Germania (postage stamp)

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Original sketch by Paul Eduard Waldraff for the design of the Germania brand. The stamp shown is Michel number 56b from 1900

The Germania stamp series are postage stamp issues of the German Reich with the portrait Germanias that in the years 1900 bis 1922 were used. These stamp series are among the most famous and long-lived in Germany and are a popular collecting area among philatelists .

In some cases, the Germania series also includes the additional mark values Representative Representations of the German Empire , although neither shape, motif and stamp artist are identical. The only thing that connects both series with each other is the year of issue and the period of use.

Issue occasion

The Germania stamp series comprises a total of 60 values ​​(without subtypes) in different versions and was the fourth permanent series of the Deutsche Reichspost to solve the issues "Breast shields" (MiNo. 1–30), "Pfennige" (numbers or imperial eagle, MiNo. 31–36) and "Pfennig" (same drawing with changed value, MiNr. 39-44) and "Krone - Adler" (MiNr. 45-52) from. The neutral pattern of Germania was chosen so as not to complicate the takeover of the Bavarian and Wuerttemberg postal services through the depiction of the emperor and to represent a contrast to the previous series. The designs for the stamp series, which were even adopted by Kaiser Wilhelm II, came from Paul Eduard Waldraff (1870–1917). In retrospect, he wrote about the issue process:

“Starting from the door, the Most High Art Connoisseur paces down the easels at a barely slowed pace, followed by his adjutant. When he got back to the door, the emperor turned around, went straight across the hall towards the Germania and spoke the decisive and only word 'Die' with a finger pointing at it. He was outside. "

- Paul Eduard Waldraff

The model for the portrait of Germania was the actress Anna Führing .

Executions

There are numerous versions of the Germania brands. The inscription was initially Reichspost , later the German Empire . Numerous overprints were made for the foreign post offices in China, Morocco and Turkey, the areas occupied during World War I , but also for the Bavarian postal area , which was united with the German after World War I, the Allenstein and Marienwerder voting areas , for the Saar area , Gdansk and Memelland as well as for the production of charity stamps .

  • Reichspost: Germania at 5 Pfennig (one color)

  • German Empire: Germania at 50 Pfennig (two-tone)

  • German Empire: Germania Kehrdruck from booklet sheet 14/15

  • German Empire: With advertising overprint, (R2: bee honey)

  • Value without background hatching

There are two variants of the image design: For most values, Germania is shown in front of a horizontally hatched background, but for some values ​​in front of a non-hatched (white) background.

As a definitive series, the Germania was also used on postal stationery as a value stamp for postcards , card letters and pneumatic tube envelopes . The special postcard at the turn of the century was officially sold on December 28, 1899, but the earliest use dates back to December 24, 1899.

  • Special postcard at the turn of the century

  • Postcard, increasing the local postage in 1906 with the values ​​from 1902

  • Pneumatic letter envelope

  • Private postal stationary of the Admiralty of the Navy

Specimen

The stamps also appear with the imprint "Specimen" (as an official orientation model, mostly in the new edition, e.g. for presentation to the Universal Postal Union ).

Imitations

For the Kinderpost game , there were imitations of the Germania brand, the lettering here was Kinderpost for some manufacturers (for others they corresponded to the original stamps with one size difference). Children's mail

Fakes

During the First World War , the British forged the values ​​of 10 Pfennig and 15 Pfennig (Michel No. 86 PFä and 101 PFä). The fakes are u. a. recognizable by their chalk white paper and the too narrow lines of the watermark.

In 1902, several postage stamp forgeries were carried out to the detriment of the post office, such as the forgery of the 10 Pfennig stamp known as the “Chemnitz forgery” (Michel number 71) and the so-called “Deistel forgery”. There were further forgeries in 1916 in Cologne and Hanover. The overprint stamps from 1921 were also forged (Mi.-Nr. 154, 156, 157).

List of brands

German Empire

Inscription: Reichspost

A total of ten postage stamps appeared on January 1, 1900 with the inscription Reichspost . On April 13, 1901, as a so-called Vineta provisional solution, the value of 5 Pfennig (Michel number 55) was halved and sold with a purple imprint for 3 Pfennig. All stamps were valid up to and including December 31, 1902.

image Value in pennies colour issue date Michel no.
DR 1900 53 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 2 light to dark blue gray 4th July 1900 53
DR 1900 54 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 3 olive brown February 1900 54
DR 1900 55 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 5 light to dark green March 1900 55
DR 1900 56 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 10 carmine pink, red December 30, 1899 56
DR 1900 57 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 20th ... January 8, 1900 57
DR 1900 58 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 25th ... March 10, 1900 58
DR 1900 59 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 30th ... December 27, 1899 59
DR 1900 60 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 40 ... December 27, 1899 60
DR 1900 61 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 50 ... December 20, 1899 61
DR 1900 62 Germania Reichspost.jpg
 80 ... January 1, 1900 62
Vineta1901.jpg
 3 green (3 to 5 Pfennig halved stamp, Vineta provisional , Mi-No. 55 halved with purple overprint) April 13, 1901 (formerly 67)
now: usage variant "A I"

Inscription: German Empire

The stamps that appeared from April 1, 1902 bore the inscription Deutsches Reich . In order to be able to finance the world war, various postal charges were increased by means of the Reich tax from 1916; this led to the issuance of additional values ​​(2½ pfennig; 7½ pfennig; 15 pfennig) and to the renewed issuance of a stamp for 2 pfennigs, each with a non-hatched background. The stamps were valid until October 31, 1922 due to the onset of inflation . The last new edition appeared on April 2, 1922.

The four stamps published in August 1921 (Michel numbers 154 to 157) were withdrawn from counter sales on January 20, 1922 and only used in the office. Post customers were no longer allowed to use these stamps after the specified date.

image Value in pennies colour issue date Michel no.
2 ... April 1, 1902 68
... ... April 1, 1902 ...
80 ... April 1, 1902 77
2 ... 1905/1911 83
DR 1905 84 I Germania.jpg
 3 ... October 21, 1905
1911 		84
... ... 1905/1911 ...
80 ... 1905/1911 93
2.5 ... August 1, 1916 / May 1917 98
... ... August 1, 1916 / May 1917 99
... ... August 1, 1916 / May 1917 100
... ... August 1, 1916 / May 1917 101
... ... August 1, 1916 / May 1917 102
... ... August 1, 1916 / May 1917 103
... ... August 1, 1916 / May 1917 104
Germaniafurkrieg5pf.jpg
 10 + 5 War Disabled Aid Michel 86 with overprint May 1, 1919 105
Germaniafurkrieg.jpg
 15 + 5 War Disabled Aid Michel 101 with overprint May 1, 1919 106
... ... January 1920 140
DR 1920 141 Germania.jpg
 10 yellowish to reddish orange September 2, 1920 141
... ... with print January 1920 153
DR 1921 154 Germania Overprint.jpg
 1.60 marks ... with print August 1921 154
DR 1921 156 Germania Overprint.jpg
 3 marks ... with print August 1921 155
DR 1921 155 Germania Overprint.jpg
 5 marks ... with a green print August 1921 156
DR 1921 157 Germania Overprint.jpg
 10 marks ... with print August 1921 157
75 lively purple carmine April 2, 1922 197
1 1/4 medium brownish, red, dark purple April 2, 1922 198

Stamp booklet

In addition to the individual stamps, stamp booklets issued by the Post in a total of 15 series came into circulation from 1910 to 1921 , which, in addition to the postage stamps, also contained a cover sheet and several interleaves, mostly printed with advertising.

Bavaria

In Bavaria, which still had its own post office shelf until mid-1920 , Germania stamps with the imprint "Free State of Bavaria" were sold from May 1919 in the value levels 2½, 3, 5, 7½, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35, 40, 75 and 80 pfennigs issued (Mi.-No. 136 to 147).

  • Bavaria Free State 1906-1919.jpg

Official stamps

The official stamps issued in Prussia in 1903 and in Baden in 1905 were used to determine the actual postage amounts for official mail within the two countries in order to reset a lump sum to be paid to the Reichspost .

The stamp frame of the Germania definitive stamp series was used to design the stamp.

In the case of the issue for Prussia , the stamp frame read Frei by redemption no.21 . The eight stamps were only valid within 1903.

  • 2 Pfg; Michel-No .: 1

  • 3 Pfg; Michel no .: 2

  • 5 Pfg; Michel-No .: 3

  • 10 Pfg; Michel-No .: 4

  • 20 Pfg; Michel no .: 5

  • 25 Pfg; Michel no .: 6

  • 40 Pfg; Michel no .: 7

  • 50 Pfg; Michel no .: 8

In the issue for Baden , the stamp frame read Frei by Replacement No. 16 in oblique font. The six stamps were only valid within 1905.

  • 2 Pfg; Michel-No .: 9

  • 3 Pfg; Michel no .: 10

  • 5 Pfg; Michel no .: 11

  • 10 Pfg; Michel-No .: 12

  • 20 Pfg; Michel no .: 13

  • 25 Pfg; Michel-No .: 14

Further use in the German post offices abroad, in the occupied areas, etc.

German foreign post offices

The Germania series appeared with overprints, some hand stamps (China), mostly letterpress overprints, like this: "Deutsche Post in ..."

  • ... China , from November 24, 1900

  • ... Morocco, from October 1, 1900

  • ... Turkey , from October 10, 1900

  • Turkey (1908)

In the German colonies , a uniform brand image with the imperial yacht was used instead of the Germania brands .

German occupation issues of the First World War

  • National post in Belgium (for the General Government of Belgium ), from October 1, 1914

  • Deutsche Post in Poland (here Russian Poland), from May 12, 1915

  • Deutsche Post in Poland (here Warsaw), from August 1, 1916

  • German military administration in Romania, from June 1, 1917

  • Bucharest frame overprint: “Valid 9th Army”, from March 10, 1918

  • West stage area (occupied areas in north-eastern France), from December 1, 1916

  • Post area Commander-in-Chief East ( Ober Ost ), from January 15, 1916

  • Postcard from Libau to Berlin dated December 4, 1917. Post area Commander in Chief East

German voting areas and subsequent uses

  • Libau (Liepāja). In the city, which was under the administration of Latvia , which had become independent from January 2, 1919 , the postal traffic was initially taken care of by the remaining German 8th Army , the existing Germania stamps in small numbers with an oblique purple-blue or red hand stamp imprint " LIBAU ”and brought it into circulation from January 2, 1919. This was forbidden by the Reich Post Office on January 11, 1919, but the existing stocks were allowed to be used up.
  • Upper Silesia (edition of the French occupation authority Commission Interalliée de Gouvernement et de Plébiscite de Haute-Silésie , so-called Opole emergency edition ) from February 1920, with hand stamp overprint "CIHS" in bridge on circle
  • Marienwerder , with three-line imprint "Commission Interalliée Marienwerder", partly with imprint of a new value. There are countless variations of the prints made by a local printer.
  • Allenstein , with black three-line imprint "PLÉBISCITE OLSZTYN ALLENSTEIN" (from April 3, 1920) or imprint in a vertical oval (from May 1920)
  • Saar area , imprint initially “Sarre”, later “SAARGEBIET”, partly in decorative script with the new Saar coat of arms
  • Memel region (League of Nations mandate)
  • Danzig (Free City). The first overprints for Danzig were made by the Reichsdruckerei Berlin, later (from August 10, 1920) by the Julius Sauer printing company in Danzig. The large number of different, mostly colored imprints is remarkable.
  • Poland (crossed-out overprint Gen.-Gouv. Warsaw and further overprint Poczta Polska, partly with additional value overprint, Michel no. 6–16, as well as overprint Poczta Polska on Germania stamps of the German Empire, Michel no. 130-134 ("First Posener Aushilfsausgabe"), and stamps of the German Reich with new value overprint, Mi.-Nr. 135 and 136, on values ​​2 and 7½ Pfennig, "Second Posener Aushilfsausgabe", this issue (edition: 20,000 pieces each) is Noteworthy in that only large new numerals - 5 and 10 - are printed (in letterpress and in the autograph process ), but no further information), further Polish local editions with local overprints in Alexandrowo, Baranów, Błonie, Brzeziny, Ciechocinek, Grodzisk, Izbica , Kalisz, Łęczyca, Łowicz, Łuków, Ostrolęka, Ostrów, Ozorków, Plońsk, Poddębice, Pultusk, Sieradz, Skiernewice, Włocławek and Zduńska Wola.

  • Emergency issue Libau, 25 Pf., Type II a, January 1919

  • Marienwerder (West Prussia) from March 27, 1920

  • Allenstein (East Prussia) from April 3, 1920

  • Allenstein (oval)

  • Memel region (Klaipéda) (later Lithuanian) from August 1, 1920

  • Saar area (1920–1935) from January 30, 1920

  • Saar area

  • Danzig, from June 14, 1920

  • Danzig

  • Danzig, airmail stamp 1920

  • Poland

  • Poland (Poznan first temporary edition)

Web links

Commons : Germania  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Anna Führing as Germania  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Deutsche Post AG, The Art Advisory Board .
  2. ↑ Michel postal stationery catalog 1999, p. 121.
  3. ↑ See e.g. B. Michel catalog Europe East, introduction p. 11.
  4. ↑ Handbook Germania Brands, Register 26, Pages 010.950.01-010.950.04, Author: Dr. T. Reimer and M. Althen, with addendum.
  5. ↑ To No. 157 G. Zenker in INFLA -berichte 147/1989 p. 33, also in Germania-Handbuch Register 18 p. 010.012.24.100a-101.
  6. ↑ Gerald Schwarz: Germania-Markenheftchen des Deutschen Reiches (1997), in: Handbuch Germania-Marken, Register 19, pages 010.050.01 to 010.05095.
  7. ↑ F. Mörbel: The Germania brand booklets and their sheets, Federal Working Group on roller brands, brand booklets, machine brands in the BdPh 2010.
  8. ↑ Handbook Germania Brands Register 7, page 010.001.01
  9. ↑ Michel Germany Special Catalog 1983/84, p. 981 f.
  10. ↑ Illustration of an overprint mark issued for Libau .
  11. ↑ Gunnar Gruber: Die Oppelner emergency editions, BPP series of publications Vol. 5, 2nd edition, Radolfzell 2013.
  12. ↑ Illustration of stamps of the "Oppelner Notausgabe" .
  13. ↑ In-depth study of the overprint types by Walter Bauer (1995) in the Germania-Marken Register 35 manual, pages 042.900.01 to 042.900.205.
  14. ↑ Stefan Petriuk: 1st auxiliary edition for Posen from August 5, 1919, in: Circular 151 of the Working Group on German Eastern Regions, page 1/2 (September 1996).
  15. ↑ Michel catalog Europa-Ost 1979, p. 262.
  16. ^ Website with a reproduction of a local edition of the city, probably reprint .