Postage stamps and postal history of the German colonies
This is a survey of
Overview
With the establishment of a
Most German colonial stamps were denominated in
German colonies have been a popular philatelic area and, as a rule of thumb, vorläufer stamps as well as used stamps of high denomination tend to be quite valuable.
German Colonial stamps should not be confused with foreign offices stamps that were issued in China, Morocco, and Turkey in agreement with local authorities.
German colonies
German East Africa
German postal services in
During World War I stamps became scarce in the colony. In some instances stamps of the cruiser Königsberg were used in 1916. The last issues were the 2.5 heller, 7.5 heller and 1 rupie stamps that did not follow the yacht design but were locally produced at the mission printing office Wuga at Wilhelmsthal (Lushoto) in 1916.[3] Gradually, during World War I, more and more parts of the colony were occupied by British, Belgian, and Portuguese forces who issued their own stamps. In 1915, the British authorities used the yacht stamps with overprints.
German New Guinea
In
German South-West Africa
Definitive German stamps were used first in
Caroline Islands
German postal services started in the Caroline Islands on October 12, 1899, and consisted of overprinted ("Karolinen") German stamps.[7] The yacht issue was introduced in January 1901. Lack of stamps led to the Ponape issues in 1905 and 1910 when stamps were either split or overprinted to stretch use.
Kamerun
German stamps were first used in
Kiautschou
German stamps were first used in
Mariana Islands
German stamps were first used in the German Mariana Islands on November 18, 1899, in the form of overprinted ("Marianen").[10] In May 1900, German provisionals with overprints were issued followed by the yacht issue in January 1901. The German post office closed with the Japanese occupation on October 14, 1914. Yacht stamps with lozenge watermarks were issued in Germany later for collectors.
Marshall Islands
German postal service started in the German
Samoa
German stamps were first used in German Samoa on September 21, 1886 in the form of vorläufer stamps that can be recognized by the "Apia" cancellation mark.[12] In April, 1900 German stamps with "Samoa" overprint became available. In December 1900, the yacht issue was introduced. The German post office closed with the British occupation on September 3, 1914. "G.R.I." overprinted yacht stamps carried British denominations. In Germany between 1915 and 1919 Samoa yacht stamps (with water mark) were sold to collectors.
Togo
German stamps were first used in German Togo on March 1, 1888 in the form of vorläufer stamps that can be recognized by the "Klein-Popo" and "Lome" cancellation marks.[13] In 1897, 1900 German stamps with "Togo" overprint became available. In November 1900, the yacht issue was introduced. It was replaced in 1909 with the water-marked issues. The German post office closed with the British occupation in September, 1914 and French occupation in October, 1914. The occupying forces used yacht issues with "Anglo-French Occupation" overprints. In Germany between 1915 and 1919 Samoa yacht stamps (with water mark) were sold to collectors.
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German East Africa.
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German New Guinea.
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German Southwest Africa.
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German Caroline Islands.
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German Kamerun.
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Kiautschou.
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German Mariana Islands.
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German Marshall Islands.
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German Samoa.
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German Togo.
Forgeries
As many stamps of the colonies are valuable yet based on commonly available definitive German stamps, the stage is set for forgery. A forger may just "overprint" a common stamp of the period. Forgeries started to appear as early as 1903.[14] A notable forger was François Fournier who produced "reproductions" which are close enough to the originals to fool the unsuspecting buyer.[14] In recent years, the so-called "Hialeah Forgeries" have appeared on eBay and other auctions and include, among others, stamps from the Marshall Islands with falsified "G.R.I." overprints.[15] In the "Blüm Case", a forger produced false cancellation and expertizing stamps that were applied to German colony stamps and others.[16]
See also
References and sources
- Notes
- ^ Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (2002). "Postage Stamps used in the German Marshall Islands. Surplus stock left over after the loss of the colonies". Retrieved June 27, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Michel 1997: p. 380.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 392.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 385.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 387.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 394.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 300.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 396f.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 401.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 404.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 405.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 408.
- ^ Michel 1997: p. 410.
- ^ a b Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (2002). "Postage Stamps used in the German Marshall Islands. Forgeries and Fraudulent Overprints". Retrieved June 23, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (2002). "Postage Stamps used in the German Marshall Islands. Hialeah Forgeries". Retrieved June 23, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Blüm Case, 2006". Filatelia.fi. 1944-10-13. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
- Sources
- ISBN 3-87858-129-7.
External links
- Germany & Colonies Philatelic Society
- Germany Philatelic Society
- Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (2002). Stamps and Postal History of the German Marshall Islands
- Ton Dietz: A postal history of the First World War in Africa and its aftermath - German colonies. Leiden, African Studies Centre, 2015-2016. 5 vols. Open Access: I. German Togo, II. Kamerun, III. Deutsch-Südwestafrika (SWA), IV. German East Africa, V. Morocco