Yugoslavia - Laibach Occupation Issues

I am hoping that someone will be able to fill in a few details for this particular stamp issue. I have been able to fill in a little information on line but the fact that Scott does not list them at all and that I have no access to European catalogues has limited my ability to find out the story. First, they seem to have been prepared in 1945 or 1944 but were never issued. I have found an old North American Auction Listing (Spinks - 2018) which has a high estimate for the lot and a high end price (In the neighbourhood of $700 and $400, respectively). I found a listing on Etsy, I think it was, with an ask in the region of 300 Euros. Neither gave me any new info or catalogue numbers and I am left with some questions.

When, exactly, was it prepared and how did it wend its way into the marketplace? If it was never issued, what demand is pushing asking prices up there? Is it imperforate simply because production ceased before the perforation stage? Could I please have the Michel catalogue numbers assigned to the issue for reference.

I'm afraid I don't have any solid details as to the how or why, but...

They are unissued stamps printed in 1945 for the German Occupation of Laibach. Based on that date, one can presume that they might have been unissued because of the end of the German occupation.

Again, not sure if this is how these specific stamps got into the market, but at the end of the war, a lot of German occupation issues that had been printed – usually in small numbers for design or approval purposes – were "liberated" from the production, storage, or postal facilities where they were being kept. A lot of printers waste, etc., also made it into the collecting market as rare "varieties."

The fact that these are commonly found in perf and imperf varieties would seem to indicate they were "liberated" near the production end of the production/distribution process.

Here are the relevant Michel listings from the last English language version (2016) and the current German version (2023). Click to enlarge.

These issues were printed in single-color sheets with the different designs in rows. For this reason, they are commonly also found in vertical strips containing all the issues of a single color, with the full set being 7 (or 14 counting perf & imperf) vertical strips of 6.

Thank you for the information, particularly the Michel listings. It all helps to fill in some holes, though I must admit that I have never been able to understand the pull of unissued material, except as an historical footnote to what was going on at the time.

In my world collection, I have two binders labelled "Postal Paper" that I am pretty sure is listed somewhere but have never had the inclination to chase down as it has never, to my knowledge, seen postal usage.

In German collecting, unissued stamps are generally very valuable. I suspect this is because Michel, unlike many publishers, chooses to list them in the catalog, driving a lot of demand. And, of course, because the quantities tend to be very limited.

For example, there were supposed to be 4 issues in the last set of Third Reich stamps. Two were distributed to post offices just prior to the Battle of Berlin, and are not known legitimately used. They are easy to find unused, with CV of €35/€50. The remaining two unissued stamps weren't yet printed in quantity, and now catalog for €24,000 each.

Stamps go unissued for lots of reasons. Some completely boring, some quite compelling, most somewhere in between. Stamp collectors like stories, and don't mind fewer examples floating around.

I certainly have to grant you that! It is why I go off on a tangent every time I run across something like this where there might be an interesting story involved. Really, isn't it the stories that are wrapped up in these little pieces of paper that drew us all in? The Balkan area, all by itself, is taking me a long time to untangle and I am certain that I am only scratching the surface.

Just reading last "American Philatelist" Journal, and see one ad from Dr. Robert Friedman & Sons - probably this information can help You with Ljubljana issues (WWII Occupation of Yugoslavia):

In all listing, under #821, is offered YUGOSLAVIA, Ljubljana - collection of 70, 1941-1944. Scott catalog for this collection say price go around 1200.00 US$.

This is material for recognized/legal issues, and have 70+ stamps (complete collection have 90+ stamps), normally, NOT included one You show us, as it is Exile Issue, and not valid for use.