German Coat Of Arms Series, 1925-1929

Here's another neat series from the collection.

From 1925-1929, Germany released a series of semi-postal depicting the coats of arms of various German states/territories. The surcharge went to benefit the Deutsche Nothilfe, a German charity program for which the Reichspost released annual stamp sets from 1924-1935. The stamps were designed by Sigmund von Weech, a German graphic designer who later became famous for his decorative textile designs.

1925



The 1925 series depicts the coats of arms of:

5+5 Pf — Prussia
10+10 Pf — Bavaria
20+20 Pf — Saxony

These issue all have a vertical waffle watermark (Michel wmk 2X).

1926



The 1926 series depicts the coats of arms of:

5+5 Pf — Wurttemberg
10+10 Pf — Baden
25+25 Pf — Thuringen
50+50 Pf — Hessen

These issues can all be found with vertical (wmk 2X) or horizontal (wmk 2Y) waffle watermarks, with the exception of MiNr 400 (X only).

1928



5+5 Pf — Hamburg
8+7 Pf — Mecklenburg-Schwerin
15+15 Pf — Oldenburg
25+25 Pf — Braunschweig
50+50 Pf — Anhalt

These issues can all be found with vertical (wmk 2X) or horizontal (wmk 2Y) waffle watermarks, with the exception of MiNr 429 (Y only).

1929



5+2 Pf — Bremen
8+4 Pf — Lippe-Detmold
15+5 Pf — Lübeck
25+10 Pf — Mecklenburg-Strelitz
50+40 Pf — Schaumburg-Lippe

These issues can all be found with horizontal (wmk 2Y) waffle watermarks.

Total quantities produced were:

MiNr 375 -- 4,913,150
MiNr 376 -- 3,926,961
MiNr 377 -- 983,730
MiNr 398 -- 5,268,464
MiNr 399 -- 4,163,636
MiNr 400 -- 438,290
MiNr 401 -- 210,336
MiNr 425 -- 1,207,598
MiNr 426 -- 2,400,716
MiNr 427 -- 2,406,013
MiNr 428 -- 284,850
MiNr 429 -- 156,984
MiNr 430 -- 3,051,237
MiNr 431 -- 4,214,414
MiNr 432 -- 4,898,586
MiNr 433 -- 379,455
MiNr 434 -- 177,788

PostmasterGS, thanks for the great images and information on this nice series. Collectors should be aware that there are forgeries of the high values (50pf) of these sets. The forgeries are correctly perforated, but they are not watermarked. The close up scan shows the maker's "FAUX" disclaimer, as well as the offset printed halftone pattern. The colors are not quite a match for the original stamps, having a little too much yellow, especially in the reds.

I bought these on ebay several years ago as forgeries ("replicas"). There are also used copies, with cancellations that are a little too clean.