Stamps

 By Bruce Shawkey The overrun countries stamps of 1943-1944 are interesting on several levels, First, they were the only stamps to be printed by the American Banknote Co. (ABC) of New York instead of the usual Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Bureau contracted with ABC because their printing equipment was more sophisticated than that of the Bureau and could handle the many colors of the flags. The 5-cent denomination was chosen because it was the first-class postage rate for overseas mail. This made the stamps especially useful during World War II, when they honored countries occupied by the Axis powers. The Overrun Countries Series is comprised of 13 stamps, issued in tribute to countries overrun and occupied by the Axis powers, as follows: Poland. Czechoslovakia, Norway, Luxembourg, Netherlands. Belgium, France. Greece. Yugoslavia, Albania, Austria, Denmark, and Korea. The main frames of the stamps, steel engraved, are printed in purple and depict on the left the phoenix, a ...