Bavarian Stamps
Embossed Arms Issues
1867-1875
Bavarian stamps, from their inception, were denominated in Bavaria's own currency, the Gulden, which was equal to 60 Kreuzer.
In 1867 other German states, with the exception of Württemberg, were joining the North German Confederation and abandoning their postal systems for that of the North German Postal Union. Bavaria, however, DID NOT join the North German Confederation, and they retained their own currency and postal system.
At
this time, Bavaria issued a brand new series of definitive postage
stamps, featuring the embossed royal Bavarian coat of arms, with a
colored frame around it. The Bavarian stamps, denominated in Kreuzer,
continued in use until 1875.
The eight embossed-arms-type stamps shown above (Mi. #14-21, Sc. #15-22) were issued between 1867 and 1868. They are imperforate and printed on unwatermarked paper containing security threads. This makes closely trimmed copies easy to attribute,
as the subsequent perforated issues were printed on watermarked paper
without security threads.
Reprints exist of
the 1 Kr., 3 Kr., and 6 Kr. denominations, and they were printed on
paper without security threads. They are actually much more expensive that the
mint original stamp issues.
 Narrow Lozenges
|
 Wide Lozenges
|
Beginning in 1870, Bavarian stamps of the embossed-arms-type
design were issued in perforated panes. The stamps were of the same designs and
colors as the imperforate issues, but otherwise they were very
different.
The new stamps, which were perforated 11 1/2, did not have the silk security threads, and they were printed on paper with lozenge watermarks. Two types of lozenge watermarks were used, as shown in the images above, at the top.
Stamps printed on paper with the narrow lozenge watermark are (Mi. #22X-29X, Sc. #23a-30a).
Stamps printed on paper with the wide lozenge watermark are (Mi. 22Y-29Y, Sc. #23-30).
In respect to
interstate trade, with the Bavarian Gulden currency, it was difficult to
do business with some of the other German states, as many of them used
the Prussian Thaler as their currency. The Bavarian Gulden was
equivalent to 4/7 of a Thaler. A Bavarian 1/2 Gulden coin is shown at
the top of the page.
In 1873, in order to have a uniform currency for all the
German states, the German Empire established the Goldmark, or just Mark,
as the official currency. The Bavarians kept their Kreuzer units of
change, instead of adopting the German Pfennig, but they did adopt the
German Mark as their major unit of currency. Between 1874 and 1875, the
Bavarian stamps were denominated in Kreuzer, with 35 Kreuzer now equal
to one German Imperial Goldmark. A Bavarian 5 Mark coin of 1876 is
shown in the scan above.
Between 1874 and 1875, the first high-denomination Bavarian stamps of the
embossed-arms-type were issued. These were printed on paper with the wide lozenge watermark.
The stamps issued in 1874 were imperforate (Mi. #30, Sc. #31), and the stamps issued in 1875 were perforated 11 1/2 (Mi. #31, Sc. #32).
Horizontal Wavy Lines
Far Apart
The five embossed-arms-type stamps shown above (Mi. #32-36, Sc. #33-37) were issued in July 1875. These stamps were printed on paper with the horizontal wavy lines far apart watermark, as illustrated above.
These
were the last Bavarian definitive postage stamps that were denominated in Kreuzer,
and they were only in use for about six months. With the exception of
the 3 Kr. denomination, used examples are very scarce.
After January 1876, all Bavarian definitive postage stamps would be denominated in the currency of the German Empire, with that being Pfennig and Marks.
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Bavarian Stamps - Embossed Arms Issues - 1867-1875
