DDR 1948 Or 1953?

I have been visiting the forum for a few months now, but recently decided it was time to join. I have really enjoyed reading the conversations and learning from the expertise of the members here.

I inherited an accumulation of stamps that I have been organizing for a month or so. The stamps were in a box that hadn't been opened in the past 30 years, and otherwise hadn't been added to since 1967. Most of the stamps are from Europe, many from DDR where my family is from. 99+% of the DDR and Deutsche Bundespost stamps I have have been postally used rather than CTO, as far as I can tell.

I have hundreds of early DDR stamps and I have a ton of questions, but I think the most pressing ones are: is there a way to reliably tell whether a stamp is a Scott's 10N38 OS2 from 1948 or a 129 OS2 without being able to see a watermark? Many, many of these "portrait stamps" are still on partial and full covers. I am pretty sure that the stamps cancelled 1951 or earlier are from the 1948 issue. However, I have dozens of 15pf, 25pf, 50pf, and 84pf that are cancelled in the fall of 1952 and later, which means they could be either. I do have very many 122-136 as well as 113-117 that I have been able to verify via their watermarks, so I feel like it reasonable that I have more. I am just worried about trying to take them off of their covers to identify the watermarks.

I have many early stamps from Russia including some A1 - A15, China, Great Britain, France, Deutsches Reich and China. What is the least expensive way to have them verified? At what value does it make sense to get them expertized?

I am looking forward to learning more about my grandfather's hobby!

The personality series was reprinted beginning in 1952, as you know. I'm not all that familiar with these stamps but I did see one description of the reprint which emphasizes that they are typographed. Does that distinguish them from the originals?

data, you might enjoy this thread: https://goscf.com/t/14780

Welcome to SCF, databanks. Both of the watermark types of "personalities" stamps of The Soviet Zone/DDR stamps were printed for extended periods on different papers, so you can't necessarily distinguish them just by the paper type. If the cancel is before April 16, 1952 then the stamps are definitely from the first series with the flower (kreuzblumen) watermark. Both types of these stamps are printed by typography and comb perforated 13:12.5.

You can distinguish watermarks for stamps on cover using the Morley brite watermark detector. There are 2 types of these devices, and you can sometimes find them on ebay. They work reasonably well for a large percentage of stamps on cover.

If you enjoy German stamps, you should find a used copy of the Michel Deutschland Spezial Katalog. The Scott catalog is not a useful resource for the Germany specialist. You can also find the Michel catalog on ebay, Amazon, and sometimes at stamp shows. I wouldn't pay over $20 for a copy. It pays to be patient if you are looking.

Hope this helps.

databanks,

Welcome to the form!




The short answer to your question is, "no." They are only reliably distinguished by watermark, Scott 292 vs. 297. This is a specialty area among collectors, "The Heads" or "das Köpfe." http://www.koepfe1.de/

With the exception of Scott 129, most of the common types are inexpensive. Some color, watermark and gum types are very expensive though. If you have these on cover, I would suggest NOT removing them. You may want to consider having them expertized by BPP, the gold standard for German stamps. https://www.bpp.de/en/

Dan

Thanks so much for the welcome and the advice! I have been wondering about the Michel Katalog. My head is swimming with all of the different little nuances to consider. I was worried about cancellations because I do have some stamps that weren't cancelled until 4 or 5 years after they were issued. So I have been using cancellations as just a date limiter, i.e. "the stamp couldn't have been issued in 23' since it was cancelled in 22'" Man, there is so much to learn! I will definitely check out those links. I have found 9 129 post April 16 1952 cancellations and another 4 136 with post April cancellations.

Another question: Are these used stamps worth more on a cover with other stamps, that is do they get a premium because they sit next to a 116 A10, for instance, or next to others in the series?

This is kind of fun!

Hahaha! Wait until you get to the 5 year plan stamps!

LOL KGB - I started on those and got about to the point where I separated cancelled from uncancelled and original 1953 from redrawn ones, then I gave up and started to concentrate on stamps that were easier for me to discern. :-) To collect some of these variations, I guess one really has to love philately!

databanks,

If you plan to get serious about German stamps, a Michel catalog is almost a must. Although there are English versions, I recommend the German "Michel Deutschland-Spezial" (2 volumes) Even if you don't read German, it is still a wealth of information. There is also an English Introduction to help you along. http://www.briefmarken.de/images/PD...Englisch.pdf
An older, used copy would be fine. New ones are expensive.

A word of caution about using cancellations as a guide. Used stamps and stamps on cover generally command a premium because they were valid for use for a relatively short time. Although it probably isn't an issue with your stamps, many stamps were "cancelled" after the fact to increase value. Michel suggests that cancelled stamps in this era be expertized if their value is large.

Covers with multiple stamps are very subjective to value. It depends. Sometimes the increased postage indicates a special use or being sent long distance so it would be of increased value to a postal historian. Other times it is simply a philatelic use.

Dan

KGB,

Shhhhhh! You'll scare him!

Dan

databanks,

If you want to take another crack at the 5 year plan issues, you might want to look at this website. http://www.jaypex.com/Germany/DDR5YearPlan.htm

Of course if you have questions, you can post the stamp here. I'm sure one of us will be able to figure it out.

Dan

Thanks Dan! Will do

bookbndrbob: How old of a Michel Katalog is too old? Would a 2002 be useful, or should I try to find something a bit more recent?

Databanks, 2002 is just fine. 99% of the information is the same, year after year. Unlike Scott, there tend not to be large price swings. Sometimes, very esoteric information is added or removed, but that is not a concern unless you have "been into it" for quite a while. I think an advantage of a 2002 Michel is that ALL of the Germany area is included. At some point, the Deutchland Spezial was split into 2 volumes; volume one is everything through world war 2, and volume 2 is everything after world war 2.

The Michel Spezial deals with stamps on cover only in a very superficial way. They give you an "on cover" price which generally refers to one stamp on cover. If you REALLY want to get into German stamps on cover, you need the Briefe-Katalog. It gives you the prices for single stamp on cover (EF), 2 of the same stamp on cover (MEF), and mixed franking (MIF). In the world of German philately, mixed franking covers are NOT desirable generally; the values are lower than for EF or MEF covers. Also, a collector should understand that the prices in the catalog refer to correctly franked covers. German collectors would sometimes overfrank a cover to use a stamp (or pair of stamps) that gives the cover a higher value. Many/most American collectors do not understand this "finer" point. Postal rates are given in both the "Spezial" and "Briefe" catalogs.

Lastly, it pays to understand that catalog value and value (what someone will pay) are two very different things. If you sell items on ebay, that becomes clear very quickly It is best to collect what you enjoy, and not necessarily for profit.

Thanks for the insight. Good points too. I know that unless the stamp is pretty rare/valuable, the likelihood is that I would see a small percentage of book value if I sold to a dealer and perhaps a little bit higher percentage of book value if I sold to a collector. I will most likely keep the few valuable ones I have, focus on a only a few countries and types of stamps, and dispose of the rest. Germany and specifically what became East Germany is special to me as my family escaped there shortly after World War II.

One more thought. You may be able to borrow the Michel Briefe-Katalog from the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL) if you are a member of the American Philatelic Society (APS) or if you know a local APS member who could do this for you.