LUBECK

Return To Catalogue - Lubeck, postal stationery, locals and railway stamps - Lubeck forgeries of the 1859 issue, part 1 - Lubeck forgeries of the 1859 issue, part 2 - Other German States - Germany

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Lubeck is one of the German States. A free city of the Hansa at the Baltic Sea in Northern Germany. It issued stamps from 1859 to 1868, it used the stamps of the North German Confederation afterwards. In 1859 three post offices existed in Lubeck: that of Lubeck itself, a Thurn and Taxis one and a Danish post office.

1859 Arms of Lubeck: Eagle with two heads, imperforate (issued 1st January 1859)

  1/2 Schilling lilac
  1 Schilling yellow
  2 Schilling brown
  2 1/2 Schilling red
  4 Schilling green

(Error, inscription 'ZWEI EIN HALB': 2 1/2 instead of 'ZWEI', Image reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com )

For the specialist: there are 2 issues of this stamp: one has a watermark small flowers (often very hard to see), for all values. The second issue of 1861 (only the 1/2 Sch and 1 Sch) doesn't have any watermark due to the fact that the watermarked paper was no longer available. There exists an erroneous impression of the first issue: 2 1/2 Schilling brown ('Zwei ein halb', see image above), it appears twice in a sheet of 200 stamps of the 2 Sch value. Stamps were requested by the authorities to be placed in the upper left corner of the letters (up to 1864, when it was decided to place the stamp on the right hand side).

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

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

Typical cancels, (images reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com ):

(Line cancel and towncancel in a double circle)

Genuine misprint of the 2 sch with control cancel 'STADT POST AMT LUBECK' which was applied to the margin of the stamp sheet.

Normal stamp and misprint with control cancel

All the remainders of these stamps are ungummed (stamps were only gummed when they were required). The following quantities were sold in 1868 to Ch. Pelletreau (Paris); source: 'The Stamps of the German States' by B.W.H.Poole:
1/2 Sch; 72,500 stamps (unwatermarked paper)
1 Sch; 29,500 stamps (unwatermarked paper)
2 Sch; 79,500 stamps
2 1/2 Sch; 26,500 stamps
4 Sch; 107,500 stamps

Click here for reprints and forgeries (part 1) or here (part 2) of this issue.

1863 Arms of Lubeck in oval, eagle embossed, rouletted, no watermark

  1/2 Schilling green
  1 Schilling orange
  2 Schilling red
  2 1/2 Schilling blue
  4 Schilling brown

According to 'The Stamps of the German States' by B.W.H.Poole, the Lubeck authorities were warned from London that the previous issue had been forged. They then decided to issue this set of stamps which was made by the Prussian Printing Establishement in Berlin. They were introduced on 1st July 1863. The previous set was still valid for use upto the end of 1863.

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

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

The following quantities were sold in 1868 to Ch. Pelletreau (Paris); source: 'The Stamps of the German States' by B.W.H.Poole:
1/2 Sch; 23,968 stamps
1 Sch; 7,228 stamps
2 Sch; 50,828 stamps
2 1/2 Sch; 28,951 stamps
4 Sch; 17,851 stamps

Imperforate reprints with no embossed center exist (1872). They were made on the order of a certain Mr. Kirchner for a war charity (Kriegsinvaliden). Only 250 of such reprints were made for each value. Don't confuse these reprints with cuts from postal stationary. Could the next stamps be such reprints?

Reprints of all values

There should be two points below the 'C' of 'LUBECK' in the genuine stamps.

I've been told that this cancel is forged, I have no further information. Genuine 'L' cancels exist.

Most likely a forgery, note that the lettering is very badly done.

A forgery with wrong cancel "LUBECR BAHNHOP" (should have been "LUBECK BAHNHOF"). Also note that the small patterns of the ellipes are slightly different from the genuine stamps.

Modern reprints were made in 1978 by Gehringer in Kaiserslautern (Germany) in mini-sheets of four stamps. Even the embossing has been carefully done. I've seen reprints of all values. The whole sheet has a wavy like watermark pattern. The inscription at the bottom of the sheet is: 'Neudruck 1978' and 'Gehringer'. Example:

(Reprint sheet made by Gehringer of the 1/2 Sch value, reduced size)

Backside of this sheet, the 'reprints' have inscription 'Neudruck 1978' printed on the backside

1864 Arms, slightly different design, the eagle is in colour instead of embossed, imperforate, no watermark

  1 1/4 Schilling brown

This stamp became necessary after the war with Denmark in 1864 to send letters to Schleswig and Holstein (previously the Danish post office had delivered those letters). They were printed in Lubeck by the printed Rahtgens (other sources say Rathgens).

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

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

A quantity of 30,652 of remainders was sold in 1868 to Ch. Pelletreau (Paris); source: 'The Stamps of the German States' by B.W.H.Poole.

Forgeries:

(Forgeries)

Forgeries exist of the above stamps. For example Spiro has made a forgery with a single dot between the necks of the eagle (genuine stamps have two dots), the tail at some distance of the bottom of the oval and the 'B' of 'LUBECK' better done than the original (source 'The Spud Papers').

Fournier also made forgeries of this stamp (fist choice forgeries, he offers two varieties, brown and dark brown for 2 Swiss Francs in his 1914 pricelist, the distinghuishing characteristics of this forgery are given in the Serrane guide). This forgery is very deceptive. The left large '1' has a shorter upper left and lower left hand side.

Fournier forgery (reduced size)

Forgeries from a Fournier Album.

Modern reprints were made in 1978 by Gehringer in Kaiserslautern (Germany) in mini-sheets of four stamps. The whole sheet has a wavy like watermark pattern. The inscription at the bottom of the sheet is: 'Neudruck 1978' and 'Gehringer'. Example:

1866 Arms of Lubeck in an octagonal form (rouletted)

  1 1/2 Schilling lilac

This stamp was issued due to an increase in the rate of letters to Schleswig Holstein from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 sch. It could also be used on letters to Hamburg and Bergedorf, for which the rate was reduced from 2 Sch to 1 1/2 Sch in 1865 (source: 'The Stamps of the German States' by B.W.H.Poole).

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

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

A quantity of 97,071 of remainders was sold in 1868 to Ch. Pelletreau (Paris); source: 'The Stamps of the German States' by B.W.H.Poole.

Imperforate reprints with no embossed center exist (1872). They were made on the order of a certain Mr. Kirchner for a war charity (Kriegsinvaliden). Only 250 of such reprints were made.

Reprint with no embossed center and no perforation, on the backside the word 'NEUDRUCK' is printed in red.

Other modern reprints with embossing were made in 1978 by Gehringer in Kaiserslautern (Germany) in mini-sheets of four stamps. The whole sheet has a wavy like watermark pattern. The inscription at the bottom of the sheet is: 'Neudruck 1978' and 'Gehringer'. Example:

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