15 Centesimi
Sassone 5.
Istria and the Slovene Coast <<-- : -->> Italian Somalia
The two most difficult stamps of the initial 1912 set to find in mint condition are the 15 centesimi and the 5 lire.
The 15 centesimi comes with both violet and a very much scarcer blue-black overprint. The example shown sadly has the violet overprint; only seven mint examples of the blue-black are known.!
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15 Centesimi |
The 5 lire, in common with several other denominations, comes with two types of the Libia overprint. The main differences are in the dots over the i's (Type 1 has them central, Type 2 slightly left) and the inside of the a (Type 1 is small and almost round, Type 2 is larger and elongated).
5 lire, Type 1 |
These two copies of the 10 centesimi show the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 overprints.
10c, Type 1 |
10c, Type 2 |
These stamps were issued during the First World War and carried a 5 centesimi premium for the Red Cross. The first two stamps, 10c+5c and 15c+5c, were issued in December 1915. When the postage rates went up to 20c in March 1916 the 15c was overprinted 20, while a new 20c+5c value was also issued at the same time.
Red Cross Issue
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In common with all the overprinted Italian Victory issues, not just for Libya but also Italy, Eritrea and Somalia, the bulk were comb perforated by a comb which gave two distinct perforations on the sheet, perforation 14 and the slightly scarcer perforation 14x13.25.
In addition some values are to be found which have been line perforated 13.5; these are very much rarer and their acquisition requires careful hunting amongst dealers' stocks.
Perf 14 |
Perf 14x13.25 |
Line Perf 13.5 |
Istria and the Slovene Coast <<-- :
-->> Italian Somalia
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