Germania (stamp)
Encyclopedia
Definitive stamp
A definitive stamp is a postage stamp, that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service for an extended period of time...
s that were issued by the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
between 1900 and 1922, depicting Germania
Germania (personification)
Germania is the personification of the German Nation or the Germans as a whole, most commonly associated with the Romantic Era and the Revolutions of 1848, though the figure was later used by Imperial Germany. She is usually shown wielding the "Reichsschwert" . Additionally, she is sometimes shown...
. They represent the longest running series in German philately
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
and are in their many variations and derivations an essential part of German philatelic collections.
Design
The initial issue from January 1, 1900 replaced the standard issue depicting numbers and eagles. The image of Germania, rather than that of the ruling monarch as was customary in many other European monarchies, made it a unifying feature and did not complicate the relationship with other German royaltyRoyal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
and the coexisting German postal authorities of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. The engraving was performed by Paul Eduard Waldraff (1870-1917) who used the actress Anna Führing
Anna Führing
Anna Führing was a German actress. She is, however, more famous as the model for the Germania stamp of the Reichspost.-Biography:...
as model. Wearing an octagonal imperial crown
Imperial crown
An Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors.- Imperial Crowns with Mitre :-Legal usage:Throughout the Commonwealth Realms, The Crown is an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government...
she is holding a sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
and an olive branch
Olive branch
The olive branch in Western culture, derived from the customs of Ancient Greece, symbolizes peace or victory and was worn by brides.-Ancient Greece and Rome:...
. The Jugendstil
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
design depicting Führing was personally chosen by the emperor Wilhelm II.
Issues inside Germany
The Germania stamp has many issues and variations. The 1900 issue is inscribed "ReichspostReichspost
- Imperial Reichspost :* The Imperial Reichspost was the name of the postal service of the Holy Roman Empire, founded by Franz von Taxis in 1495...
", all issues after April 1, 1902 carry the "Deutsches Reich
Deutsches Reich
Deutsches Reich was the official name for Germany from 1871 to 1945 in the German language.As the literal English translation "German Empire" denotes a monarchy, the term is used only in reference to Germany prior to the fall of the monarchies at the end of World War I in 1918...
" inscription. All issues after 1902 have watermark
Watermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
s. Within Germany Germania stamps were issued as follows:*
German Empire
- 1900, January 1: Reichspost, German Empire, excluding Bavaria and Württemberg
- 1902, April 1, Deutsches Reich, including Württemberg
- 1905-11, Deutsches Reich
- 1915-17, Deutsches Reich, war printings
- 1916-19, Deutsches Reich, background without engraving lines
Weimar Republic
- 1919, May 1: Deutsches Reich, semipostalSemipostalA semi-postal stamp or semipostal stamp, also known as a charity stamp, is a postage stamp issued to raise money for a particular purpose and sold at a premium over the postal value...
with surcharge for war veterans, - 1919: BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
only: "Freistaat Bayern" overprint, - 1920: Deutsches Reich, including Bavaria,
- 1921: Deutsches Reich, overprinted values,
- 1922, March: Deutsches Reich, last issue (75 Pfennig and 1 1/4 Mark).
Disputed areas
- 1920: SaargebietSaar (League of Nations)The Territory of the Saar Basin , also referred as the Saar or Saargebiet, was a region of Germany that was occupied and governed by Britain and France from 1920 to 1935 under a League of Nations mandate, with the occupation originally being under the auspices of the Treaty of Versailles...
, overprinted, - 1922: Plebiscite areas of Allenstein and Marienwerder, overprinted,
- 1920: Memelland, overprinted.
Issues outside Germany
German post offices abroad
The German post offices abroad were a network of post offices in foreign countries established by Germany to provide mail service where the local services were deemed unsafe or unreliable. They were generally set up in cities with some sort of German commercial interest...
in a number of foreign countries, namely China, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. During the First World War Germania stamps were released in occupied areas, namely in Belgium, France, "Postgebiet (des) Ob(erbefehlshabers) Ost" (eastern postal territory), "Russian Poland", "General-Gouvernement Warschau", and Romania. After the war, the stamps were also initially used with overprints in Danzig. Further, Polish postal authorities, Poczta Polska
Poczta Polska
Poczta Polska is the Polish public post service.- History :Before the postal system was established, correspondence was delivered by messengers. In the Middle Ages, such services were available only to the privileged classes - monarchs, rich merchants and some of the organised communities, like...
, also initially utilized overprinted Germania stamps.
One of the rarer German stamps is the Vineta provisional
Vineta provisional
The Vineta Provisional is a German stamp made on April 13, 1901 on board the cruiser SMS Vineta. As the postal officer had not been supplied with 3 Pfennig Germania stamps, he bisected his 5 Pfennig stamps of the series and stamped them by hand with a "3 PF" mark...
, a halved and overprinted Germania stamp that was issued by the cruiser SMS Vineta
SMS Vineta
Seiner Majestät Schiff Vineta was a German Victoria Louise class protected cruiser built for the Kaiserliche Marine in the late 1890s. Vineta was built in the Imperial Dockyard in Danzig. She was laid down in 1895, and completed in Sept...
in 1901.
Germania stamps were not issued in the German colonies
German Colony
The term German Colony can refer to:* German colonial empire, the former colonies of Germany* German Colony, Jerusalem a Templer settlement* German Colony, Haifa a Templer settlement...
, instead in those territories the Yacht issue
Yacht issue
The Yacht issue was a series of postage stamps, bearing the image of the German Kaiser's yacht, SMY Hohenzollern II, that were used in all of Germany's overseas colonies. Millions of the stamps were produced and they were the principal means of postage for all German imperial overseas possessions...
was released first in 1900 with the appropriate identifying inscriptions.
Postal stationeries
From 1900 onwards the Deutsche ReichspostReichspost
- Imperial Reichspost :* The Imperial Reichspost was the name of the postal service of the Holy Roman Empire, founded by Franz von Taxis in 1495...
issued several postal stationeries
Postal stationery
A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related service has been prepaid...
with imprinted Germania stamps. The most common one is a ‘Postkarte’ (postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
) with an imprinted 5 Pfennig stamp. In 1916 the German government introduced a tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
on the postal traffic, the Reichsabgabe
Reichsabgabe
The Reichsabgabe was a tax on the postal traffic, levied in the German Empire during the First World War. It was introduced to finance the war expenses...
. This involved a raising of the postal rates and the 5 Pfennig postcard was replaced by a 7½ Pfennig postcard. In 1918 the Reichsabgabe was raised. Now the 10 Pfennig postcard for international mail had to be used for domestic mail too.
Postal stationeries with imprinted Germania stamps have been overprinted for the use in a.o.:
- AllensteinOlsztynOlsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
(overprint ‘Plébiscite Olsztyn Allenstein’); - BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
(overprint ‘Freistaat Bayern’); - BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(overprint ‘Belgien’); - The Free City of DanzigFree City of DanzigThe Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
(overprint ‘Danzig’); - The Memel TerritoryKlaipėda RegionThe Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors...
(overprint ‘Memelgebiet’); - Occupied PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(overprints ‘Russisch Polen’ and ‘Gen.-Gouv. Warschau’); - Occupied RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(overprints ‘M.V.i.R.’ and ‘Rumänien’); - Occupied RussiaRussian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(overprint ‘Postgebiet Ob. Ost’); - The SaargebietSaar (League of Nations)The Territory of the Saar Basin , also referred as the Saar or Saargebiet, was a region of Germany that was occupied and governed by Britain and France from 1920 to 1935 under a League of Nations mandate, with the occupation originally being under the auspices of the Treaty of Versailles...
(overprint ‘Saargebiet’).
In short, the postal stationeries with imprinted Germania stamps were almost as widely used as the stamps themselves.
See also
- Postage stamps and postal history of GermanyPostage stamps and postal history of GermanyThis is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Germany and philatelically related areas. The main modern providers of service were the Reichspost , the Deutsche Post under Allied control , the Deutsche Post of the GDR , the Deutsche Bundespost , along with the Deutsche Bundespost...
- Michel catalogMichel catalogThe Michel catalog is the largest and best-known stamp catalog in the German-speaking world. First published in 1910, it has become an important reference work for philately, with information not available in the English-language Scott catalog.The catalog started out as a price list for the dealer...
- Scott catalog