Central LithuaniaFirst Postage Stamp

A country for two years

Some places had centuries to build their postal history. Central Lithuania had barely two years. Created in the chaos surrounding Vilnius after the First World War, Central Lithuania, or Środkowa Litwa, existed from 1920 until 1922. It was never widely recognised internationally and eventually became part of Poland. Its first stamps appeared on 20 October 1920, and even the design tells you something wasn't quite settled. On the same piece of paper, you have the Polish White Eagle and the Lithuanian Vytis, the mounted knight, sitting side by side inside one shield. Two national symbols representing two competing claims to the same region. The first issue was three values, 25 fenigów, 1 marka, and 2 marki, issued both perforated and imperforate. Perforating capacity was limited, so some stamps sent to smaller communities were simply supplied imperforate and cut apart by hand. But there is a little trap for collectors. Central Lithuania produced plenty of stamps during its very short existence, and much of the "used" material you find today was actually cancelled to order. Finding stamps that genuinely travelled through the post, and especially surviving covers, is a different challenge altogether.