nigelc

10 Mar 2024
12:16:30pm

re: "Berlin 1" Overprint on Occupation Semi-Postal Stamp

Hi stampbaby,

This is a local overprint from the Russian Zone of Occupation after the German currency was revalued by the allies and before stamps were introduced for East Germany.

There are hundreds of different overprints from different post offices.

The overprints have two lines, a district number at the top and a post office name below often with a second number.

I believe your overprint says "3" over "Berlin 4".

There's a short note about them and an illustration in Scott at the start of the East Germany listing, before Scott 10N1.

Michel lists all the overprints and also the combinations of stamp and district number (although not the huge number of combinations of each stamp and post office).

 
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re: "Berlin 1" Overprint on Occupation Semi-Postal Stamp

FYI, This is a Berlin #4 and there never was a Berlin #1. What your NOT SEEING is the 3 above Berlin. The number 3 represented the postal district (Bezirk), in this case, Berlin. The second number, in this case a '4', was the post office number. In the Berlin postal district there were 60 different PO overprints, 26 were Berlin & Po#'s 3,4,6-9,16-18, 25, 32, 34, 43, 54,55, 58, 66, 76, 92, 98,103,106, 111-13,115 the remaining 34 Berlin with a town/suburb of which most have no PO#, a few used a 1 & 2.
Berlin was not the only one done in this manor!
Postal District 14 based in Dresden had 177 Po's.
Postal District 16 based in Erfurt had 206.
Postal District 20 based in Halle had 198.
Postal District d20 based in Cothen (Kothen) had 7. This overprint has what appears to have a 'd' over the 20 and the 20 has an 'o' for the zero-riding high on the stamp in line with the top of the '2' and is half it's size, only trailing down to the middle of the '2'! Also had that this was a sub district office of Magdeburg.
Postal District 27 based in Leipzig had 166.
Postal District 29 based in Magdeburg had 50.
Postal District 36 based in Potsdam had 192.
Postal District 37 based in Schwerin had 115.
Postal District 38 based in Stettin had 18.
Postal District 41 based in Chemnitz had 130.

Note! All overprints contain the district # and the name of the PO, with or without additional PO #, diagonally across the stamp starting in the left lower corner to the right upper corner.

Significant quantities of counterfeits exist.

 
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