Postage Stamps used in the German Marshall Islands Postal Stationery -- Card P 2 by Dirk H.R. Spennemann |
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History |
Essays The initial tests considered various types of overprints over the standard Eagle series definitive post cards. Overprinted were 10Pf cards with the printing code 1196f. Reply cards were not made. A total run of 20 cards was made.[1] |
Berne Issue To comply with the regulations of the World Postal Union, in February 1897 the German government printed 800 sets of all postcards. 760 of the sets were delivered to Berne (Switzerland) while the remaining 40 sets went to the Imperial Post Museum. These sets were to be distributed to the member states as samples. While such samples were commonly overprinted 'Specimen, ' this was not feasible, if the overprint 'Marschall-Inseln' should not be obscured. Thus the cards sent were actual and valid cards. Some of these found their way into the stamp trade and were acquired by collectors. Produced were 10 Pf cards with the printing code 1196f. [2] |
Berlin Issue Just as stamps of the first issue of the Eagle series were reprinted by the Imperial printery, so were postcards. The cards carry the mark 998f.[3] |
Description |
P 2 |
P 2 |
The cards were first formally issued in July 1897.
1196 f 1 30 (frame width= 126.5 mm) |
Angle of Overprint As the postcards were not overprinted while they were still part of complete and uncut sheets of 25 post cards, but were overprinted as already cut, single cards. The cards were printed on a small press, where the overprint cliché was repositioned every time a new colonial stock was to be printed. Between the alignment errors introduced there and the variation caused by the single-feed of the card stock, the angle and position of the overprint can vary. On record (for all colonies) are angle variations between 42 degrees to 58 degrees. In addition double prints as well as missing overprints on one side of the reply card are known.[7] |
Quantities sent 1000 (1200) copies of the 397f, 797f and 1196f were sent to Jaluit. [8] |
Validity Like the Eagle series stamps, the Eagle series cards of both the Marschall-Inseln and the Marshall-Inseln issues remained valid until 30 September 1901, after which only Yacht series cards were legal postage.[9] |
Examples of Cancelled Items |
P 2. sent by the German administrator Arno Senfft to his father, posted to Berlin-Steglitz, postmarked Jaluit 9 June 1898, backstamped Berlin-Steglitz 22 November 1898. For the text of the card see here. [Source Peter Vogenbeck Auction no 41 item 723/ other auction z29] |
Modern Reprints and Forgeries |
Like other post card forgeries were made of this series in the 1970s. These items are printed in better quality, more glossy card stock.. These reprints can also be identified by details in the drawing of the scroll and leaves. |
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[Contents] [Eagle Series Stationery] [Stationery, general]Bibliographic citation for this documentSpennemann, Dirk H.R. (2002). Postage Stamps used in the German Marshall Islands. Postal Stationery -- Card P 2URL: http:/marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/Stamps/Stationery/Stationery_P02.html CONTACT: Dirk H.R. Spennemann, Institute of Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, P.O.Box 789, Albury NSW 2640, Australia. e-mail: dspennemann@csu.edu.au |
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