Heuss medallion (stamp series)

Heuss Medaillon , in the Michel catalog Heuss (III) , was a German definitive stamp series of the Bundespost and the Landpostdirektion Berlin. The first two values ​​of 10 and 20 Pfennig appeared on January 31, 1959 , the 75th birthday of Federal President Theodor Heuss . The stamp series with five different denominations was in use until around 1962. In addition, the stamps could be used until December 31, 1964, only after which they were declared invalid. In contrast to the permanent series Heuss (I) and Heuss (II) (= "Großer Heuss"), the series "Heuss Medaillon" is often also called "Kleiner Heuss" in philatelic jargon.

Motif and printing process

The graphic designers commissioned with the draft processing were sent a pure profile photograph by Liselotte Strelow . The art advisory board of the German Federal Post Office selected this image from a series of proposals based on the principle of achieving a solution that does justice to the strict form of the brand. Two suggestions were received from Max Eugen Cordier , while graphic designers Paul Dietrich, Ernst Böhm and Alfred Finsterer each provided a draft with modifications for different values. The Art Advisory Board recognized Cordier's clear shapes as the most convincing, because this artist succeeded in giving the portrait, despite all the simplification, in the sense of a coin or a gem, for example .

The series consisted of five single-color stamps with a portrait of the Federal President Theodor Heuss , which were printed both in rolls and in sheets . There was also a booklet of one of the brands .

With this series, stamps with the same motif appeared for the first time in the Deutsche Bundespost and Deutsche Bundespost Berlin . Until 1990, the end of the independent Berlin stamp issue, this principle was retained for all permanent series. Before that, the Berlin series had their own motifs.

The only difference between the Berlin values ​​was the additional lettering “Berlin” ; Color, motif and value were the same. The inscription "Deutsche Bundespost" or "Deutsche Bundespost Berlin" encircles the portrait like a medallion, hence the name of the series.

particularities

• As with all postage stamps that are printed in rolls and sheets, horizontal pairs and marginal pieces of the stamps form a special collection area, because they can be used to prove that the stamps come from sheets. Horizontal pairs and edge pieces are sometimes considerably more expensive.
• The three values ​​of 7, 10 and 20 pfennig were printed using letterpress printing , while the values ​​of 40 and 70 pfennig were printed using intaglio printing . As a result, the print image also differs somewhat; the rasterization of the higher values ​​makes it appear clearer.

List of editions Heuss (medallion)

The values ​​Bund and Berlin appeared simultaneously.

Image West Germany	Picture Berlin	Value in pennies	Issue date	Mi. -No. Bund, Berlin	Output form: sheets (B), rolls (R), booklets (MH)
		7th	April 10, 1959	302 182	(B, R)
		10	January 31, 1959	303 183	(B, R, MH) Berlin only (B, R)
		20th	January 31, 1959	304 184	(B, R)
		40	May 22, 1959	305 185	(B) Berlin also (R)
		70	May 22, 1959	306 186	(B) Berlin also (R)

See also

• People who were honored on a German postage stamp during their lifetime
• People who were depicted on a postage stamp of the Federal Republic of Germany during their lifetime

literature

• Michel Germany catalog
• Karlheinz Walz: Heuss “Medaillon” permanent series (farewell honor) . In: Deutsche Briefmarken-Zeitung (DBZ), No. 4/2011 of February 11, 2011, pages 16 to 18
• ZPF: Journal for the postal and telecommunications system, with the support of the Federal Minister for the postal and telecommunications system, published and published by Josef Keller Verlag

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ZPF: 7/59, p. 241