Official Wurttemberg stamps for use by the State Authorities were first issued in 1881. With the exception of a few stamps issued by Bavaria, for use by railway officials, Wurttemberg is the only German state that issued a regular series of official stamps.
Before April 1881, franking on state government mail was
free, but that privilege was taken away on April 1, 1881. A new series
of official stamps was issued for use on state government correspondence
at that time.
The first state official stamps were issued between 1881
and 1902, and they were all printed on unwatermarked paper. During
this time there were color changes to some of the issues, and new
denominations were added, as well.
All
but three of the new official stamps are shown in the images
above (Mi. #201-16, Sc. #O94-08).
In 1906, the current state official stamp issues were
overprinted to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of
the Kingdom of Wurttemberg, as shown above (Mi. #217-26, Sc. #O109-18).
Wilhelm II (1848-1921) was the fourth king of Wurttemberg and the reigning monarch at the time of the 1906 anniversary.
Between 1906 and 1916, a new series of definitive
official stamps was issued. All of these stamps were printed on paper
with a multiple circles and crosses watermark.
All of the denominations are shown in the scans above (Mi. #227 // 239, Sc. #O119 // O135).
The ten commemorative stamps shown above (Mi. #241-50, Sc. #O136-45) were issued in 1916, to
commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Reign of King Wilhelm II of
Wurttemberg. These stamps were printed on unwatermarked paper.
Between 1917 and 1919, five additional stamps were added
to the current definitive official stamp series. All but one of them is shown in the image above (Mi. #251-56, Sc. #O126 // O135).
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 States Stamps from
Wurttemberg Stamps - State Officials - 1881-1918