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On October 4, 1914, two stamps were issued in Austria of a war charity postal character, selling for 2 heller more than the face value, the extra 2 heller going to the fund for the widows and orphans of Austrian soldiers killed in the war. The designs are adapted from the ordinary 5 and 10 heller stamps ([Figs. 244, 246]) by a lengthening of the stamps for the addition of the date 1914 (Fig. 258). These although paying postage to the value of 5 and 10 heller, sell at 7 and 12 heller respectively.
258
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 (Fig. 259).
259
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, are reported to have been overprinted "1914" and surcharged 7 and 12 hellers for use in collecting 2 heller contributions to the Austrian war fund.
Hungary. The stamps of Hungary, in the lower values (Fig. 260) depict the Turul, the mythical bird of the Magyars, which was said to have been the messenger between them and Heaven, and their guide along the road that took them into Hungary. When the Magyars proclaimed Arpad their first King, the Turul perched upon his forehead. Two of these low value stamps have been, with modifications and overprint, adapted for selling as war charity postage stamps ([Fig. 261]) at 5 + 2 filler, and 10 + 2 filler. The war inscriptions read "HADI SEGELY" (War Relief) and on label at the foot, obliterating the original inscription, "OZVEGYEKNEK ES ARVAKNAK KET (2) FILLER" (for the widows and orphans two filler). The next illustration ([Fig. 262]) is a charity postcard from Hungary bearing one of the war relief stamps.