The Memel Territory, Memelland or Memelgebiet in German, or Klaipedia in Lithuanian, was established by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and placed under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors. A French military administration was established to rule the new territory.
The period of the French Administration was largely peaceful. But, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars, the French were not popular with the ethnic Germanic and Slavic populations of Eastern Europe, and the presence of the French military in their territories was greatly resented.
All of the postage stamps of Memel from 1920 through early 1923 are overprinted contemporary German and French definitive postage stamps. As such, forgeries of some of the overprints do exist. When shopping for the more expensive varieties, it may be wise to buy only those that have been properly authenticated.
These overprinted definitive postage stamps are presented in Michel
(Deutschland Katalog - Memelgebiet) catalog number order. Color names are from the Scott catalog. Both Michel and
Scott catalog numbers are used in the description tables, where
possible.
The seventeen contemporary Germania and Representative Subject stamps shown above were overprinted for the Memel Territory during August 1920.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
Shade and gum varieties exist for some of these stamps. See the Michel Deutschland-Spezial-Katalog for details.
The 60 Pf. in Magenta and the 80 Pf. in Lake & Black on Rose also exist with this overprint, but they were never issued. They are very rare!
The sixteen contemporary Sower and Merson type French stamps shown above were overprinted and re-valued for the Memel Territory, beginning in July 1920 and continuing through April 1922.
These Memel Territory overprints feature the country name and new denomination, with the first letter of the denomination being a lower-case letter.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
There are two types on the 04.00 Mk. on 02 Fr. denomination.
Printing varieties and various types of gutter pairs exist for some of these Memel Territory stamps. See the Michel Deutschland-Spezial-Katalog for details.
The two Sower type Memel Territory stamps from the 1920 issue, shown above, were re-valued in April 1921.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
The four Merson type stamps shown above were overprinted and re-valued for the Memel Territory, beginning in May 1921 and continuing through September 1922.
These Memel Territory overprints are similar to those used for the 1920 issues, but the first letter of the denomination is now an upper-case letter.
Their catalog attributes are as follows:
The two types indicated above are as follows:
The following links feature category-focused affiliated seller listings on various eBay sites worldwide. They may enable visitors to shop
for and to buy specific items for the
particular collecting subject they've just read about.
The
affiliated eBay seller auction lots provided by eBay,
Inc. are not the responsibility of the management of this
website. On high priced material, make sure the lots you are buying are properly authenticated.
Remember
that the lots on European eBay sites are priced in EUROS. Shipping
charges may be more, and the lots may take longer to arrive. Also, make
sure the foreign seller ships to your country, before bidding on or
buying his lot.
Return to German Plebiscite Territories from
Memel Territory - Issues of 1920-1921