BREMEN (Germany)

Brême

Return To Catalogue - Bremen miscellaneous - Forgeries of the 3 G and 5 Grote stamps - Forgeries of the 2 G and 10 G stamps - Forgeries of the 7 G and 5 Sgr stamps - Forgeries made by Peter Winter

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Currency: 72 Grote (=30 Silbergroschen) = 1 Taler

One of the German States. A free city of the Hansa in Northern Germany. It issued stamps from 1855 to 1867, it used the stamps of the North German Confederation afterwards (from 1st January 1867 onwards). Foreign post offices, such as those from Thurn and Taxis (number cancel 301), Hanover or Prussia existed in Bremen, they used their own stamps.

Many forgeries of Bremen exist.

1855 Arms of Bremen, key, imperforate or perforated

  3 (Grote) black on blue
  5 Grote black on lilac
  7 Grote black on yellow
  5 Sgr green

For the specialist: there are 3 types of the 3 Gr black on blue, they differ in the ornaments at the bottom of the stamp. Furthermore, two types of the 5 Gr black on lilac exist: type I has the lines between the left '5' and the shield going upwards, type II has them going downwards. The 5 Sgr green imperforate is printed in a slightly different type from the perforated/rouletted stamps: in the perforated/rouletted stamps, there are two fine lines in the pendant at the right hand side, which are missing in the imperforate stamps.

Value of the stamps
vc = very common c = common * = not so common ** = uncommon		*** = very uncommon R = rare RR = very rare RRR = extremely rare
Value	Unused	Used	Remarks
Imperforate
3 g	RR	RR	Issued 10th April 1855, intended for local letters and letters to Bremerhaven and Vegesack. The three types were printed next to each other.
5 g	R	RR	Issued 4th April 1856. For use on letters to Hamburg. Non-issued stamps with inscription 'MARKEN' were sold as remainders in 1868.
7 g	R	RRR	Issued 10th July 1860. For use on letters to Lubeck and Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
5 sgr	R	RRR	Issued 13th December 1861. For letters to Great Britain.
Rouletted (1862)
3 g	RR	RRR
5 g	RR	RR
5 sgr	RRR	RRR
Perforated 13 (1867)
3 g	R	RRR
5 g	R	RR
7 g	R	RRR	No more dividing lines between the stamps.
5 sgr	RR	RR

All stamps of Bremen were manufactured by the firm Hunkel (Bremen).

Forgeries of the 3 G and 5 Grote stamps click here or forgeries of the 7 G and 5 Sgr stamps, click here. Some non-issued 5 g stamps with inscription 'Marken' instead of 'Marke' exist, they are also listed under the Forgeries of the 3 G and 5 Grote stamps.

1861 Arms of Bremen, key

  2 Grote orange
  10 Grote black

The 10 g was used for letters to The Netherlands.

Value of the stamps
vc = very common c = common * = not so common ** = uncommon		*** = very uncommon R = rare RR = very rare RRR = extremely rare
Value	Unused	Used	Remarks
Rouletted
2 g	RR	RRR	Issued 29th April 1863 for letter between Bremen to Vegesack.
10 g	RR	RRR	Issued 10th July 1860.
Perforated 13 (1867)
2 g	R	RRR
10 g	R	RRR

For forgeries of these two stamps click here.

Typical cancel:

Stamp of Thurn and Taxis with genuine Bremen cancel 'BREMEN TH&TX'

Forgeries

Many forgeries of Bremen exist.
Forgeries of the 3 G and 5 Grote stamps
Forgeries of the 2 G and 10 G stamps
Forgeries of the 7 G and 5 Sgr stamps
Forgeries made by Peter Winter

The following text can be found in the Philatelic Journal of America 1893, Vol X, No.108, page 211:
"We can hardly say that the design of these stamps was very artistic, although each value shows elaborate details executed with much care, especially the 2 grote orange, and the 10 grote black. These details at first made counterfeits very difficult to produce, and the oldest ones are wretched imitations. But progress in the engraver's art has enabled counterfeiters to improve, and in late years manufactured counterfeits have appeared, well calculated to deceive many a collector. In 1878 new dies were cut from the old ones; this cannot be called a reprint, it was only a worthless imitation. In all counterfeits the paper is different from the originals; most of these counterfeits were made in England. These were mostly unused, and gradually collectors began to mistrust all unused Bremen stamps, and as these old stamps were more and more collected on whole envelopes, the demand for unused stamps fell off rapidly. As a result of this, counterfeiters began to cancel all stamps indiscriminately, so that there are genuine Bremen stamps canceled with a mark that never was used, while some counterfeits are provided with what to all appearances is a genuine cancellation mark. We can only bemoan the fact that many a fine unused specimen was spoiled by the application of a worthless cancellation."

Remainders

According to 'The Stamps of the German States' by B.W.H.Poole, a certain Van Rinsum of Amsterdam acquired the remainders of the perforated stamps, some of the 5 gr and 5 sgr imperforate stamps and a few 10 sg rouletted stamps.

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