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.
POSTCARD P116
REPLY CARDS P117 and P118
There is only a single official postcard (P116) and two official replycards (P117 and P118) produced with the brown, 15Pf, Germania stamp inscribed "DEUTSCHES REICH".
P116
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1919/1920. Issued to account for the postal rate increase from 1st Oct 1919. Intended for domestic long-distance mail with monolingual form. P16 exists in two forms, P116 I has straight edges and P116 II has a serrated edge. This postcard was valid for use until 5th May 1920.
A P116 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 15Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription.
P116 I
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P117
(REPLY CARD)
Issued: 1919/1920. Issued due to postal rate increase from 1st Oct 1919. Intended for domestic long-distance traffic with monolingual form. This replycard was valid for use until 5th May 1920.
A P117 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 15Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. And
(2) Monolingual text (German)
P117
REPLY CARD
REPLY CARD
P118
(REPLY CARD)
Issued: 1919/1920. Issued due to postal rate increase from 1st Oct 1919 for international traffic with bilingual form. This replycard was valid for use until 5th May 1920.
A P118 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 15Pf Germania stamp with "DEUTSCHES REICH" inscription. And
(2) Bilingual text.
P118
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
