The First Croatian Storm Division was established on October 9, 1944, as an elite unit aimed at halting the advance of the Red Army into the country. It was formed in collaboration with the German armed forces. In support of this division, stamps were issued on January 9, 1945.
The stamp release had a very limited print run, with only 75 sheets produced. Each sheet contained four panes of 25 stamps. These stamps, along with a small quantity of souvenir sheets, were exclusively sold in Zagreb and were rationed to one set per customer.
Approximately one-third of the stamps and souvenir sheets were sold to the public, while the remaining two-thirds were acquired by cabinet members and high-ranking officials who were fleeing the country as the war drew to a close. Many of these sheets were either lost or severely damaged during the chaotic events of that time.
It is estimated that only about half of the original issued stamps and souvenir sheets still exist today, making them rare and valuable collectibles. The stamps were issued on January 9, 1945.
Designed by O Antonini.
Printed by Tipografija d.d. Zagreb using an offset printing process.
Ordinary white paper, White Gum, Line perforated 11
The two low values were printed in two colors, the third value being in three
50 +50 Kn – Brick-Red/Orange-Brown
70 + 70Kn – Blue-Grey/Black-Violet
100 + 100Kn – Light Grey-Green/ Pale Blue-Violet/ Blue-Black
The printing paper for the stamps of the First Croatian Storm Division featured a pearl grey burelage, which served as an intricate background and resembled a watermark under certain lighting conditions. This burelage, featuring the Storm Division Insignia, was clearly visible on the selvedge surrounding the stamps.
A souvenir sheet containing the same three stamps was issued simultaneously with the stamp release. The stamps on this sheet included an additional feature: the designer’s handwritten initials ‘OA’ printed in brick-red color in the lower right-hand margin. The printing of the souvenir sheets was done on a sheet comprising four souvenir panes arranged in a two-by-two layout, with a very small print quantity of only 500 sheets. Many of these sheets were damaged, creased, or torn, making perfect sheets rare. The sheets were line perforated 11 and measured 216 x 134mm.
The designer’s initials ‘OA’ were applied to the artwork in manuscript form, requiring initialling the artwork twelve times prior to the production of printing plates. This led to four possible variations of the souvenir sheet, depending on the position of the printing sheet.
The stamps and souvenir sheets were line perforated, a process where the machine perforated one or more rows of stamps in one direction at a time (either horizontally or vertically, but not both simultaneously). Line-perforated stamps typically exhibit irregular perforation hole alignment at the corners, and occasionally, misplaced perforation lines can result in interesting varieties.