Watermark (postage stamp paper)
Watermarks in postage stamp paper were mainly used to protect against counterfeiting, similar to the security features of banknotes . Sometimes there are stamps in a series that were printed with different watermarks . The differences between the watermarks can be crucial for their evaluation. Watermarks cannot be completely forged, but qualified technicians have succeeded to a certain extent in simulating particularly rare watermarks with paraffin print.
Watermark
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
| Diamonds, tight | Wz. 1 a | Bavaria | … –19xx | |||
| Diamonds, wide | Wz. 1 b | Bavaria | … –19xx | |||
| Wavy lines, wide, horizontal | Wz. 2 | Bavaria | … –19xx | |||
| Wavy lines, tight, vertical | Wz. 3 | Bavaria | … –19xx | |||
|
|
Wavy lines, tight and horizontal | Wz. 4 | Bavaria | ... –19 ... | |
| Post horn with line border | Watermark 1 | Braunschweig | … –19xx | |||
| Serpentine lines | Watermark 1 | Hamburg | … –19xx | |||
| Line square | Watermark 1 | Hanover | … –19xx | |||
| Oak wreath in a square of lines | Wz. 2 | Hanover | … –19xx | |||
| Flowers | Watermark 1 | Lübeck | … –19xx | |||
| Laurel wreath | Watermark 1 | Prussia | … –19xx | |||
|
|
Cruciferous flowers and rings | Watermark 1 | Württemberg | ... –19 ... | |
| Rings | Wz. 2 | Württemberg | ... –19 ... | |||
|
|
Rhombuses | Watermark 1 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |
|
|
waffles | Wz. 2 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |
| Imperial eagle | Wz. 3 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |||
| Swastika | Wz. 4 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |||
| Cross (Maltese Cross)? | Watermark 5 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |||
| Four crosses form a swastika (always a matter of perspective) | Watermark 1 | Schleswig | ... | |||
| Rhombuses | Watermark 1 | Danzig | YYYY | |||
| Honeycomb | Wz. 2 | Danzig | YYYY | |||
|
|
Meshes | Wz. 3 | Danzig | YYYY | |
| Tiles | Wz. 4 | Danzig | YYYY | |||
| Swastikas | Watermark 5 | Danzig | YYYY | |||
|
|
Wavy lines | Watermark 1 | Saarland | ... –19 ... | |
| Cruciferous flowers and "DBP" | Wz. 2 | Saarland | ... –19 ... | |||
| German postal service | Wz. 6 | Allied occupation, community expenses | ... –19 ... | |||
| Steps, descending | Watermark 7 | Allied occupation, community expenses | ... –19 ... | |||
| Cruciferous flowers and rings | Watermark 1 | French zone | ... –19 ... | |||
| German postal service | Watermark 1 | Berlin | ... –19 ... | |||
|
|
|
Cruciferous flowers and rings | Wz. 2 | Berlin | ... –19 ... | |
| Cruciferous flowers and "DBP" | Wz. 3 | Berlin | ... –19 ... | |||
| Steps, descending | Watermark 1 | Soviet zone | YYYY | |||
| ? | Wz. 2 | Soviet zone | YYYY | |||
| Finials | Wz. 3 | Soviet zone | YYYY | |||
| Finials | Watermark 1 | GDR | YYYY | |||
| Post horn, "GDR" | Wz. 2 | GDR | YYYY | |||
| Finials, "GDR" | Wz. 3 | GDR | YYYY | |||
| ? | Watermark 1 | American and British Zone (Bizone) | ... –19 ... | |||
|
|
|
Cruciferous flowers and rings | Wz. 2 | American and British Zone (Bizone) | ... –19 ... | |
| Dashes and "DP" | Watermark 1 | German Federal Post Office | ... –19 ... | |||
| Wavy lines, falling or rising | Wz. 3 | German Federal Post Office | ... –19 ... | |||
| Zigzag lines and "BP" | Wz. 4 | German Federal Post Office | ... –19 ... | |||
| Cruciferous flowers and "DBP" | Watermark 5 | German Federal Post Office | ... –19 ... |
Watermarks split by country
Old Germany
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
| Diamonds, tight | Wz. 1 a | Bavaria | … –19xx | |||
| Diamonds, wide | Wz. 1 b | Bavaria | … –19xx | |||
| Wavy lines, wide, horizontal | Wz. 2 | Bavaria | … –19xx | |||
| Wavy lines, tight, vertical | Wz. 3 | Bavaria | … –19xx | |||
|
|
|
Wavy lines, tight and horizontal | Wz. 4 | Bavaria | ... –19 ... | |
| Post horn with line border | Watermark 1 | Braunschweig | … –19xx | |||
| Serpentine lines | Watermark 1 | Hamburg | … –19xx | |||
| Line square | Watermark 1 | Hanover | … –19xx | |||
| Oak wreath in a square of lines | Wz. 2 | Hanover | … –19xx | |||
| Flowers | Watermark 1 | Lübeck | … –19xx | |||
| Laurel wreath | Watermark 1 | Prussia | … –19xx | |||
|
|
|
Cruciferous flowers and rings | Watermark 1 | Württemberg | ... –19 ... | |
| Rings | Wz. 2 | Württemberg | ... –19 ... |
German Empire
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
|
|
|
Rhombuses | Watermark 1 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |
|
|
|
waffles | Wz. 2 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |
| Imperial eagle | Wz. 3 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |||
| Swastika | Wz. 4 | German Empire | ... –1945 | |||
| Cross (Maltese Cross)? | Watermark 5 | German Empire | ... –1945 |
Schleswig and Danzig
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
| Four crosses form a swastika (always a matter of perspective) | Watermark 1 | Schleswig | ... | |||
| Rhombuses | Watermark 1 | Danzig | YYYY | |||
| Honeycomb | Wz. 2 | Danzig | YYYY | |||
|
|
|
Meshes | Wz. 3 | Danzig | YYYY | |
| Tiles | Wz. 4 | Danzig | YYYY | |||
| Swastikas | Watermark 5 | Danzig | YYYY |
Saarland
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
|
|
|
Wavy lines | Watermark 1 | Saarland | ... –19 ... | |
| Cruciferous flowers and "DBP" | Wz. 2 | Saarland | ... –19 ... |
Allied occupation, community expenses and French zone
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
| German postal service | Wz. 6 | Allied occupation, community expenses | ... –19 ... | |||
| Steps, descending | Watermark 7 | Allied occupation, community expenses | ... –19 ... | |||
| Cruciferous flowers and rings | Watermark 1 | French zone | ... –19 ... |
Landpostdirektion Berlin
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
| German postal service | Watermark 1 | Berlin | ... –19 ... | |||
|
|
|
Cruciferous flowers and rings | Wz. 2 | Berlin | ... –19 ... | |
| Cruciferous flowers and "DBP" | Wz. 3 | Berlin | ... –19 ... |
Soviet zone and GDR
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
| Steps, descending | Watermark 1 | Soviet zone | YYYY | |||
| ? | Wz. 2 | Soviet zone | YYYY | |||
| Finials | Wz. 3 | Soviet zone | YYYY | |||
| Finials | Watermark 1 | GDR | YYYY | |||
| Post horn, "GDR" | Wz. 2 | GDR | YYYY | |||
| Finials, "GDR" | Wz. 3 | GDR | YYYY |
Bi zone
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
| ? | Watermark 1 | American and British Zone (Bizone) | ... –19 ... | |||
|
|
|
Cruciferous flowers and rings | Wz. 2 | American and British Zone (Bizone) | ... –19 ... |
German Federal Post Office
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
| Dashes and "DP" | Watermark 1 | German Federal Post Office | ... –19 ... | |||
| Wavy lines, falling or rising | Wz. 3 | German Federal Post Office | ... –19 ... | |||
| Zigzag lines and "BP" | Wz. 4 | German Federal Post Office | ... –19 ... | |||
| Cruciferous flowers and "DBP" | Watermark 5 | German Federal Post Office | ... –19 ... |
More country examples
|
Picture pattern |
Image example brand |
designation |
Michel catalog designation | Country of use (issuing country) | Usage period | Exemplary brands |
|
Krone and "CA" | Wz.? | Zululand | YYYY | ||
|
Crown and "CC" (simple watermark) | Wz.? | British colonies | YYYY | ||
|
Crowns and "CA" (multiple watermarks) | Wz.? | ? | YYYY |
See also
Commons : Watermarks in Postage Stamps - collection of images, videos and audio files
literature
- Wolfram Grallert: Lexikon der Philatelie , Phil * Creativ, Schwalmtal 2006, 3rd unchanged edition 2015, ISBN 978-3-932198-38-0 , article: Watermark .
- Michel. Germany catalog 2010/2011. Schwaneberger Verlag, Unterschleißheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-87858-045-4 , section: Watermark , page 16. (This section is also available in many of the publisher's stamp catalogs.)
Web links
Wiktionary: Watermarks - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Individual evidence
- ↑ * Wolfram Grallert: Lexikon der Philatelie , Phil * Creativ, Schwalmtal 2006, 3rd unchanged edition 2015, ISBN 978-3-932198-38-0 , article: Forgeries to the detriment of collectors .
- ↑ P. Fischer: diamond watermark. In: Deutsche Briefmarken-Zeitung , No. 6/2015, p. 22