BAVARIA 1914-1918 (Germany)

Return To Catalogue - Bavaria overview - Other German States - Germany

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.

For stamps of Bavaria issued from 1876 to 1913, click here.

1914 King Ludwig III

Note: imperforated stamps exists of this issue (and the overprints) and were mainly made for stamp collectors.

  2 p grey
  3 p brown
  5 p green
  7 1/2 p green
  10 p red
  15 p red
  20 p blue
  25 p black
  30 p orange
  40 p olive
  50 p brown
  60 p green
  80 p violet

Larger size

(Note the watermark 'vertical wavy lines')

  1 M brown
  2 M violet
  3 M red

Very large size

  5 M blue
  10 M green
  20 M brown

Surcharged

  '2 1/2' on 2 p grey

Imperforated
  The values 3,20,25,30,40,50,60 and 80 p exist imperforated.

Specialist distinghuish between the first very nicely printings (Friedensausgabe or peace issue) and later deterioating printings (Kriegsausgabe or war issue). All stamps have watermark 'horizontal wavy lines', except 1 M, 2 M and 3 M which have watermark 'vertical wavy lines'. The stamps are perforated 14 x 14 1/2 (if perforated of course).

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

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

Overprinted 'VOLKSSTAAT BAYERN',
  (all these values exist imperforated)

  3 p brown
  5 p green
  7 1/2 p green
  10 p red
  15 p red
  20 p blue
  25 p black
  30 p orange
  35 p orange
  40 p olive
  50 p brown
  60 p green
  75 p brown
  80 p violet

Larger size

  1 M brown
  2 M violet
  3 M red

Very large size

  5 M blue
  10 M green
  20 M brown

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

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

Overprinted 'FREISTAAT BAYERN'
  (all these values exist imperforated)

  3 p brown
  5 p green
  7 1/2 p green
  10 p red
  15 p red
  20 p blue
  25 p black
  30 p orange
  40 p olive
  50 p brown
  60 p green
  75 p brown
  80 p violet

Larger size

  1 M brown
  2 M violet
  3 M red

Very large size

  5 M blue
  10 M green
  20 M brown

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

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

Overprinted '5 Pf fur kriegsbeschadigte FREISTAAT BAYERN'

  10 + 5 p red
  15 + 5 p red
  20 + 5 p blue

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

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

Overprinted 'Freistaat Bayern' and surcharged 
  (all these stamps exist imperforated)

  '1,25 M' on 1 M green
  '1,50 M' on 1 M orange
  '2,50 M' on 1 M grey

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

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

Perforated with 'E' to serve as railway stamps (1914)

  3 p brown
  5 p green
  10 p red
  20 p blue

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

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

These stamps exist overprinted 'SARRE' and bars to be used in the Saar district in 1920.

Tete-beche imperforate pairs of stamps of the values 7 1/2 p and 15 p

Note that the imperforated stamps of this issue are often cancelled to order, example 'Stadt Am Hof 14 JUN 1920':

Some forgeries were made by Great Britain during World War I of the unoveprinted values 5 p, 10 p and 15 p (apparently to be used by spies). More information can be found at: http://www.psywarrior.com/BritishForgeriesWWI.html or in the book 'Postal Forgeries of the World' by H.G.L Fletcher. The design seems to have been copied very accurately (even the watermark). The perforation is different though, in the genuine stamps 14 holes can be found at the top perforation, in the forgeries 15 holes are found.

British intelligence forgery

Private labels with inscription 'HIRTH' or 'KRPR WILHELM' (= 'crown prince Wilhelm') instead of 'BAYERN' and 'FUR'S FLIEGERHEIM' at the bottom of the stamp exist. In the center a picture of several men:

5 p brown and 5 p grey

I've also seen a 5 p brown with the image of 'PROF. SCHUTTE' in a similar design, as well as a 5 p brown with 'LILIENTHAL', a 5 p blue with 'PRINZ ADALBERT', a 5 p blue with 'PRINZ AUGUST WILHELM', a 5 p olive with 'WEDDIGEN', a 5 p violet with 'LOCHOW', a 5 p violet with 'LUDWIG' and a 5 p violet with 'CARL FRANZ JOSEPH'.
I've also seen two sheets with 10 of these stamps (two rows of five), all 5 pf violet with the portraits of 'HEINRICH', 'FALKENHAYN', 'HAESELER', 'GOLTZ', 'BISSING', 'TIRPITZ', 'HOLZENDORF', 'LIMAN N SANDERS', 'LOCHOW' and 'DANKE' on the first sheet and 'FRANZ JOSEPH', LUDWIG', '?', 'ERZH FRIEDRICH', '?', 'MOHAMED V', 'AUGUST', 'GROSSHERZOG FRIEDRICH', 'CARL FRANZ JOSEPH' and 'ENVER' on the second sheet.

Bavaria 1919-1920

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer