Seal wafers
A seal wafer is an aid for notarial certification and is used by many notaries in Germany instead of wax to attach the embossed seal to public documents .
The notary uses it to stick a seal sheet (seal star) and, in the case of multi-page documents, the string on the paper. First the sides are punched and pulled on a string (mostly in the national colors). The cord is then knotted and the sealing sticker , in this case the moistened wafer , and the sealing sheet on top of it, are glued to the ends . While it is still damp, the official seal of the notary is stamped into the wafer with the sealing press.
Such a seal is very safe when dried - the wafer would break immediately if tampered with for the purpose of forging documents ( breaking the seal ).
Seal wafers used to be widespread and available in different colors; Sometimes poisonous colors were used, but sometimes also non-toxic ones, because the wafers were moistened with the tongue or even eaten. Today, dealers for notaries and lawyers still offer white seal wafers with a diameter of around 4 cm, at least on the German market.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Section 44 of the Notarization Act
- ^ Conversations lexicon for artists and craftsmen, manufacturers and machinists. Voigt, Weimar 1842, p. 297, keyword “Oblaten”, ( limited preview in the Google book search)