Look for Macedonia 2023 Flag of Israel stamp

Apr 30, 2025, 8 AM

Stamp Market Tips by Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

The Republic of Northern Macedonia is one of six countries to emerge from the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The six countries are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.

Macedonia, the southernmost of the six nations, is nestled between Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece. Macedonian nationality has always been problematic, because Serbia has traditionally claimed that the Macedonians are really Serbs who speak with a strange accent, and Bulgaria proposes that they are really Bulgarians. Meanwhile, Greece has maintained that they are Slavophone Greeks (Greeks who speak a Slavic language). Macedonia declared its independence from the collapsing Yugoslavia on Sept. 8, 1991, and issued its first stamps in 1992.

Jews have lived in Macedonia since the days of the Roman Empire. The Jewish population of Macedonia generally enjoyed good relations with its Slavic neighbors. At the outbreak of World War II, there were about 12,000 Jews living in Macedonia. Macedonia was conquered and occupied by the Axis Powers in World War II, and only about 400 of the Macedonian Jews survived the Holocaust by being hidden or by joining the Yugoslav partisans. Most survivors emigrated to Israel, and today only about 200 Jews live in Macedonia.

Macedonia and Israel established formal diplomatic relations in 1995, and relations between the two countries have remained close. Macedonia is one of the few countries in the world that does not have political or diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority. The Macedonian government established a Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia in Skopje (the capital) in 2005.

On July 26, 2023, Macedonia issued a 111-denar Flag of Israel stamp (Scott 960) to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Israeli independence. The stamp was printed by lithography and issued in panes of nine perforated gauge 13¼. The Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue values the stamp at $4 in both mint, never-hinged condition and used condition. This is roughly double face value, the basic Scott catalog value for new-issue stamps.

The stamp is a good buy in mint, never-hinged condition at around $3.50. A mint pane of nine is a good buy at around $30. In addition to collectors of Macedonia, this stamp is of interest to collectors of Israel and Judaica and vexillology (study of flags) topical collectors.

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