President Wilhelm Pieck (stamp series)

President Wilhelm Pieck was a definitive series of Deutsche Post in the German Democratic Republic that was published between 1950 and 1958 . In the following years up to 1961 special stamps with his portrait were issued. Originally the definitive stamps had unlimited validity for postage. After Wilhelm Pieck's death on September 7, 1960, the validity was limited to March 31, 1962, with the exception of the 2 DM stamps. The 2 DM stamps remained valid until the end of the GDR on October 2, 1990.

The permanent series was replaced in 1961 by the permanent series Chairman of the State Council Walter Ulbricht .

Description and special features

Printing and watermark paper

The brands are designed by Fred Gravenhorst , Kurt Eigler and Axel Bengs .

All stamps were printed on watermark paper with patterns 1, 2 or 3. Watermark 1 shows finials and is identical to watermark 3 of the Soviet zone. The watermark 2 shows the words 'DDR' and a post horn. The watermark 3 the lettering 'DDR' and cruciforms.

The circulation of the definitive series is not known.

The brands were produced in the printing works: VEB Deutsche Wertpapierdruckerei (DWD) and VEB Graphische Werkstätten Leipzig (GW).

Misprint

When the first 12-pfennig stamp (Michel 251) was printed in the period from August to September 1950, the sheet stamp, which was on field 38 of the 10 × 10 sheet, had a plate error ("DFUTSCHE" instead of GERMAN). In order to reduce the damage to around 45,000 counter arcs, the corresponding point was punched. In addition, two more holes were made to make this mark, which was discarded as printing scrap, better recognizable. The post offices were instructed by stamps on the stamp bags to separate the stamps concerned before they were sold, to charge them separately and to destroy them. These stamps became known in December 1950 at the post offices in Halle (Saale) C1 and C2, when a few copies of these perforated stamps reached collectors' hands. A similar plate error with "BEUTSCHE" occurred when the 24-Pfennig stamp (Michel 252) was printed in November 1950 on 19,500 counter sheets and was treated in the same way. Until 2004, no copies of these were known from the postal service. Since it is relatively easy to copy the cut-outs with a punch , a warning should be given against counterfeiting, which could harm the collector.

List of brands

Continuous series

Legend

• Image: An edited image of the brand mentioned. The ratio of the size of the stamps to each other is shown approximately to scale in this article.
• Description: A brief description of the motif and / or the reason for the issue. In the case of issued series or blocks , the descriptions that belong together are indented with a marker.
• Value: The face value of the individual stamp in pfennigs . A "+" means that it is an additional stamp (= postage value + donation).
• Issue Date: The date this stamp was first sold.
• Valid To: The date on which the validity ended.
• Edition: As far as known, the number of this edition offered for sale is given here.
• Design: As far as is known, it is stated here who designed this brand.
• Mi.-No .: This stamp is listed in the Michel catalog under the corresponding number.

image	description	Value in pennies (unless otherwise stated)	Issue date	Date of Expiry	Edition	draft	Mi. -No
	Printing: VEB Deutsche Wertpapierdruckerei (DWD) , letterpress	12	May 27, 1950	March 31, 1962	NN	Fred Gravenhorst	251
	Letterpress	24	May 27, 1950	March 31, 1962	NN	Fred Gravenhorst	252
	Letterpress	1 DM	May 27, 1950	March 31, 1962	NN	Fred Gravenhorst	253
	Offset printing	2 DM	May 27, 1950	October 2, 1990	Total: NN, 2nd partial edition 1951: 2,500,000	Fred Gravenhorst	254
	VEB Deutsche Wertpapierdruckerei (DWD), intaglio printing	5 DM	January 3, 1951	March 31, 1962	3,000,000	Fred Gravenhorst	255
	VEB Deutsche Wertpapierdruckerei (DWD), watermark "DDR und Posthorn", letterpress	5	September 22, 1952	March 31, 1962	NN	Fred Gravenhorst	322
	Letterpress	12	August 1952	March 31, 1962	NN	Fred Gravenhorst	323
	Letterpress	24	August 1952	March 31, 1962	NN	Fred Gravenhorst	324
	Letterpress	1 DM	October 1952	March 31, 1962	NN	Fred Gravenhorst	325
		1 DM	February 2, 1953	March 31, 1962	NN	Kurt Eigler	342
		2 DM	January 3, 1953	October 2, 1990	NN	Kurt Eigler	343
	VEB Deutsche Wertpapierdruckerei (DWD), watermark No. 3 (GDR around finial), gravure printing	1 DM	Fall 1957	March 31, 1962	NN	Kurt Eigler	622
	VEB Deutsche Wertpapierdruckerei (DWD), watermark "GDR um Kreuzblume", gravure printing	2 DM	1958	October 2, 1990	NN	Kurt Eigler	623

Postal stationery

The motif was used as a value stamp for postcards between 1950 and 1956 (Michel catalog numbers):

• P45 to P65
• P68 to P70.
• Radio lottery postcard 1 from 1952, which was sold until September 1953. The proceeds from this were used for the reconstruction of East Berlin .

The postcard P67 has the 10-pfennig stamp from the Five Year Plan series as a value stamp , but has a Pieck breastplate on the left side.

image	Franking value in pennies	Selling price in pennies	Issue date	Sale up	Address form	particularities	Michel no.
	12	65	1952	September 1953	Construction lottery at Funk Berlin W 8 Friedrichstrasse 196–70	Left image advertising for the reconstruction of the capital's high-rise buildings	FP 1

Special stamps

image	description	Value in pennies	Issue date	Date of Expiry	Edition	draft	Mi. -No.
	83rd birthday of Wilhelm Pieck	20th	3rd January 1959	December 31, 1962	4,500,000	Axel Bengs	673
	Death of GDR President Wilhelm Pieck (1876–1960)	20th	September 10, 1960	March 31, 1962	8,000,000	Axel Bengs	784A
	ditto, block 7 (cut)	20 (block price)	September 10, 1960	March 31, 1962	2,100,000	Axel Bengs	784B
	85th birthday of Wilhelm Pieck	20th	January 3, 1961	December 31, 1962	6,000,000	Kurt Eigler	807

Pad edition on the death of Wilhelm Pieck on September 7, 1960
(88 × 108 mm, Michel pad number 16)

Other stamps with the motif of Wilhelm Pieck

The stamps that were issued on another issue are not counted among the special stamps of the series. These include the stamps that show another person, or that were issued on other anniversaries (5 years of the GDR). For the sake of completeness, they are shown below.

image	person	Issue occasion	Issue date	Mi. -No.
	Wilhelm Pieck, Bolesław Bierut	German-Polish friendship	April 22, 1951	284, 285
	24 Pfg: Josef Stalin and Wilhelm Pieck	Month of German-Soviet friendship	December 1st / 15th, 1951	296, 297
	Wilhelm Pieck	First President of the GDR for 5 years in the GDR	October 6, 1954	443, 444

image	description	value	Issue date	Edition	draft	Mi. -No.
	Personalities of the German labor movement (IV) Wilhelm Pieck (1876–1960), first President of the GDR	10	December 30, 1975	12,000,000	Gerhard Stauf	2106

• 

  The Soviet Union honored Pieck with a 1966 postage stamp.

Forgeries for propaganda purposes

The Combat Group Against Inhumanity (KgU) produced falsified propaganda in West Berlin that were smuggled into the GDR. These included two postage stamps based on the 12 and 24 pfennig values ​​(Mi-No. 323 and 324). The inscription German Democratic Republic was un-German Non-democratic dictatorship has been changed, and the brand image showed Wilhelm Pieck with a set around the neck executioner trick . The stamps were made in letterpress printing in sheets of 5 × 2. The line perforation had a width of 11.

See also

• People who were honored on a German postage stamp during their lifetime
  • People who were depicted on a GDR postage stamp during their lifetime

literature

• Michel catalogs
  • Germany-Special 1999 , Munich, Schwaneberger Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-87858-132-7
  • Germany special 2004
  • Germany 2003/2004
  • Germany letters
• Peter Fischer u. a .: GDR universal catalog. Berlin, transpress publishing house for transport 1986, ISBN 3-344-00001-2

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michel Germany Special 2004; P. 228
2. ↑ The GDR universal catalog (Peter Fischer et al .: GDR universal catalog . Berlin, transpress Verlag für Verkehrwesen 1986, ISBN 3-344-00001-2 , p. 253) records this value under the number 380 as it was only published in 1958. Since the registration of the stamps of the GDR Post was based on the Michel cataloging, this information is followed here.
3. ^ The GDR universal catalog (Peter Fischer et al .: GDR universal catalog . Berlin, transpress Verlag für Verkehrwesen 1986, ISBN 3-344-00001-2 , p. 253) also records the 1 DM value under the number 380 as in 1958 published. Since the registration of the stamps of the GDR Post was based on the Michel cataloging, this information is followed. 1957 is given as the year of issue.
4. ^ Michel catalog: Deutschland-Spezial 2004; P. 536
5. ^ Illustration of stamps forged by the KgU and in circulation in the GDR Source: Robert Havemann Society (BStU copy)

Web links

Commons : Postage stamps showing Wilhelm Pieck  - collection of images, videos and audio files