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.
P57, P60, P63, P66, P76 and DRP1
P57, P63, P76 and DRP1 are the only postcards along with replycards P60 and P66 that were issued with 2Pf grey-blue Germania stamps inscribed "DEUTSCHES REICH".
P57
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1902. Value stamp is now Germania with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. Long address form (121mm) with widely spaced lines. "An" further left than "Postkarte" and 'in' directly below "Postkarte". Also with "Wohnung | Straβe und Hausnummer" below "in". There are two variants: Type 'X' with a watermark 2 (letter and Arabic numeral only) and Type 'Y' without a watermark.
A P57 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 2Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. And
(2) Long Address lines (121mm). And
(3) "An" further left than "Postkarte", "in" directly below "Postkarte" on the left-hand side of the card. And
(4) No print control data. And
(5) Watermark: Yes (Type 'X'), No (Type 'Y').
P57 Y
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
Valid Watermarks:
P57 X: I m Z, 2 m S Z
P60
(REPLYCARD)
Issued: 1902. Value stamp is now Germania with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. Long address form (121mm) with widely spaced lines. "An" further left than "Postkarte" and 'in' directly below "Postkarte". Also with "Wohnung | (Straβe und Hausnummer)" below "in". Additional text "Die angebogene | Karte ist für die | Antwort | bestimmt." directly below "An" and to the left of "in" level with 3rd dotted address line.
A P60 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 2Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. And
(2) Long Address lines (121mm). And
(3) "An" further left than "Postkarte", "in" directly below "Postkarte" on the left-hand side of the card. And
(4) No print control data.
P60
REPLYCARD
REPLYCARD
P63
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1902. Form change. Medium-length address form (104mm) with closely spaced lines. "An" or "Nur für die Adresse" centered directly under "Postkarte". There are two variations of this card; Type 'X' with a watermark 2 (letter and Arabic numeral only) and Type 'Y' without a watermark.
A P63 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 2Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. And
(2) Medium Address lines (104mm). And
(3) "An", "in" directly below "Postkarte" on the left-hand side of the card. And
(4) Watermark: Yes (Type 'X'), No (Type 'Y')
P63 'X'
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
Valid Watermarks:
P63 X: 2 m. S, 3 m. S or Z, 4 m. S, St or Z, 5 m. S, St.
P66
(REPLYCARD)
Issued: 1902. The same design and layout as P63 only now with additional text "Die angebogene | Karte ist für die | Antwort | bestimmt."
A P66 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 2Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. And
(2) Medium Address lines (104mm). And
(3) "An", "in" directly below "Postkarte" on the left-hand side of the card. And
(4) Watermark: No
P66
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P76
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1908. This design has a very simple layout when compared to the othewr 2Pf cards. The only inscription on the card is "Postkarte" which is printed on the top left-hand side of the card. The address lines are now much shorter (86mm) and there are 4 dotted lines and a single solid line below the 3rd dotted address line.
A P76 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 2Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. And
(2) Short Address lines (86mm). And
(3) Only "Postkarte" is inscribed on the card. And
(4) Watermark: Yes, type 3.
P76
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
Valid Watermarks:
P76: 7 III
DRP1
(DRUCKSACHE-POSTKARTEN)
Issued: 1902. This design is almost the same as P57 above, with the exception that the word "Postkarte" has been replaced with the word "Drucksache" and the word "in" is vertically to the right of "Drucksache" and the line that follows is shorter.
A DRP1 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 2Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. And
(2) Long Address lines (121mm). And
(3) "An" further left than "Postkarte", "in" below and to the right of Drucksache" on the left-hand side of the card. And
(4) No print control data. And
(5) Watermark: No
DRP1
DRUCKSACHE
DRUCKSACHE
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
