Postage stamps

Austrian Post in the Turkish Empire · 94 stamps

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Common< 5Low5 – 50Medium50 – 500High500 – 5 000Exceptional5 000 +left column mint, right column used · USD, catalogue

1867

1867 Emperor Franz Joseph - Coarse Print

Issued: June
Watermark: None
Perforation: 9½

Austria's post offices in the Ottoman Empire – in Constantinople, Smyrna, Salonica and elsewhere – used Lombardy-Venetia stamps in soldi from 1863.

With Lombardy lost in 1859 and Venetia in 1866, they got stamps of their own in 1867: the same designs as Austria's, but valued from 2 to 50 soldi.

Sources: Wikipedia: Austrian post offices in the Ottoman Empire

SW	Type	Value	Colour
1	A	2 Sld	orange
2	A1	3 Sld	green
3	A2	5 Sld	red
4	A3	10 Sld	blue
5	A4	15 Sld	brown
6	A5	25 Sld	purple
7	B	50 Sld	brownish
1‑7			Set

1876

1876–1883 As Previous - Fine Print

Watermark: None
Perforation: 9½

SW	Type	Value	Colour
1A	A6	2 Sld	yellow
2A	A7	3 Sld	green
3A	A8	5 Sld	red
4A	A9	10 Sld	blue
5A	A10	15 Sld	brown
6A	A11	25 Sld	greyish purple

1883

1883 Coat of Arms - Inscription: "Imper. reg. - posta austr."

Issued: 15. August
Watermark: None
Perforation: 9½

In 1883 the emperor's head gave way to the double eagle on the Levant stamps too, just as in Austria. Values were still in soldi and the inscription was in Latin: IMPER.

REG. POSTA AUSTR. – Imperial Royal Austrian Post. These were the last Levant stamps in soldi; from 1886 the offices switched to Turkish paras and piastres.

Sources: Stamp Encyclopedia: Austria – offices abroad, Wikipedia (de): Postgeschichte und Briefmarken von Österreich

SW	Type	Value	Colour	Description
8	C	2 Sld	yellowish brown/black
9	C1	3 Sld	bluish green/black
10	C2	5 Sld	red/black
10A*	C3	5 Sld	red/black	Perf: 10
11	C4	10 Sld	ultramarine/black
11A*	C5	10 Sld	ultramarine/black	Perf: 10½
12	C6	20 Sld	grey/black
12A*	C7	20 Sld	grey/black	Perf: 10
13	C8	50 Sld	reddish purple/black
8‑13				Set (* Stamp not included in this set)

1886

1886 No.9 Surcharged

Issued: 1. September
Watermark: None
Perforation: 9½

The other countries running post offices in the Ottoman Empire already used Turkish currency, so in 1886 the Austrian offices switched to paras and piastres too.

The first stamp in the new currency was the 3 soldi eagle surcharged 10 para – the surcharge exists in two different sizes.

Sources: Wikipedia: Austrian post offices in the Ottoman Empire, Stamp Encyclopedia: Austria – offices abroad

SW	Type	Value	Colour	Description	Mint	Used
14	D	10/3 Pa/Sld	bluish green
14A	D1	10/3 Pa/Sld	bluish green	"PARA" lifted

1888

1888 Austrian Postage Stamps Surcharged

Issued: 1. May
Watermark: None
Perforation: 10

From 1888 the Levant offices no longer had a design of their own: they used Austrian eagle stamps in kreuzer, surcharged with the value in paras and piastres – from 10 para on 3 kreuzer to 5 piastres on 50 kreuzer.

The new Austrian sets of the 1890s, gulden values included, were then surcharged the same way, and after the currency reform so were the heller stamps. Only in 1908 did a set appear printed directly in paras and piastres.

Sources: Stamp Encyclopedia: Austria – offices abroad, Wikipedia: Austrian post offices in the Ottoman Empire

SW	Type	Value	Colour	Description
15	E	10/3 Pa/Kr	green/black	No.56
16	E1	20/5 Pa/Kr	red/black	No.57
17	E2	1/10 Pi/Kr	ultramarine/black	No.58
18	E3	2/20 Pi/Kr	grey/black	No.59
19	E4	5/50 Pi/Kr	reddish purple/black	No.60
15‑19				Set

1890

1890 Austrian Postage Stamps Surcharged - Granite Paper

Issued: 1. September
Watermark: None
Perforation: 9-13½

SW	Type	Value	Colour	Description
20	F	8/2 Pa/Kr	brown/black	No.62 - Perf: 10-12½
20A*	F1	8/2 Pa/Kr	brown/black	No.62 - Perf: 9½
21	F2	10/3 Pa/Kr	bluish green/black	No.63
22	F3	20/5 Pa/Kr	red/black	No.64
23	F4	1/10 Pi/Kr	ultramarine/black	No.65
24	F5	2/20 Pi/Kr	olive green/black	No.68
25	F6	5/50 Pi/Kr	violet/black	No.71
26	G	10/1 Pi/G	dark blue/black	No.72
27	G1	20/2 Pi/G	carmine/black	No.73
20‑27				Set (* Stamp not included in this set)

1891

1891 Austrian Postage Stamps No.74 & 77 Surcharged

Watermark: None

SW	Type	Value	Colour	Description
28	H	2/20 Pi/Kr	olive green/black	Perf: 10-11½
28A*	H1	2/20 Pi/Kr	olive green/black	Perf: 9¼
29	H2	5/50 Pi/Kr	purple/black
28‑29				Set (* Stamp not included in this set)

1896

1896 Austrian Postage Stamps No.78-79 Surcharged

Issued: 1. February
Watermark: None
Perforation: 10½-11½

SW	Type	Value	Colour	Description
30	I	10/1 Pi/G	greyish violet
30A*	I1	10/1 Pi/G	greyish violet	Perf: 12¼
31	I2	20/2 Pi/G	green
31A*	I3	20/2 Pi/G	green	Perf: 12¼
30‑31				Set (* Stamp not included in this set)

1900

1900 Austrian Postage Stamps Surcharged

Issued: 1. January
Watermark: None
Perforation: 13 x 12½, 13 x 13½ & 12½

SW	Type	Value	Colour	Description
32	J	10/5 Pa/H	greenish grey/black	No.83
33	K	20/10 Pa/H	carmine/black	No.85
33A*	K1	20/10 Pa/H	carmine/black	Perf: 10½
34	K2	1/25 Pi/H	ultramarine/black	No.87
34A*	K3	1/25 Pi/H	ultramarine/black	Perf: 10½
35	L	2/50 Pi/H	greyish blue/black	No.90
35A*	L1	2/50 Pi/H	greyish blue/black	Perf: 10½
36	M	5/1 Pi/Kr	carmine rose/black	No.92
37	M1	10/2 Pi/Kr	greyish violet/black	No.93
38	M2	20/4 Pi/Kr	greyish green/black	No.94
32‑38				Set (* Stamp not included in this set)