Important Germans (stamp series)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reverse print pair with intermediate web of the Berlin 10 Pfennig stamp (Michel number: "202 + Z + 202" becomes the Michel number: "KZ 1")
90 pfennig mark
(only value not published in Berlin)

Significant Germans is a German definitive stamp series that appeared from 1961 to 1965 and was in use until around 1966.

There are 16 values ​​from the Deutsche Bundespost and 15 values ​​from the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin . The 90 Pfennig edition is missing in the Berlin series  , the values ​​otherwise only differ in the additional lettering "Berlin"; Basic color, motif and value are the same.

Philatelists differentiate between 27 federal German issues, as there are two stamps (5 and 70 Pfennig) with serious color differences and some of the stamps were printed on two types of paper.

Motif and printing process

In order to find a usable basic shape, four artists were asked to make experiments with the portraits of Robert Bosch , Gerhart Hauptmann and Albert Einstein . Four designs were received from graphic designers Hans Michel and Günther Kieser . Paul Dietrich and Bert Jäger each made three proposals, Herbert Kern contributed eleven pages. The assessment was primarily about finding a form that would not only solve the difficult problem of portraying a portrait in a manner appropriate to the brand, but also guarantee that a uniform, closed, but also at the same time living row emerges. The obvious danger of monotony and schematic uniformity had to be banished from the start. Nevertheless, the uniform standard had to be maintained.

The work of the graphic artists Hans Michel and Günther Kieser showed to a particular extent the properties that led to the creation of real brands. Image and writing grow together in their arrangement to one another and in the lines to form a structure that is closely related to the coin. The art advisory board therefore proposed, and thus obtained the approval of the Federal Post Minister, to commission these artists to design the entire series. The new brands still had to meet a technical requirement related to their use in the then modern erecting machines. For this automatic letter set-up, a fluorescent additive was added to the fragile postage stamp paper, the effect of which depended on the correct ratio of printed and unprinted areas. In order to create this relationship, the selected designs had to be reworked. The form of a strong frame, which encloses an almost square area for the portrait, proved to be useful.

The single-color stamps were printed both in rolls and in sheets . Some of the stamps were also available in stamp booklets . The lower denominations (up to and including 25 Pf) were printed in letterpress , the other denominations (from 30 Pf) were produced in intaglio printing .

particularities

As with many stamps that are printed in rolls and sheets, horizontal pairs and marginal pieces of the stamps form a special collector's area of ​​philately. They can be used to demonstrate that these stamps come from a sheet; some of these are traded significantly higher than individual brands. There are numerous color shades within this definitive series. In the case of two values ​​in the Federal Republic of Germany, the differences are so great that two variants are cataloged each time.

In 1961, the Deutsche Bundespost introduced fluorescent paper to make stamps forgery-proof and recognizable for stamp machines. Parts of the first editions were still printed on ordinary paper. The difference is only visible with a UV test lamp . The Berlin editions were printed exclusively on fluorescent paper.

Originally a 3-DM stamp with the motif of Albert Einstein was also planned. Einstein's executor contradicted this plan. The Deutsche Bundespost therefore had to refrain from issuing the Einstein stamp. The predicament was all the more regrettable when publications in the Deutsche Soldatenzeitung had spoken out in polemical form against the "Einstein trademark". It was therefore expressly emphasized that these publications neither initiated nor influenced the change of motif. A head picture of the composer Jacques Offenbach should now be used as the motif . However, this issue did not appear again, as the ministry announced in a press release from 1960 that the major brand values ​​would cease to exist in the future, since there is hardly any need for them with the increasing cash franking of parcels by postage stamping machines.

For testing purposes the Einstein essay was produced on fluorescent paper with the watermark 5. These proofs are listed in the Michel catalog with “P1” in the color dark brown red, “P2” in blue and “P3” in emerald green. The value imprint is 25 pfennigs for all brands. P1 is known with and without hand stamp “Entwertet”, the others only with hand stamp.

List of issues and motives

Each postage stamp in the series shows a significant German personality. The value levels were sorted according to the dates of birth of the people pictured. Albertus Magnus, born in the 12th century, was depicted on the 5 pfennig issue, and Gerhart Hauptmann, born in 1862, on the highest value of 2 DM.

This scheme was broken to the supplementary value of 90 pfennigs with Franz Oppenheimer; a personality should have been honored who was born between 1777 (Kleist's year of birth) and 1797 (Droste-Hülshoff's year of birth).

The values ​​Bund and Berlin appear at the same time. All editions became invalid on December 31, 1970.

Michel catalog numbers with a “y” at the end indicate fluorescent paper, an “x” is not glowing under a UV lamp; the additional marking "a" or "b" denotes color variants.

Picture
FRG
Picture
Berlin
description Values in
pennies
Issue date Output form
( B ogen, R ollen,
M thicknesses H eftchen)
Wed no.
Bund,
Berlin
Color and paper variants (output form)
DBP 1961 347 Albertus Magnus.jpg DBPB 1961 199 Albertus Magnus.jpg Albertus Magnus 5 September 18, 1961 (B, R, MH)
Berlin only (B, R)
347ya,
199
347x paper without fluorescence (B, R)
347yb (July 6, 1965) brownish-olive instead of brown-olive (MH)
DBP 1961 348 Elisabeth of Thuringia.jpg DBPB 1961 200 Elisabeth of Thuringia.jpg Elisabeth of Thuringia 7th 3rd August 1961 (B, R) 348y,
200
348x paper without fluorescence (B, R)
DBP 1961 349 Johannes Gutenberg.jpg DBPB 1961 201 Johannes Gutenberg.jpg Johannes Gutenberg 8th 3rd August 1961 (B)
Berlin also (B, R)
349y,
201
349x paper without fluorescence (B)
DBP 1961 350 Albrecht Dürer.jpg DBPB 1961 202 Albrecht Dürer.jpg Albrecht Dürer 10 June 15, 1961 (B, R, MH) 350y,
202
350x paper without fluorescence (B, R)
DBP 1961 351 Martin Luther.jpg DBPB 1961 203 Martin Luther.jpg Martin Luther 15th September 18, 1961 (B, R, MH)
Berlin only (B, R)
351y,
203
351x paper without fluorescence (B, R)
DBP 1961 352 Johann Sebastian Bach.jpg DBPB 1961 204 Johann Sebastian Bach.jpg Johann Sebastian Bach 20th June 28, 1961 (B, R, MH)
Berlin only (B, R)
352y,
204
352x paper without fluorescence (B, R)
DBP 1961 353 Balthasar Neumann.jpg DBPB 1961 205 Balthasar Neumann.jpg Balthasar Neumann 25th October 7, 1961 (B, R) 353y,
205
-
DBP 1961 354 Immanuel Kant.jpg DBPB 1961 206 Immanuel Kant.jpg Immanuel Kant 30th October 7, 1961 (B) 354y,
206
-
DBP 1961 355 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.jpg DBPB 1961 207 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.jpg Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 40 June 28, 1961 (B, R) 355y,
207
355x paper without fluorescence (B, R)
DBP 1961 356 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.jpg DBPB 1961 208 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.jpg Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 50 December 1, 1961 (B) 356y,
208
-
DBP 1961 357 Friedrich Schiller.jpg DBPB 1961 209 Friedrich Schiller.jpg Friedrich Schiller 60 April 12, 1962 (B, R)
Berlin only (B)
357y,
209
-
DBP 1961 358 Ludwig van Beethoven.jpg DBPB 1961 210 Ludwig van Beethoven.jpg Ludwig van Beethoven 70 December 1, 1961 (B, R) 358ya,
210
358yb (November 1962),
blackish blue green instead of blackish green ( B, R)
DBP 1961 359 Heinrich von Kleist.jpg DBPB 1961 211 Heinrich von Kleist.jpg Heinrich von Kleist 80 December 1, 1961 (B) 359y,
211
-
DBP 1961 360 Franz Oppenheimer.jpg - Franz Oppenheimer 90 3rd August 1964 (B) 360y,
-
-
DBP 1961 361 Annette von Droste-Hülshoff.jpg DBPB 1961 212 Annette von Droste-Hülshoff.jpg Annette von Droste-Hülshoff 1 DM September 18, 1961 (B) 361y,
212
-
DBP 1961 362 Gerhart Hauptmann.jpg DBPB 1961 213 Gerhart Hauptmann.jpg Gerhart Hauptmann 2 DM April 12, 1962 (B) 362y,
213
-
80 Pf stamp
(Kleist motif)

Quote

“Incidentally, in my long-term memory I associate Kleist less with the title of a famous work than with a color and a number. Heinrich von Kleist was depicted on the dark red 80-pfennig postage stamp in the 'Important Germans' series. Around 1966, when I was a primary school student, I often stood in front of the post office stamp showcase and looked at the heads of the great Germans. In the eyes of an eight-year-old at least, the Kleist brand was considered rare and difficult to reach. The eight-year-old was also firmly convinced that the heads within the series were graded according to their degree of importance, that Kleist should be eight times as important as Albrecht Dürer, who adorned the ten-pfennig value. "

- Max Goldt : in the acceptance speech for the award of the Kleist Prize 2008

literature

Web links

Commons : Serie Significant Germans  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ZPF 16/61, p. 605.
  2. ZPF 16/61, p. 606.
  3. ZPF: Heft 6/62, p. 223.
  4. ZPF: Heft 6/62, p. 224.
  5. Press release of the Federal Ministry for the Post and Telecommunications, No. 2/1960, Sheet 3: "The new postage stamp series of the Deutsche Bundespost".
  6. Michel Germany Special 2004, Volume 2, p. 914.
This version was added to the selection of informative lists and portals on October 18, 2007 .