The Royalist government in exile took the opportunity of the 25th anniversary of the founding of Yugoslavia to point out a few people from the past who they felt were worth remembering. This is especially interesting as the choices would not have been those made by the upcoming Tito government. That does not mean that the new government won’t still sell you the stamps, they just won’t let you use them. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The large 1945 overprint on this stamp was done by the new government of Tito to the large stock of this stamp issue held in the London embassy after they took it over from the former Royalist regime. In theory it celebrated the victory over the German occupiers during the war. What it actually did was cancel the ability of the stamp to be used for postage. The ability of course was already virtually nil when the stamps were printed in 1943 as the country was occupied. It was though theoretically possible via Yugoslav naval ships at sea. This means that this stamp without the overprint are legitimate but the overprint makes them fake. The London Embassy sold the remaining stock of the stamp to stamp dealers in 1950.
Todays stamp is issue A3 a 10 Dinar stamp issued by the Royalist government in exile of King Peter II on December 1st, 1943. It was a six stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp without the overprint would be worth $5.50 unused. The overprint makes the stamp fake however so it has no stated value. The six stamps also came as a souvenir sheet showing how the stamps were mainly to raise revenue. The sheet is worth $65.
Black George lead the first major Serb uprising against the then occupying Ottoman Empire in the early 19th Century. He was the founder of the Royal House of Karadordevic. King Peter II in exile in London was the last member of this Royal house to sit on the Throne.
Black George was an ethnic Serb who lead a rebellion in the area around Belgrade. He claimed he was seeking self rule rather than full independence from the Ottomans. However in the areas to which he gained control, Muslims were ethnically cleansed. He met with a good deal of military success and attracted support to his cause from both Austria and especially Russia. Sensing Napoleon’s impending invasion of Russia, the Czar made a deal with the Ottomans that left the Serbs to their fate. Black George kept fighting but without outside help the tide in the long running rebellion turned against him. Black George fled to Austria but was then arrested and sent to Russia who intended to keep him out of Serbia.
The returning Ottomans proved very cruel to the Serbs and two years later there was a second uprising against the Ottomans. This time it was lead by Milos Obrenovic. A quick victory followed a deal with the Ottomans giving Serbia limited self rule. Obrenovic became Prince of Serbia and lead his own separate Royal line. I covered a Serb Prince from his line here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/06/21/serbia-unlike-so-many-places-had-its-own-royal-line-or-more-problimatically-two/ . Black George snuck back to Belgrade but when now Prince Milos heard Black George was back he had him killed. He did not want a rival and thought that the Ottomans would renig on his deal when they found out Black George was back. Black George was axed to death in his sleep. His severed head was then presented to the local Pasha who had it stuffed and then sent to Constantinople. Here the severed head was mounted on a stick and displayed publicly for a week until it was stolen. The rest of his body was buried in Serbia. Black George’s great grandson, now King of all Yugoslavia was able to acquire his skull in Greece in 1923 and return it to the rest of his remains in the Karadordevic Dynasty Mausoleum in the newly constructed Church of Saint George, where he remains.
Well my drink is empty and this better explains to me how small Serbia ended up with the riches or is it curses of two Royal houses. The Serbs sure seem rough, but with rivals like the Ottomans ready to put your head on a stick, perhaps you have to be. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.