From the beginning of 1947 through June 1948, Allied occupation stamps were issued for general usage throughout the American, British, and Soviet occupation zones.
These Allied general issues, in most of the
major catalogs, follow right after the last of the Germany - Third Reich
catalog listings.
The two stamps shown above (Mi. #941-42, Sc. #B296-97) were issued on March 5,
1947 to publicize and fund the 1947 Leipzig Spring Fair. These stamps were beautifully engraved on white paper with a diagonal zigzag lines watermark.
The two designs feature "Leipzig Proclaimed a Market Place" in 1160 and foreign merchants displaying their wares in 1268.
The Leipzig
Fair is a semi-annual export exhibition that dates back to Medieval
times.
The twenty-one new definitive stamps shown in the images above (Mi. #943-62, Sc. #557-77)
were all issued between March 1947 and February 1948. The Pfennig
denominations are all typographed and the Reichsmark denominations are
all engraved. All of these stamps were printed on paper with a multiple DEUTSCHEPOST watermark.
These new definitives feature five new designs, which are planting a tree, a sower, a laborer, reaping wheat, and an allegory of "Germany Reaching for Peace" (dove).
The artistic influence of the
Soviet Union is evident in the designs for these new Allied occupation
stamps. In fact, the "reaping wheat" design was used again in the
1950's for the Five Year Plan definitives of the German Democratic
Republic. These definitives would also be overprinted later for use in
the Bizone and in the Soviet occupation zone.
The two stamps shown in the top image above (Mi. #963-64, Sc. #578-79) were
issued May 15, 1947 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Death of
Heinrich von Stephan, the first postmaster general of the German Empire
and the founder of the Universal Postal Union.
The
two stamps shown in the bottom image above (Mi. 965-66, Sc. #580-81) were issued on September 2,
1947 to publicize the 1947 Leipzig Fall Fair. This Fall issue was printed
on paper with a multiple DEUTSCHEPOST watermark.
The
two designs feature "Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I" granting the
"Leipzig Charter" in 1497 and "Estimating and Collecting Taxes" in 1365.
The two stamps shown in the top image above (Mi. #967-68, Sc. #582-83) were
issued on March 2, 1948 to publicize the 1948 Leipzig Spring Fair. This
Fall issue was printed on paper with a multiple DEUTSCHEPOST watermark.
The two designs feature merchants at a customs barrier in 1388 and arranging stocks of merchandise in 1433.
The
two stamps in the bottom image above (Mi. #969-70, Sc. #584-85) were issued on May 22, 1948 to
publicize the 1948 Hannover Export Fair. The designs feature a Medieval
sculpture depicting the weighing of goods for export. The two stamps
were issued together in the same sheet, so they can be collected
individually or in pairs.
When the German
currency reform was implemented in the Western occupation zones in June,
the Soviets declined to participate. Thus, all subsequent issues for
the American and British occupation zones will be found in the Bizone link section, and those for the Soviet occupation zone will be found in the Soviet Zone link section.
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Return to Allied Occupation Stamps from
General Issues - 1947-1948