Bosnia-Herzegovina

The military occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria under the treaty of Berlin, 1878, was followed thirty years later by the coup of October 5, 1908, by which the Emperor-King proclaimed his sovereignty over the two provinces.

His portrait first appeared on a Bosnian stamp of the pictorial series of 1906-7 in which, incidentally, there are included views of Sarajevo where occurred the murder of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, a tragedy which provided a pretext for hastening the German plans for a world war.

In 1912 the Emperor-King's portrait re-appeared on the stamps of the military postal administration of these provinces.

The 5 and 10 heller stamps of 1906 giving views of the Pass of Narenta with a view of the river Prenj, and the valley of Vrba, were overprinted "1914" and surcharged 7 and 12 hellers for use in collecting 2 heller contributions to the Austrian war fund.

Includes edited excerpts from The Project Gutenberg e-Book of The Postage Stamp in War, by Fred. J. Melville