Best Reference For German Stamps During WWII

I see that Scott's does not list many of the WWII era German stamps during Hitler's rule. What is the best source for values on stamps of this era?

Thank you,
Chris

Hi.
Michel "Deutschland" or "Deutschland-Spezial"catalogues

If you are looking for a Michel Deutschland-Spezial catalog, you may want to consider buying a used one. You would be looking for "Band 1" (volume one). This covers all of the Germany area stamps from the German States through WW2. The prices and listings remain very much the same for many years, so you could buy a 1990, '95, or 2000 catalog without losing any information. With the catalogs before 2001, the prices are given in Deutschemarks, which translate to about 50c U.S. per DM.

A new Michel Deutschland-Spezialcatalog might cost $100 or so. You could buy an older used one for $10-$15. You always do better on price when you do not make a hasty decision.

The Michel catalogs are German language, but this is generally not a problem. And, if you have questions, you know that SCF is a place that offers help and advice.

You can always see the retail values on web sites like this:
https://www.briefmarken.cc/briefmar...-863?c=54737

Thank you all for the info. I will definitely look for an older catalog. I will also check out the link to Briefmarken.

Thanks,
Chris

ccrider,

As mentioned above, Michel is the "go-to" source. I am much more familiar with Michel than Scott's treatment of Germany. It's much better organized.

I'd be interested in seeing what stamps you have difficulty finding in Scott. There were a lot of semi-postal stamps issued during that period and some of the stamps issued for occupied countries can be hard to find. Sometimes you have to hunt. The index and identifier at the end of each Scott catalog can be a help.

There are some real Germany experts here. Why not post a few and we'll give them a shot?

Dan

That's a good idea, Dan. I am just getting used to the Scott's catalogs I purchased a month ago. I will do some creative searching and post some of the problem stamps.

Thanks,
Chris

Chris,
An afterthought. One of our forum members, PostmasterGS has an excellent website on Germany to 1945.

Worth checking out.

https://www.germanstamps.net/

I have a very nice English version of Michel Germany Specialized. It comes in 2 volumes and goes up to Germany under Allied Occupation. It skips German States, WWI-era occupations, and Saar. Yes, it's pricey, but a drop in the bucket compared to many of the WWII occupation issues (at least that's how I justify it).

Michel is the way to go. The last English version was 2016 I think. With the English language version, you need both volumes to cover WWII; however, with the German language version you really only need the first volume. These can be quite expensive, but if you shop around you can frequently find them for about $50 US per volume.

Another good source is the book: "The Philately of Third Reich Germany 1933-1945" by Robert W. Jones. This book is an update of an older book by Harper. The older book is somewhat collectable and generally goes for about $100 US, but the newer book usually goes for $30 US or so -- and the newer on has more info. It is not a "catalog", but it has all the stamps from the era with Michel catalog numbers. It also has nice coverage of postal stationary. Very good book, and I highly recommend it.

Oh... A few more things.

If you are interested in used stuff from that period, then a good reference to postmarks is essencial -- so may fake cancels in the wild. The best reference I have found is here:

https://www.stampsx.com/ratgeber/st...atenbank.php

Secondly if you are interested in postal stationary of the period, then Michel has a catalog for that (Ganzsachen-Katalog Deutschland). A very good online source is here:

http://www.ganzsachen-online.de/

Lastly, quite a lot of zeppelin mail during the war. Michel has yet another catalog (Zeppelin-und Flugpost-Spezial 2017/2018). They also have an older one in English.