BELGIUM (Eupen, Malmedy, Moresnet)

Return To Catalogue - Belgium

Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
contact me if you want to purchase them: evert@klaseboer.com.

EUPEN

German territory untill 1918, then ceded to Belgium.

1920 Stamps of Belgium, overprinted 'Eupen'

On King Albert issue

  1 c orange
  2 c brown
  3 c grey
  5 c green
  10 c red
  15 c violet
  20 c lilac
  25 c blue

On pictorial issue

  25 c blue
  35 c brown and black
  40 c green and black
  50 c red and black
  65 c red and black
  1 F violet
  2 F grey
  5 F blue
  10 F brown

On postage due stamps

  5 c green
  10 c red
  20 c green
  30 c blue
  50 c grey

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

First image forged 'Eupen' overprint (too fat and too wide), second image genuine 'Eupen' overprint, third image forged 'Malmedy' overprint (too wide, no accent on 'e') and fourth image genuine 'Malmedy' overprint.

1920 Stamps with overprint 'EUPEN & MALMEDY' and surcharge

  5 pf on 5 c green
  10 pf on 10 c red
  15 pf on 15 c violet
  20 pf on 20 c lilac
  30 pf on 25 c blue
  75 pf (red) on 50 c red and black
  1M25 (red) on 1 F violet

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

MALMEDY

German territory untill 1918, then ceded to Belgium.

1920 Stamps of Belgium, overprinted 'Malmedy'

On King Albert issue

  1 c orange
  2 c brown
  3 c grey
  5 c green
  10 c red
  15 c violet
  20 c lilac
  25 c blue

On pictorial issue

  25 c blue
  35 c brown and black
  40 c green and black
  50 c red and black
  65 c red and black
  1 F violet
  2 F grey
  5 F blue
  10 F brown

On postage due stamps

  5 c green
  10 c red
  20 c green
  30 c blue
  50 c grey

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

First image forged 'Eupen' overprint (too fat and too wide), second image genuine 'Eupen' overprint, third image forged 'Malmedy' overprint (too wide, no accent on 'e') and fourth image genuine 'Malmedy' overprint.

Inscription 'EUPEN & MALMEDY

Belgian Occupation of Germany

1920 Stamps of Belgium, overprinted 'ALLEMAGNE DUITSCHLAND'

On King Albert issue

  1 c orange
  2 c brown
  3 c grey
  5 c green
  10 c red
  15 c violet
  20 c lilac
  25 c blue

On pictorial issue

  25 c blue
  35 c brown and black
  40 c green and black
  50 c red and black
  65 c red and black
  1 F violet
  2 F grey
  5 F blue
  10 F brown

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Deceptive forged 'ALLEMAGNE DUITSCHLAND' overprint on genuine stamp.

MORESNET

This small territory between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands did officially belong to none of these countries. Due to a small error in the treaty of Vienna in 1815 (a zinc mine in the territory was disputed among all neighbouring countries and the territory was left 'neutral'). In 1886 8 stamps were issued by Dr.Molly (on 1st October?). They were forbidden only a few days later (on 19th October 1886) and overprinted with the following text: 'AUSSER COURS GESETZT', (no longer valid) or also 'Ausser Cours'. In 1918 it definitively joined Belgium after having been occupied by Germany during World War I. The text on the stamps reads 'KELMISER VERKEHRS ANSTALT NEUTRALES GEBIET VON MORESNET POSTE INTERIEURE TERRITOIRE NEUTRE DE MORESNET'.

1886 Speculative(?) issue

Genuine?

Note that the top of the '5' of the 50 p is different from the above pair of stamps. I've been told that this 50 p stamp is a forgery. The others might also be forgeries. Note that the '20' in the 20 p is also differerent from the above shown stamp.

Cancelled to order "KELMIS ... OCT 86 MORESNET"; I've seen the dates 7 to 19 October; also "OCT 85"(?). Next to it some stamps overprinted "AUSSER KURS GESETZT" in a recangle with cut off corners.

Overprinted 'Ausser Cours.' in a straight line

Forgeries exist of these stamps, I don't know if the above shown stamps are genuine or not. If you have more information, please contact me!

Although these stamps exist with cancels, no genuinely used letters are known.

1867 Moens fantasy issue, issued in sheets of 25, perforated or imperforate

A bogus issue made by stamp dealer Moens; 10 p black (imperforate or perforated)

Some perforated stamps in black on different background colors.

A short history behind the appearance of this stamps can be found at http://web.archive.org/web/20050323024956/student.ulb.ac.be/~charveng/moens/biblio2.htm. Moens, apparently unhappy with the fact that Pierre Mahé of the French journal Timbrohile copied Moens' work in his journal, without giving any source where he found it, published the following 'letter' from Moresnet:

Moresnet, le 1^er avril 1867

Cher Monsieur Moens,

Je puis donc à mon tour vous apporter mon contingent de nouvelles et apprendre à vos lecteurs qu’il ya [sic] de par le monde une commune libre de Moresnet, qui vient de révéler son existence par la création de modestes timbres-poste. Ce mode d’affranchissement a été adopté sur la proposition de M. Decrackt, le directeur actuel des postes, et la mise en usage fixée au 15 courant. Il y aura quatre valeurs différentes d’un même type : deux, unicolores, pour la correspondance pour l’Allemagne ; deux, bicolores, pour celle des autres pays. Cette différence d’impression pour bien établir l’usage de ces timbres.

Je joins à cette lettre, une épreuve du 10 centimes imprimée en noir sur carton glacé ; je possède pareillement les autres valeurs. Le dessin représente l’écu de la commune parti de Belgique et de Prusse, sommé du bonnet phrygien de la liberté, posé de côté. Légende : Commune libre de Moresnet ; dans les angles, la valeur en chiffres. […]

Ils sont gravés par MM. De Visch et Lirva, de votre ville, qui se sont chargés en même temps de l’impression, moyennant le prix modique de 75 centimes les mille timbres gommés et piqués. Nous n’avons qu’un seul reproche à formuler contre ces timbres, c’est l’absence de l’énonciation de la valeur. […]

J.S. Néom

This letter describes how a new set of stamps was to be issued in Moresnet. The name 'J.S.Neom' is 'Moens' written backwards. Furthermore the printer 'De Visch et Lirva' can be translated as 'Poisson d'avril' (Visch = fish = Poisson in French; 'Lirva' is 'Avril' spelled backwards). A 'Poisson d'Avril' is the French word for April fool..... The 'joke' worked and this 'newsfact' was straight away taken over by Pierre Mahe in his journal.

"MORESNET (BELGE)" cancel of 1906.

Literature:

http://www.moresnet.nl/english/postverkeer_en.htm (with a list of street names and cancels of Moresnet)

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer