Definitive stamp
A definitive stamp is a stamp ( postage stamp ) that a longer time of the post is issued in a first unlimited number of copies. A definitive stamp is usually part of a stamp series that unites the different values of the respective stamps. But it can also appear as a single permanent stamp. The postal administration can freely choose the motif, but the design is not significantly changed during the issuing time. In addition to definitive stamps, there are special stamps and machine stamps .
In the meantime, however, it has become more and more apparent that individual stamps, which were initially issued as special stamps, are also issued in an edition typical of permanent stamps and are accordingly often found on letters. Among the issues of the Federal Republic of Germany, for example, the rose greeting (MiNr. 2321) reached a circulation of over 900 million pieces.
Historical development of the definitive stamp
The definitive stamp is the oldest form of postage stamp. Because of this, the word postage stamp or postage stamp is often used as a synonym for them. The world's first permanent and postage stamp was the British One Penny Black , which came into circulation on May 6, 1840 . The world's first definitive stamps were mostly issued in small sentences or even only as individual values, such as the Saxon three.
In the course of the 19th century it became common practice to issue larger series of definitive stamps in order to be able to cover as many postage levels as possible with one postage stamp. These postage stamps were usually designed uniformly and only differed in terms of value and color . The characteristic motifs of this time were coats of arms , rulers and number drawings , which were mostly shown in one color.
Today there is a tendency to issue multi-colored definitive stamp series with different motifs. These should mostly represent the issuing country , but not be as conspicuous as special stamps. Definitive stamps are issued in sheet form , roll form and in stamp booklets in many countries . Definitive series usually do not appear in one day, but spread over several months or years.
Philatelic Aspects
Definitive stamps are the classic collecting area in philately .
A stamp collector usually starts with a country collection, i. That is, he collects definitive stamps and special editions in parallel. If this activity encourages him to collect not only loose stamps but also complete letters, he does not necessarily have to specialize in a series of definitive stamps, but mostly .
A collector deals with the special features of each series, such as differences in perforation and paper, as well as special postage and the like.
That partly depends on which country you collect and whether you choose an older classic edition (for some it only goes up to 1875 [establishment of the European Postal Union]) or a semi-classic or modern edition. Due to their very high circulation, however, most of them, especially the newer editions, belong to the philatelic mass market.
The advantage of specialization is that you can use these definitive stamps to show all possible postage levels (domestic and international letters, cash on delivery, registered mail, express letters, etc.) and their development over time. Special stamps are not used everywhere, especially not when there are surcharges.
Definitive stamps from Germany
German Reichspost
| Years | motive |
|---|---|
| 1872-1875 | Breastplate issue |
| 1875-1889 | Numerals and imperial eagle |
| 1889-1900 | Numerals and Imperial Eagle II |
| 1900-1921 | Germania and representative images of the German Empire |
| 1900-1919 | Imperial yacht SMS Hohenzollern (edition for the German colonies ) |
| 1921-1923 | Numerical drawings, groups of workers, post horn (inflation) |
| 1923-1924 | new digit drawing |
| 1924-1926 | new imperial eagle |
| 1926-1928 | popular Germans |
| 1928-1933 | Reich President Friedrich Ebert, Paul von Hindenburg |
| 1933-1941 | Paul von Hindenburg (medallion) |
| 1941-1945 | Chancellor Adolf Hitler |
Saar area and Saarland
| Issue years | Area | currency | motive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920-1921 | Saar area | mark | various issues of the German Reich and Bavaria with overprint "Saargebiet" or "Sarre" |
| 1921 | Saar area | mark | Landscapes (I) |
| 1921-1923 | Saar area | franc | Landscapes (I) - (III) |
| 1925 | Saar area | franc | Madonna of Blieskastel |
| 1926-1934 | Saar area | franc | Landscapes (IV) - (VIII) |
| 1947 | Saarland | Reichsmark | Professions and views from Saarland (I) "Saar I" |
| 1947 | Saarland | franc | Professions and views from the Saarland (II) "Saar II" |
| 1948 | Saarland | franc | Reconstruction of the Saarland "Saar III" |
| 1949-1951 | Saarland | franc | Industry, trade, agriculture and culture "Saar IV" |
| 1952-1955 | Saarland | franc | Views from the Saarland "Saar V" |
| 1957 | OPD Saarbrücken | franc | Federal President Theodor Heuss (without currency name) |
| 1957 | OPD Saarbrücken | franc | Federal President Theodor Heuss (with currency name) |
Allied occupation
| Years | motive |
|---|---|
| 1945-1948 | various issues |
Deutsche Post, SBZ and GDR
| Issue years | Area | currency | motive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-1946 | various OPD of the SBZ | Reichsmark | different editions |
| 1946-1948 | SBZ (together with the American and British occupation zones) | Reichsmark | Joint expenses of the Allied occupation |
| 1948 | SBZ | mark | Joint issues of the Allied occupation with district stamp overprint |
| 1948 | SBZ | mark | various issues with imprint "Soviet Occupation Zone" |
| 1948-1949 | SBZ | mark | Personalities from politics, art and science (with watermark finials) |
| 1950-1953 | GDR | mark | President Wilhelm Pieck |
| 1952-1953 | GDR | mark | Personalities from politics, art and science (with watermark DDR Posthorn) |
| 1953-1959 | GDR | mark | Five year plan |
| 1961-1972 | GDR | mark | State Council Chairman Walter Ulbricht |
| 1973-1989 | GDR | mark | Construction in the GDR |
| 1990 | GDR | D-Mark | Buildings and monuments |
German Federal Post Office Berlin
| Issue years | motive | common usage | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-1949 | Allied occupation (collective issue overprint) | 1948-1949 | March 31, 1949 (black overprints) January 31, 1950 (red overprints) June 30, 1951 (green overprints) |
| 1949-1954 | Berlin buildings | 1949-1956 | December 31, 1958 |
| 1956-1963 | Berlin cityscapes | 1956–1961 1-Pf. And 3-Pf. Issues longer |
December 31, 1964 1-Pf. And 3-Pf. Issue until December 31, 1970 |
| 1959-1959 | Federal President Theodor Heuss (medallion) | 1959-1961 | December 31, 1964 |
| 1961–1962 | Important Germans | 1961-1966 | December 31, 1970 |
| 1964-1965 | German Buildings from Twelve Centuries I. | 1964-1966 | December 31, 1991 |
| 1966-1969 | German buildings from twelve centuries II | 1966-1970 | December 31, 1991 |
| 1966-1967 | Brandenburg Gate | 1966-1971 | December 31, 1991 |
| 1970-1973 | Federal President Gustav Heinemann | 1970-1975 | December 31, 1991 |
| 1971-1974 | Accident prevention | 1971-1977 | December 31, 1991 |
| 1975-1982 | Industry and technology | 1975-1987 | December 31, 1991 |
| 1977-1982 | Castles and Palaces | 1977-1987 | December 31, 1991 |
| 1986-1990 | Women of German History | 1986-1990 | December 31, 1991 |
| 1987-1990 | Attractions | 1986-1990 | December 31, 1991 |
Deutsche Bundespost, Deutsche Post AG
| Issue years | motive | common usage | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951-1952 | Post horn | 1951-1954 | December 31, 1954 |
| 1954–1957 1960 (fluor. Paper) |
Federal President Theodor Heuss | 1954-1961 | December 31, 1964 |
| 1959-1959 | Federal President Theodor Heuss (medallion) | 1959-1961 | December 31, 1964 |
| 1961-1965 | Important Germans | 1961-1966 | December 31, 1970 |
| 1964-1965 | German Buildings from Twelve Centuries I. | 1964-1966 | June 30, 2002 |
| 1966-1969 | German buildings from twelve centuries II | 1966-1970 | June 30, 2002 |
| 1966-1967 | Brandenburg Gate | 1966-1971 | June 30, 2002 |
| 1970-1973 | Federal President Gustav Heinemann | 1970-1975 | June 30, 2002 |
| 1971-1974 | Accident prevention | 1971-1977 | June 30, 2002 |
| 1975-1982 | Industry and technology | 1975-1987 | June 30, 2002 |
| 1977-1982 | Castles and Palaces | 1977-1990 | June 30, 2002 |
| 1986-2003 | Women of German History | 1986-2006 | June 30, 2002 with euro or mixed denominations: unlimited |
| 1987-2004 | Attractions | 1987-2006 | June 30, 2002 with euro or mixed denominations: unlimited |
| 2005– | Flowers | 2005– | unlimited |
Definitive stamps from Austria
Austrian Empire
| Years | motive |
|---|---|
| 1850-1858 | Coat of arms edition 1850 |
| 1858-1860 | Emperor's head edition 1858 |
| 1860-1863 | Emperor Franz Joseph I (medallion) |
| 1863-1867 | Coat of arms (medallion) |
Austro-Hungarian Empire
| Years | motive |
|---|---|
| 1867-1883 | Emperor Franz Joseph I |
| 1883-1890 | Digit with coat of arms |
| 1890-1900 | Emperor's head issues in kreuzer / guilder currency |
| 1900-1908 | Emperor's head issues in Heller / Kronen currency |
| 1908-1916 | Anniversary edition |
| 1916-1919 | Coat of arms, emperor and crown |
Republic of German Austria
| Years | motive |
|---|---|
| 1919-1922 | Post horn, coat of arms, allegory and parliament |
Republic of Austria (1st Republic)
| Years | motive |
|---|---|
| 1922-1925 | Agriculture, commerce, industry, science and the arts |
| 1925-1929 | Series of digits |
| 1929-1934 | First landscape edition |
| 1934-1938 | First costume series |
Republic of Austria (2nd Republic)
| Years | motive |
|---|---|
| 1945-1948 | Second landscape edition |
| 1948-1957 | Second costume series |
| 1957-1973 | Austrian monuments |
| 1973-1984 | Landscapes from Austria |
| 1984-1992 | Abbey and monasteries in Austria |
| 1992-1996 | Works of art from monasteries and monasteries in Austria |
| 1996-2002 | Sagas and legends from Austria |
| 2002-2007 | Holiday country Austria |
| 2007-2011 | Flowers |
| 2011– | Art houses |
| 2013- | Austrian landmarks |
| 2015- | Impressions from Austria |
| 2017- | Heraldry (Austria) |
| 2020- | Costumes - accessories and ornaments |
Definitive stamps of Switzerland
In Switzerland , not all value levels are usually covered by a single permanent series. The stamps with lower value levels have different motives than those with medium or high values. Therefore, the number of permanent series is larger than in other countries. The value levels of the individual series are also given for classification.
The specified year of issue ends with the last issue or subspecies listed in the Michel catalog . The stamps may have been issued and used for a much longer period of time.
| Issue years | Value steps in cents or centimes |
motive |
|---|---|---|
| 1843-1849 | various cantonal brands in different currencies, including Zurich 4 and Zurich 6 , double Geneva and the Basler Taube | |
| 1849-1852 | Local post and rayon stamps of the Swiss Federal Post Office | |
| 1854-1862 | Seated Helvetia imperforate ( Strubel edition) | |
| 1862-1881 | sitting Helvetia perforated | |
| 1882-1906 | 2-15 | Digit pattern |
| 1882-1907 | 20-300 | standing Helvetia |
| 1907 | 2-5 | Tell boy |
| 1907-1909 | 10-15 | Helvetia image (two motifs) |
| 1908-1940 | 20-300 | seated Helvetia |
| 1909-1934 | 1-7.5 | Tell boy (new motif) |
| 1914-1933 | 10-30 | Tell with crossbow |
| 1914-1931 | 300-1000 | Landscape images |
| 1924-1940 | 90-200 | coat of arms |
| 1934-1948 | 3-40 | Landscape pictures (in various drawings and types of printing) |
| 1938-1955 | 300-1000 | historical representations (landscape format) |
| 1941-1959 | 50-200 | historical representations (portrait format) |
| 1949 | 3-70 | Landscapes and technical motifs |
| 1960-1968 | 5-350 | postal history figures and buildings |
| 1961 | 300-2000 | Evangelists (wood carvings) |
| 1970-1987 | 10-50 | Value number |
| 1973-1980 | 100-350 | Architecture and handicrafts |
| 1973-1975 | 5-80 | Landscapes |
| 1977-1984 | 5-90 | Folk customs |
| 1982-1986 | 100-450 | Zodiac signs and landscapes |
| 1986-1989 | 5-90 | Mail delivery |
| 1989-1994 | 275-500 | Man and profession |
| 1990-1995 | 10-200 | Animals |
| 1991-1993 | 50-80 | Mountain lakes |
| 1998 | 10-180 | Pictures of Switzerland |
| 2000 | 10-70 | snow Ball |
| 2000-2001 | 90-400 | tourism |
| 2002 | 10-100 | insects |
| 2002-2003 | 200-500 | Minerals |
| 2003-2003 | 10-100 | Medicinal plants |
| 2003-2005 | 15-220 | Swiss design classic |
| 2006-2008 | 85-240 | native birds |
| 2006-2008 | 200-500 | old fruits |
| 2008 | 10-50 | Grain |
| 2010-2011 | 200-50 | Traditional handicraft in Switzerland |
| 2011-2013 | 85-260 | Vegetable flowers |
| 2014 | 10-50 | Mushrooms |
| 2016- | 10-530 | Train stations |
Great Britain
| Years | motive |
|---|---|
| 1952-1967 | Definitive series Elisabeth II. (Wilding) |
| 1967– | Definitive series Elisabeth II. (Machin) |
literature
- various Michel catalogs
