2020-01-04 Sat

Albania or the Republic of Albania issued the first stamp in the mid1913 when after Albania gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire after Albania gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire.

The first portrait definitive Albanian stamp appeared in the late 1913 with the portrait of George Castriota aka ?Skanderbeg. He was a 15th Century Albanian Noble, initially in the service of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans compared his military abilities to those of Alexander the Great, and they gave him the nickname "Iskender bey" meaning "Lord Alexander".

Between 1443 and 1468, he rebelled against the Ottoman Empire and fought to bring independence to the Albanian people. He has since been the symbol of the Albanian peoples' struggle for independence, and elsewhere in Europe, he has been regarded as the role model of resistance against the Muslim Ottoman Empire.

The first pictorial definitive stamps depicting the national hero of Albania were issued with the denominations ranging from 2 Albanian qindarkes to 1 Albanian franga. The stamps depict the right facing the portrait of Skaderbeg on a coin with the ribbon with his name written below the portrait. The denomination value can be seen at the bottom of the stamp.

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com

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