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One of the functions of the North German Confederation was to handle the mail and issue postage stamps, which it began doing, by means of the North German Postal Union ''(Norddeutscher Postbezirk)'', on 1 January 1868.
To accommodate the different monetary systems in use by the various states, it issued a series valued in groschen for the Northern District, and another using kreuzer for the Southern District, distinguishing them by framing the value number in a circle for the groschen stamps, and in an oval for the kreuzers. All of these stamps were inscribed "NORDDEUTSCHER POSTBEZIRK".
In addition, there was a special quarter- schilling stamp for Hamburg, with the additional inscription "STADTPOSTBRIEF HAMBURG".
Early in 1869 the stamps were issued with perforations, the previous issues having been rouletted. On 1 March, 10 gr and 30 gr values were issued, notable for being printed on goldbeater's skin, a scheme to prevent reuse of these high-value stamps.
Confederation stamps were superseded on 1 January 1872 by the first issues of the
File:1868 NDPB 1kr Mi7 Sachsenhausen File0163.jpg, 1868, Southern District, 1 kreuzer, rouletted
File:1869 NDPB 1groschen Mi16.jpg, Northern District, 1 Groschen, perforated issue 1869
File:Stamp of North German Confederation.jpg, Southern District, 7 Kreuzer perforated issue 1869
One of the functions of the North German Confederation was to handle the mail and issue postage stamps, which it began doing, by means of the North German Postal Union ''(Norddeutscher Postbezirk)'', on 1 January 1868.
To accommodate the different monetary systems in use by the various states, it issued a series valued in groschen for the Northern District, and another using kreuzer for the Southern District, distinguishing them by framing the value number in a circle for the groschen stamps, and in an oval for the kreuzers. All of these stamps were inscribed "NORDDEUTSCHER POSTBEZIRK".
In addition, there was a special quarter- schilling stamp for Hamburg, with the additional inscription "STADTPOSTBRIEF HAMBURG".
Early in 1869 the stamps were issued with perforations, the previous issues having been rouletted. On 1 March, 10 gr and 30 gr values were issued, notable for being printed on goldbeater's skin, a scheme to prevent reuse of these high-value stamps.
Confederation stamps were superseded on 1 January 1872 by the first issues of the German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
.
Coverage
The coverage of the North German Postal Union was described as follows: :The federal territories comprise Anhalt,Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, Brunswick, Hamburg, Lippe, Lübeck, Mecklenburg-Schwerin
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...
, Mecklenburg-Strelitz
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard), ...
, Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
*Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
*Olde ...
, Prussia together with Lauenburg, Reuss senior line, Reuss junior line, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-d ...
, Saxe-Meiningen, Grand Duchy of Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...
, Kingdom of Saxony, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Upper Hesse (part of Hesse north of the Main), and Waldeck.
Upper Hesse was administered as part of the postal union even though the Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...
was not a member of the North German Confederation.
References
Bibliography
* Altdeutschland Spezial-Katalog und Handbuch, Hans GROBE, 1975 *Scott catalogue
The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Company, now a subsidiary of Amos Media, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the world that its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in f ...
* Stuart Rossiter & John Flower, ''The Stamp Atlas''
{{PostalhistoryEurope
North German Confederation
NorthernGermany