrait of King Victor Emmanuel III) and “Leoni” (Lion of St. Mark).

Later Issues

• Additional issues for Patmos appeared between 1916 and 1922, including stamps with different perforations and watermarks as Italian postal standards evolved.
• The Italian crown watermark began to appear on some later issues, and the perforation gauge sometimes changed to 13.25 or 14, depending on the printing