A Childhood Fascination: The Stamps of Chimarra in Epirus
From an early age, I was fascinated by the stamps of Chimarra in Epirus. I vividly recall that our local dealer once had an approval booklet in which such a set was displayed. When I enquired about it, he replied: “There is nothing for sale; I must check first.” Fortunately, he did so — for there is no doubt that the set in question was not genuine.
The issue had been produced by the pro-Greek faction in territories then disputed between the Albanians and the Greeks. Today, the town is known as Himarrë and lies in southern Albania.
It is worth noting that around 99% of the Chimarra stamps offered on eBay are forgeries. The same applies to many examples found in collections or offered as single lots by auction houses, where they are frequently either outright fakes or so-called “private prints.”
