Austria Stamps
Issues of 1922
Republic of Austria stamps, inscribed Österreich, first appeared in 1922, though the new republic had actually been created two years earlier.
The Republic of German Austria was created in 1918, with the intent that there would eventually be a union of Germany and Austria. However, having the two former Germanic empires unite to form a single nation was completely unacceptable to the Allied powers of World War I and to the League of Nations, and the post-war republic was never officially recognized.
The Treaty of Saint Germain, on September 10, 1919, in effect, dissolved the government of the Republic of German Austria. A new government was formed, and a new constitution, having an anti-Anschluß (anti-unification) platform was implemented in 1920. Thus was born the modern Republic of Austria (First Republic).
With the establishment of a brand new nation, of course, there needed to be new currency, coins, and postage stamps. And for Republic of Austria stamps, 1922 was a very productive year!
The thirty-eight symbolic definitive Republic of Austria stamps shown above (Mi. #360-97, Sc. #250-87) began appearing in January 1922, continuing through December 1924. They are all typographed and perforated 12 1/2.
The design of the narrow stamps features symbols of agriculture, and the design of the wide stamps features symbols of labor and industry.
The eleven major-type symbolic definitive Republic of Austria stamps shown above also began appearing in January 1922, continuing through December 1924. They are all engraved.
The design of these stamps features symbols of agriculture and science.
These stamps come with three different perforation gauges and two different design sizes which, unfortunately, makes them rather complex.
The catalog attributes, for stamps whose design measures 25 x 30 mm and that are perforated 12 1/2, are as follows.
- 00050 K. (1922 - Mi. #400AI, Sc. #290) - Brown Red.
- 00100 K. (1922 - Mi. #401AI, Sc. #291) - Deep Green.
- 00200 K. (1922 - Mi. #402AI, Sc. #292) - Dark Violet.
- 00500 K. (1923 - Mi. #403AI, Sc. #293) - Deep Orange.
- 01000 K. (1922 - Mi. #404AI, Sc. #294) - Black Violet on Yellow.
- 02000 K. (1922 - Mi. #405AI, Sc. #295) - Olive Green on Yellow, Yellow Green on Yellow.
- 03000 K. (1923 - Mi. #406AI, Sc. #296) - Claret Brown.
- 05000 K. (1923 - Mi. #407AI, Sc. #297) - Gray Black.
The catalog attributes, for stamps whose design measures 25 x 30 mm and that are perforated 11 1/2, are as follows.
- 00050 K. (1922 - Mi. #400BI, Sc. #290a) - Brown Red.
- 00100 K. (1922 - Mi. #401BI, Sc. #291a) - Deep Green.
- 01000 K. (1922 - Mi. #404BI, Sc. #294a) - Black Violet on Yellow.
The catalog attributes, for stamps whose design measures 25 x 30 mm and that are perforated 12 1/2 x 11 1/2, are as follows.
- 00050 K. (1922 - Mi. #400CI, Sc. #290c) - Brown Red.
The catalog attributes, for stamps whose design measures 26 x 29 mm and that are perforated 12 1/2, are as follows.
- 00020 K. (1922 - Mi. #398AII, Sc. #288) - Dark Brown.
- 00025 K. (1922 - Mi. #399AII, Sc. #289) - Blue.
- 00050 K. (1922 - Mi. #400AII, Sc. N/L) - Brown Red.
- 00100 K. (1922 - Mi. #401AII, Sc. N/L) - Deep Green.
- 00200 K. (1922 - Mi. #402AII, Sc. N/L) - Dark Violet.
- 00500 K. (1923 - Mi. #403AII, Sc. N/L) - Deep Orange.
- 10000 K. (1924 - Mi. #406AII, Sc. N/L) - Red Brown.
The catalog attributes, for stamps whose design measures 26 x 29 mm and that are perforated 11 1/2, are as follows.
- 00020 K. (1922 - Mi. #398BII, Sc. #288a) - Dark Brown.
- 00025 K. (1922 - Mi. #399BII, Sc. #289a) - Blue.
- 00050 K. (1922 - Mi. #400BII, Sc. N/L) - Brown Red.
- 00100 K. (1922 - Mi. #401BII, Sc. N/L) - Deep Green.
- 00200 K. (1922 - Mi. #402BII, Sc. N/L) - Dark Violet.
The eight Republic of Austria newspaper stamps shown above (Mi. #409-16, Sc. #P48-55) were issued between December 1921 and January 1922. They are all typographed and imperforate.
The common design features the left-facing profile of Mercury, the ancient Roman messenger of the gods.
Many publishers had the imperforate sheets privately perforated, to make them easier to separate. These privately perforated stamps are rather common and inexpensive.
The seven surtaxed commemorative Austria stamps shown above were issued on April 24, 1922 to honor Austrian Composers and Musicians. These stamps were issued with two different perforation gauges.
These stamps were sold at ten times the face value, with the surtax being given to needy musicians.
The designs of these Austria stamps are as follows:
- 2.5 K. - Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
- 5.0 K. - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
- 7.5 K. - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
- 10 K. - Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
- 25 K. - Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
- 50 K. - Johann Strauss the Younger (1825-1899)
- 100 K. - Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 12 1/2, are as follows.
- 002 1/2 K. (1922 - Mi. #418A, Sc. #B50a) - Brown.
- 005 K. (1922 - Mi. #419A, Sc. #B51) - Dark Blue.
- 007 1/2 K. (1922 - Mi. #420A, Sc. #B52) - Black.
- 010 K. (1922 - Mi. #421A, Sc. #B53) - Dark Violet.
- 025 K. (1922 - Mi. #422A, Sc. #B54) - Dark Green.
- 050 K. (1922 - Mi. #423A, Sc. #B55) - Claret.
- 100 K. (1922 - Mi. #424A, Sc. #B56) - Brown Olive.
The catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 11 1/2, are as follows.
- 002 1/2 K. (1922 - Mi. #418B, Sc. #B50) - Brown.
- 007 1/2 K. (1922 - Mi. #420B, Sc. #B52a) - Black.
- 010 K. (1922 - Mi. #421B, Sc. #B53a) - Dark Violet.
- 025 K. (1922 - Mi. #422B, Sc. #B54a) - Dark Green.
- 100 K. (1922 - Mi. #424B, Sc. #B56a) - Brown Olive.
The first air mail stamps of the Republic of Austria, shown above (Mi. #425-32, Sc. #C4-11), began appearing in October 1922, continuing through April 1924. The four lower denominations are typographed, the four higher denominations are engraved, and all the stamps are perforated 12 1/2.
The two common designs feature a Hawk in Flight and Wilhelm Kress (1836-1913), an Austrian aircraft designer.
It may be noticed than NONE of the Austria stamps in this entire column are denominated in Heller! They are ALL denominated in Kroner! This is a sign of the arrival of the period of hyperinflation that swept over Central Europe in 1922 and 1923. The hyper-inflationary period in Austria, though severe, was not as bad as it was in Germany and in Hungary.
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Austrian Empire, Republic of German
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Return to Austria Stamps of the First Republic
from Issues of 1922
Being the only stamp on this entire page that is denominated in Heller, this special handling stamp was issued at the end of December 1921.
This was the last, special handing stamp to be issued in Austria (Mi. #417, Sc. #QE8).