Makanudo and others, I am well aware that there is a thread to this theme started by Makanudo recently. However occupation stamps is such a wide field,that I want to start the thread anew in a otherwise rarely used forum. It is not that easy to say,what occupation stamps are. Wartime issues are easy.But what about stamps issued in (former) colonies ? Maybe people in such countries may consider the former rule by foreign masters as an occupation. But I think it would be better to leave out colonial stamps and stick to wartime-issues only. Naturally the "big" players in Europe and the USA, as well as Japan are the ones,who are responsible for the bulk of occupation stamps. Japanese Occupation of BurmaPeacock overprints) Myaungmya Type II,issued May 1942 Henzada Type I,May 1942 Henzada Type II, not regularly issued.Most likely printed after the war.Regularly this type of overprint was applied on postal stationery only. A curious looking stamp.It is actually a print of the seal of the head of the committee to re establish the postal service.Used as 1 Anna stamp,issued June 1st,1942 Plowing Farmer 1 Anna,issued June 15th,1942
Stamps issued in Saxony under Soviet regulation in 1945,46 Two bottom stamps were apparently printed on the cigarette paper.
Japanese occupation of Burma,continued: All following stamps are not common and I am far away from beeing complete. Japanese stamps overprinted by handstamp in Rupee-currency,issued Sept.22nd,1942. Because handstamped,varieties like inverted overprints are not rare. Currency change:1 Rupee = 100 Cents. Previous stamps overpinted again by handstamp. Issued Oct.15th,1942 Also in October,Scott claims Oct.15th,another set of handstamp overprints was issued. Japanese stamps with 1 to 20 C. overprinted. Unfortunately I have none of these. Government-seal,issued on Feb.15th,1943. The stamp was intended for affixing on stationery, to obliterate the image of George V. However it also could be used as a 5 Cent stamp. Exists perforated and imperforated.
Japanese occupation of Burma continued: Plowing Farmer,valued in Cents,issued March 1943. The lower value show a large C,while the higher values have a small c.The 5 C. is the only value with large or small C. Many minor printing-varieties exist. Here a major one,in pair with a normal stamp: "Independence Declaration",issued Aug.1st,1943 perforated rouletted imperforated,not officially issued Definitves,issued Oct.1st,1943,set of 10, (three different designs),printed in Batavia. A set of 7 (two different designs) for use in the Shan-States was issued on the same date. I do not have this set. In Nov.1944 the set for the Shan-States was overprinted for use in the whole of Burma. No further issues.
Allied Military Post in Germany For use in the American and the British Zone: American print (Government Print,Washington). 5,6,8 and 12 Pfennig were issued on March 19th, 1945 in Aachen (the most westerly city of Germany). Letters from then,till May 8th (day of capitulation) are much sought after ! British print (Harrison),easy to distinguish,as perf.14. August/September 1945 German print (Westermann) from July 45/Jan.46 The three different sizes of the German print The American and the German prints are both perf.11. They differ in size: the German print is slightly smaller. More easy to distinguish them,is by the small white triangle,opposite to the head of the P, below the value-box on German prints, what is missing on American (and British) prints.
Germany,Allied Control Council,first issue issued February - May 1946 All Allied Control Council - issues were valid in the American-,British and Russian-Zone,as well as in all sectors,including the French-Sector,of Berlin. The French-Zone had its own stamps.
Germany,French Occupation Zone: Coat of Arms of the occupied territories,Rhineland,Palatine, Württemberg,Baden and Saar,issued Nov.1st,1945. The set contains 10 values and another three Mark-values,what show poets (Goethe,Schiller and Heine). From Germany,I collect only those stamps,what were valid for postage in my home-town Essen.Others,like the stamps of the French Zone I have only,as they did come along somehow.
Germany,Allied Controll Council,second issue Again valid in all Germany,except the French Zone. Issued March 1st,1947/Feb.1st,1948
On March 8th,1947 in Germany the following stamps were issued (Allied Control Council) for the Leipzig Spring-Fair : The stamps were produced in Recess by copper plates. In 1948 the stamps were reprinted,this time by steel plates. In both the prints I have 24 + 26 Pfg. value only. The scan of the two different prints: left by copper plate,right steel plate. Copper plates can be engraved deeper than steel plates with ease.So the printed lines are thicker and the stamp looks therefore darker and stronger.
Germany (Allied Control Council) 50th death-anniversary of Heinrich von Stephan,Postmaster General of Prussia and co-founder of the UPU.Issued May 15th,1947 Leipzig Autumn Trade Fair 1947,issued Sept.2nd,1947 Leipzig Spring Trade Fair 1948,issued March 2nd,1948 Hannover Export Trade Fair,issued May 22nd,1948 This was the last stamp issue under the rule of the Allied Control Council for the whole of Germany (except the French Zone).
One June 21st,1948 in a surprise move a currency reform was put into effect in the western occupied zones of Germany. The Reichsmark was declared invalid and the Deutsche Mark (DM) was introduced.To quell speculation and surprise the Russian Zone,the whole move was done in great secrecy. No new stamps were printed,but the Pfennig-values of the second Controll-Council-Issue were overprinted.This was done decentralized by different printers in a great hurry. So faulty overprints are numerous. There were two types of overprints,but I have the above only in a complete set. Of the second type I have a few stamps only. For comparison here the two types side by side: In the confusion of the rushed action also stamps of the first Controll-Counci-Issue (numerals) were overprinted. Sets of seventeen stamps each,in both overprint types,were later declared valid by the central postal authorities. Ten more stamps were not acknowledged,but exist genuinely used. Most numeral-overprints are quite costly. The above stamps were valid in the American and British Zone only and in West(ern)-Berlin. The French Zone had her own stamps. The one sided currency reform put an end to German unity. It lead to the creation of two currencies DM-West and DM-Ost (East) and from there of two states. It took more than forty years and the breakdown of the Soviet-Union,to overcome this split and achieve reunification.
On the 21st and 22nd of June 1948,stamps in Reichsmark-currency could be used for postage at one tenth of their value in the three western zones. To allow the use till midnight of the 22nd,all mail from the first collection in the morning of the 23rd was accepted. (In West-Berlin different rules were introduced) The shown postcard is franked correctly with RM 1.20, equivalent to DM -.12. They got the date of the cancellation a little bit wrong:
The "Bautenserie" (buildings series) is the most challenging stamp series ever issued in Germany.Different perforations, four different watermark-positions,many different types and varieties make it the ideal series for specialization. This scan to show the two sizes in comparison. Here the two main-types of all DM-values: left "short staircase",right "long staircase" colour variations exist of all values. (no fading on the left 15 Pfg.!) It was a rather longrunning series.The Pfennig-values were valid till March 31st,1953.The DM-values till Dec.31st,1954. Because of that,you still can find kiloware of the series. With a good handbook and a packet of kiloware,what by the way is not cheap at all,one still can start a specialized collection of the "Bautenserie".
DM-commemorative stamps for the American and the British Zone: issued Aug.15th,1948 issued Dec.9th,1948
More commemoratives for the American and the British Occupation Zone of Germany: Hannover Fair,issued April 22nd,1949 issued May 15th,1949
issued Aug.15th,1949 This was the last issue of the Bi-Zone (American and British Zone).The following stamps were issued under the authority of the Ministery of Post and Telecommunication of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Following the first issue,coat of arms/poets,valid in all parts of the French Zone,Saar inclusive,seperate stamps for Baden, Rhineland/Palatine and Württemberg were issued.The Saar was seperated frome the zone and became a french protectorate again.(as from 1919 till 1935) I have only some issues,far from being complete.The shown and some more,I do not have,were valid for postage in all western Zones for a short time in 1949/50. issued June 21st,1948 This series in DM currency replaced the first similar Baden-series from May 1947 in RM currency.
Batum Either your scan is very bad,or your stamp is a fantasy-product. There is a stamp of the shown design from Nov.1919,but the colour should be violet. In July,1920 another 3 Rubles stamp was issued,this time the colour was rose. Forgeries of both stamps exist.
