3RD Reich Ovpt - Eula, Erlbach, Finsterwalde. What Are They?

I came across an auction featuring the common Hitler profile stamp with various overprints. I've never seen these before and was curious what they are.

Brian

http://www.kmphilately.com/index.php?a=2&b=9378208

Those are different cities in germany. Finsterwalde is in the east but the rst i'm not sure about.

Finsterwalde: (Ger.) Germany 1945-46 local post, town or area in former Soviet-occupied East Germany

Erlbach is a municipality in the district of Altötting in Bavaria

Brian..did you read the fine print... 35 dollar reserve

I did indeed! Until I know what they are worth, I have no idea if that is a good deal or not.

I get the impression these were overprinted after the war. Were they valid for postage?

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Are these listed in Michel? I have such a difficult time navigating through the catalogue ...

Brian

Brian:

I sent a scan of those stamps to a my friend Ludwig in Germany. However there is a german specialist on this site..I think his name is postmastergm. Maybe he may see your post

Rileysan,

They appear to be post-war obliterations. Post-war obliterations are a specialty in and of themselves and are far outside my area of expertise, so don't take this as gospel truth...

With the resumption of mail service in the summer of 1945, there were no valid postage stamps other than leftovers from the Nazi regime. In Russian-occupied Saxony, stamps of the Third Reich could be used, but the Nazi emblems (including Hitler) had to be obliterated. The methods of obliteration varied by post office, and could even be done by the sender, so numerous varieties exist. These Saxon obliterations are cataloged by Michel in Specialized Vol. 2 under Soviet Zone.

Additionally, several local obliteration issues exist independent of the Saxon obliterations. These were commonly from jurisdictions outside of Saxony, or within Saxony but due to various issues operating independent of the central postal authority. These are cataloged in Specialized Vol. 2 under Local Issues from 1945 (Lokalausgaben ab 1945).

And finally, several private issues were created outside of postal channels. These were not valid postage. They are cataloged in Specialized Vol. 2 under Unofficial Issues/Private Creations (Nicht amtliche Ausgaben/Privaterzeugnisse).

Forgeries and fakes are unfortunately extremely common with these issues, and many of the designs on the market today are completely modern fabrications using obliteration designs that never actually existed. If you were going to spend any significant amount of money, I'd definitely find someone who specializes in this area to help you out.

If you'd like a little more background, Jay Carrigan has some interesting exhibits on the obliteration issues.

East Saxony
Netzschkau

Do not buy such stamps without a recent, proper, certificate from a German BPP (Bund Philatelistischer Prüfer / Assocication of (German) Philatelic Examiners) examiner.

What bidding site is that? Is it good for purchasing stamps? Does it have good prices?

The site was created and is maintained by Karl Marquis Philately (KMP) in Malartic, Quebec. KMP was a power seller on ebay for a number of years, but like so many other ebay sellers, decided to look for other means of selling stamps online.

There are a few dozen sellers on his auction site, but KMP is the primary seller.

I started buying from his site a couple of years ago and have made hundreds of transactions. Overall, I have been extremely satisfied ... their prices can not be beat.

A couple of caveats, though.

1) KMP's descriptions are terrible or non-existent. If you intend to buy from the site, study the images and assume the worst. Most of the time, you will not be disappointed.
2) Returns are a pain. If you have an item that was mislabeled or damaged, it's easier just to ask for a reduced price. I pretty much name my own price when that occurs. I buy weekly, so if I'm due a refund, it's just a credit towards my next purchase.
3) I dislike Canada Post. If you spend more than X, he requires registered mail. It takes 3-4 weeks to the US. Be prepared for late shipments.

Brian

All of those 'obliterator' face marking appear to be too 'uniform'.

For myself personally, I tend to think that they could be fakes.

The other marking such as the overprints and the initials I am not sure about either but, as suggested earlier, I would go for a certificate simply because it is common knowledge that there are way too many fakes of the obliterated Hitler heads out there.

Chimo

Bujutsu