Lot 30079 – 1897 (Apr 21) Envelope sent registered to Romania with 1896 40l on the obverse and 20l on the reverse, both with the Chalkis Tameion Treasury cachet

TAMEION: 1897 (Apr 21) Envelope sent registered to Romania with 1896 40l on the obverse and 20l on the reverse, both with the Chalkis Tameion Treasury cachet and Chalkis cds, with registered hs adjacent, reverse with Athens transit, Bucharest arrival and posthorn hs, heavy central cover crease and some minor toning, extremely rare, the only example of the Tameion stamps used on cover that we have seen.

Note: In order to prevent these stamps from being used in Greece to the detriment of the revenue during the 1897-98 Greco-Turkish War, orders were issued that all stamps still in the hands of the Greek Government should be overprinted with a special Treasury cachet to mark their validity. The cachet was normally applied to overprint four small stamps or two large ones. Later, in order to a void confusion with used stamps, the cachet was applied to the backs of the stamps.