Page 1 - Wolfgang Bauer - Greek Hermes Head Mixed Frankings

Hellas Greece

Combination Franklngs

Greece was a small country , Athens as capital had about 30.000 inhabitants at that time. There was only
a very small number of Postal Treaties with other countries. The two nations which ruled the connections in
the Mediterranian were Austria via Triest and France via Marseille, nearly all other European countries used
these routes. Fully paid covers to Greece were possible according to the conventions, they do not need any
Greek adhesives! They are mostly marked PD. (paid to destination)

Combination Frankings contain stamps of Greece and one or more other countries as incoming
mail.

I divide three main groups:

The common group 1 refers to letters paid to the Greek border, therefore the local tariff of 20 lepta or
more had to be paid by the addressee: The Kingdom of Italy in the early beginning up to 1862, the Papal
States if not sent via Italy, Austrian and Egyptian Post Offices abroad, Malta and Romania via the Danube
ports not via Austria. The Greek border sometimes began with the Greek Post Offices abroad in
Constantinople for post from Russia via the Black Sea and in Alexandria from Egypt, the transport to
Greece had to be charged with Greek adhesives.

A rare group 1a are covers paid to the border of the dispatching country. They are extremely scarce and
known from Italy to the Italian border in 186112 when the letter was sent via Austria.
A difficult group are the underpaid letters. Up to the mid60ies the franking was not accepted from the
Greek Post and letters were charged with the full rate for an unpaid letter, so the amount on the cover
was lost (group 2). From 186718 depending to the country the handling for underpaid letters changes
(group 3). The already affixed stamps were now recognised and not neglected as before. Their value was
deducted from the rate of a totally unpaid letter. With the issue of the Greek postage due adhesives at
March 1, 1875 Large Heads as postage dues were replaced by the new stamps and not longer allowed as
dues- this was the end of the Combination Frankings, definitively!

Letter from Prevesa 9. 6. 1866 with the famous 9 Sold/ franking to Kerkyra 29. 5.
(normal Levant-rate 10 Sdi but with 1 Sdo discount for the use of the ferry to Kerkyra)
taxed with the local 20 L. for Greece

nnmmmrrm '------------------------------------------l