1886 My Covers

GERMAN EMPIRE
OFFICIAL
POSTCARDS
1886

All 1886 Official postcards are now on this page. Official postcards are cards that were issued by the Reich’s post office, had pre-printed (indicia) stamps and were widely available throughout German towns and cities.

Secondly Printed to Private Order postcards are postcards that were generally issued by entities that were advertising an event or commemorating an anniversary, and also had pre-printed stamps, but were not widely available throughout Germany (most were only available at the event they were commemorating).

Thirdly Other postcards are postcards that fall into the same general category as printed to private order however they do not have pre-printed stamps.

Finally, Miscellaneous postcards is where you will find postcards that do not fit into the first three categories (i.e. they are not official, they do not have pre-printed stamps, and they do not commemorate an event).

Quick Links:

POSTCARDS:
P14 and P15

POSTANWEISUNGEN (POSTAL ORDERS):
A5 and A6

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--- OFFICIAL POSTCARDS ---

Some of the postcards below exist with one of two types of border. Type 'a' and Type 'b' and can be seen below.

Border Type a

Border Type b

MICHEL P14
OFFICIAL POSTCARD
10 PFENNIG

Issued 1886/1887. This postcard has a decorative border that runs around the entire outer edge with an inscription 'Deutschland -- Allemagne.' in the centre of the upper decoration. The text reads 'Postkarte. - Carte Postal | Weltposverein - Union postale universelle.' directly under the 'Deutschland -- Allemagne' text.

P14/01 has a border type 'a'
P14/02 has a border type 'b'.

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Michel P14/01
10Pf red

FROM MY COLLECTION

MICHEL P15
OFFICIAL REPLYCARD
10 PFENNIG

Issued 1886/1887. This is a Reply card very similar to Michel P14 above. However this time the text inside the border reads 'Postkarte mit Antwort. - Carte Postal avec réponse payée | Weltposverein - Union postale universelle.' directly under the 'Deutschland -- Allemagne' text.

P15 exists in three different variations:
P15/01 has border type 'a'.
P15/02 has border type 'b'.
P15/03 has both a border type 'a' and a type 'b'.

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Michel P15-b
Reply Card
2x 10Pf red

FROM MY COLLECTION

MICHEL A5
OFFICIAL POSTANWEISUNGEN
20 PFENNIG

Issued 1886. Similar to 1885 Michel A4 but now the deposit fields are in net-like rows of stitches. Year "18" on the front. There are two variations:

Type I: 10 rows of stitches in the 3rd field at the bottom.
Type II: 9 rows of stitches in the 3rd field at the bottom.

Valid printing control dates:
Type I : 686(4), 786(1,2,4) and 886(4)
Type II: 886(4)

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Michel A5
20Pf blue

MICHEL A6
OFFICIAL POSTANWEISUNGEN
20 PFENNIG

Issued 1886. Upper grids now with narrower (14) rows of stitches. In the case of the lower fields, the middle and the right field are slightly wider than in Michel A5. There are three variations of A6:

Type a: is grey-blue
Type b: is dark blue
Type c: is violet-blue.

Valid printing control dates:
Type 'a': 886(4), 986(4), 1086(1,2), 1186(2,3,4) and 187(3,4).
Type 'b': 1186(4), 1286(3), 187(3,4), 287(2,4), 387(2,4), 487(4), 587(1,2), 687(2,4), 787(4), 887(2,4), 987(2,4), 1087(3,4), 1187(2,4), 1287(2,4), 188(4), 288(3,4), 388(4), 488(4), 588(0,1,3,4), 688(1,2,4), 788(4), 888(2,3,4), 988(2,4)1088(3), 1188(2,4) and 1288(2).
Type 'c': 888(3,4)

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