GERMAN EMPIRE
OFFICIAL POSTCARDS
Please note the following for this website. Official Postcards are defined as:
1. Postcards of the German Empire issued by the Official German postal Authority, from 1873 until 1945.
2. Postcards that were generally available throughout the entire country and have a pre-printed (Indicia) stamp to cover the cost of postage.
The vast majority of official postcards have no printing on the reverse side so no image of the reverse side is provided, except in the few instances where there was something printed on the reverse of the card.
P47, P50, P54 and P56
P50 is the only postcard, along with replycards P47, P54 and P56 that were issued with 5Pf green Germania stamps inscribed "REICHSPOST".
P47
(REPLY CARD)
Issued: 1900. Local reply card with a 5Pf Germania stamp inscribed 'REICHSPOST'. This card does not have a watermark.
A P47 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf Germania stamp inscribed 'REICHSPOST'. And
(2) 'Deutsche Reichspost | Postkarte' at the top and in the middle of the card. And
(3) 'An' further left than 'in'. And
(4) Print control date with or without dashes. And
(5) No watermark.
P47
REPLY CARD
REPLY CARD
Valid Print Control Dates:
P47: 200, 300-- or 400
P50
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1900. The same design as P49 but without the print codes and now with a watermark type 2 (numbers and letter) and only with Wohnungstype I. The watermark is often only very faintly visible and the only sure distinguishing feature is the wohnungstype.
P50 has two varieties: P50 I with gaps in the 1st and 2nd dotted address lines and P50 II without gaps in the 1st and 2nd dotted address lines.
A P50 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf Germania stamp inscribed 'REICHSPOST'. And
(2) Only Wohungstype I. And
(3) 'Deutsche Reichspost | Postkarte' at the top and in the middle of the card. And
(4) 'An' further left than 'in'. And
(5) No print control data. And
(6) Type 2 watermark.
P50 I
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P50 II
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
Valid Watermarks:
P50 I: 0 B I 15, 15+20, 15+20+25 or 15+25, 0 D I 15, 15+20, 0 E I 15, 0 K I 15, 15+20+25, 0 M I 15+20+25, 0 S I 15+20, 15+20+25, 0 W I 15, 0 Z I 15, 15+20, 15+20+25.
P50 II: 0: B, C, D, E, K, M, S, W or Z. 1: B, C, D, E or K(01).
P54
(REPLY CARD)
Issued: 1900/1901. Without any control notes, i.e. without printing mark, without watermark, without gaps in the dotted address lines. Only found with Wohnungstype II.
A P54 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf Germania stamp inscribed 'REICHSPOST'. And
(2) Only Wohungstype II. And
(3) 'Deutsche Reichspost | Postkarte' at the top and in the middle of the card. And
(4) 'An' further left than 'in'. And
(5) No print control data. And
(6) No watermark.
P54
REPLY CARD
REPLY CARD
P56
(REPLY CARD)
Issued: 1901. The same design as P55. There are two variations of this reply card but they are quite difficult to differentiate. For P56 there is a gap between the first two lines of the text "Die angebogene | Karte is für die | Antworte | bestimmt." but for P56I there is almost no gap between the two lines.
A P55 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf Germania stamp inscribed 'REICHSPOST'. And
(2) Only Wohungstype II. And
(3) 'Deutsche Reichspost | Postkarte' at the top and in the middle of the card. And
(4) 'An' further left than 'in'. And
(5) No print control data. And
(6) No watermark.
P56
REPLY CARD
REPLY CARD
MAIN REFERENCE SOURCES
1. MICHEL GANZSACHEN DEUTSCHLAND 2018. ISBN: 978-3-95402-225-02. BOREK GANZSACHEN-SPEZIAL-KATALOG DEUTSCHLAND ab 1933. ISBN: 3-87091-060-7
3. MICHEL BILDPOSTKARTEN- UND MOTIVGANSACHEN KATALOG DEUTSCHLAND 1997. ISBN: 3-87858-631-0
4. GANZSACHEN-HANDBUCH DES "DITTEN REICHES" 1933-1945 by FRECH. ISBN: UNKNOWN
