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You are here: Home / Provisional Postmarks / Kovarskas (also Kavarskas) 1919-1921

Kovarskas (also Kavarskas) 1919-1921

July 23, 2010 By Vytautas Doniela

Kovarskas, later renamed Kavarskas, is a town in Aukštaitija, 23 km north-east of Ukmergė. In World War One, during the battle of Kupiškis, Kovarskas was taken by Bayersche Kavallerie-Division on August 4, 1915.

During the German withdrawal from Russia at the end of 1918, Kovarskas was entered by the Pskov Division of the Red Army on January 7, 1919. Bolshevik formations were pushed out by Lithuanian troops on May 18, 1919. In November 1920 Kovarskas and its environs were raided by a Polish cavalry brigade.

In the czarist period, Kovarskas had had a post office (Kavarsk) but none during the German occupation when the nearest civilian P.O. was at Ukmergė (Wilkomierz). A mandate to open a Lithuanian P. O. was given, as įgaliotinis, to Edvardas Makšys effective from June 27, 1919. He stayed on as postmaster at least in 1920.

For stamps, Kovarskas was supplied with some values (at least 75 sk.) of Third Berlin Issue which probably incidentally were mixed in with, mainly, Fourth Berlin Issue.Then the Sėjėjas Issue etc. followed.

Having no regular postmarker to begin with, for cancelling Kovarskas made use of a makeshift two-liner cachet “KOVARSKO Pašto Įstaiga” sometimes supplemented by a handwritten date.

In 1920 Kovarskas was supplied with a standard rectangular registration cachet “Kavarskas” which was applied to money orders as well.  

In 1921, Kovarskas was provided with a standard calendar-type postmarker inscribed KOVARSKAS,  but by ca. 1930 subsequent postmarkers bore an altered spelling KAVARSKAS.

Known provisional markings:

Cancelling by a two-liner cachet:
20 – IX – 19 block of 4, Third Berlin 75 [colln. Doniela]
30 – IX – 19 pair, Third Berlin 75 [colln. Doniela]
No date single, Third Berlin 75 [colln. Wilson]
4 – XII – 1920 money order to Kaunas, Berlin IV 50 x6 [colln. Doniela]
25 – II – 1921 cover to USA, Berlin IV 30, 50 [formerly Norton]
No dates singles, Berlin IV 15, 75, 1a [colln. Liesis]
No date pair, Berlin IV 30 [colln. Bubnys]
No date singles, Berlin IV 30, 75, 1a [colln. Lapas]
Dates unclear pairs, Berlin IV (?) 50, 75 [formerly Matuzas]
No date singles, Berlin IV 50, 60 [colln. Doniela, Brazdeikis]

Filed Under: Provisional Postmarks Tagged With: provisional cancels

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