Look for scarce Lithuania 1922 White Knight stamp

Stamp Market Tips by Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

Lithuania is located on the Baltic Sea between Belarus to the east and south, the Kaliningrad oblast (an exclave of Russia) to the west, Latvia to the north, and Poland to the south. It is one of the three Baltic Republics, the other two being Estonia and Latvia.

Lithuanian is the oldest living Indo-European language. In the 14th century, Lithuania was the largest country by land area in Europe. Lithuanians were the last European pagans, not converting to Christianity until late in the 14th century. In 1386 the grand duke of Lithuania became the king of Poland. This led to a political union between the two countries, similar to that of England and Scotland.

In the Polish partitions of the late 18th century, most of Lithuania was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Lithuania regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I. Independence was lost again in 1940 as a result of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1939, in which Lithuania was assigned to the Soviet Union.

Lithuania regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 when it became the first of the Soviets' captive republics to declare its independence, leading eventually to the collapse of the USSR.

Lithuania issued its first postage stamps on Dec. 27, 1918. The first stamps were denominated in skatiku and auksinas. A currency reform in 1922 changed the monetary units to centas and litas. Remaining stocks of earlier stamps overprinted and surcharged in the new currency values were issued on Oct. 1, 1922.

Look for the 1922 1-centas on 30-skatiku orange Vytis, the White Knight stamp (Scott 126). The Vytis is a frequently used national symbol of Lithuania. This is by far the scarcest stamp from the 1922 overprinted and surcharged issue.

According to Postage Stamps of Lithuania by the Lithuanian Philatelic Societies of New York and Toronto, the 1c on 30sk orange stamps only exist because when they were sent for overprinting, a few sheets of the orange stamps were accidentally lumped in with the 30sk buff stamp of the same design.

The Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 values the stamp at $250 in unused, hinged condition, $350 in mint, never-hinged condition and $110 in used condition.

Centering was a real problem with this issue. Most examples have perforations cutting into or very close to the design. An example in true very fine grade would be worth Scott catalog value or more.

Most collectors would be satisfied with an example in unused, hinged condition that has perforations close to, but not touching, the design. Such a stamp would be a good buy at around $150 to $175.

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