The Yellow Cathedral (''

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Gelber Dom'') is a stamp produced by

Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...

but which was never issued. Beginning on 1 September 1948 a new stamp series, the "building series", was introduced in the American and British Occupation Zones of Germany. One planned design featured

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

in yellow, with a nominal value of five

Pfennig The pfennig (; . 'pfennigs' or 'pfennige' ; currency symbol, symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former Germany, German coin or note, which was an official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valua ...

. The stamp was intended to be used as a surcharge stamp for

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...

delivery. The stamp was actually issued in blue ( Michel catalogue number 75) and all but a few copies of the yellow stamps were destroyed. There have been only three known auctions of yellow cathedral stamps. Between 20 and 22 September 2007 the only complete

sheet of stamps A sheet of stamps or press sheet is a unit of postage stamp, stamps as printed, usually on large sheets of paper based on the size of the printing plate, that are separated into panes that are sold at post offices. Where more than one pane is on ...

was exhibited at the Philately and Coin fair ("''Philatelie und MünzExpo''") in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. The copy on display was from

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

's Philatelic Archive. The sheet is insured for one million euro.

References

External links

(''In German'')
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: Gelber Dom schlägt blaue Mauritius
(''"Yellow Cathedral beats

Two Pence Blue The Two Penny Blue or The Two Pence Blue was the world's second official postage stamp, produced in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and issued after the Penny Black. Initial printing took place from 1 May 1840, and in all 6,460 ...

"'')
Pressemitteilung: Vorsicht: gelb, gezackt und wertvoll! (mit Bildern)
(Press release: Attention: yellow, serrated, and precious! (With images)) Postage stamps Philately of Germany {{philately-stub