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.
P216
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1933. This postcard measures 148 x 105mm. The sender's section consists of 5 lines of text measuring 21mm high and is the same as P217 below where the sender's section also consists of 5 lines but they measure 24.5mm high. There are two versions of this card: P216-I has straight edges and P216-II has a serrated edge.
A P216 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf light-green, Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp.
(2) 5 lines of sender's text, 21mm high. And
(3) 3 vertical dividing lines.
P216
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P217
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1933. This postcard measures 148 x 105mm. The sender's section consists of 5 lines of text measuring 24.5mm high and is the same as P216 above where the sender's section also consists of 5 lines but they measure 21mm high. There are two versions of this card: P217-I has straight edges and P217-II has a serrated edge.
A P217 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf light-green, Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp.
(2) 5 lines of sender's text measuring 24.5mm high. (3) 3 vertical dividing lines.
P217
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P225
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1933/1934. Change of form, thin (single line) central divider. The sender's section now only has three lines of text and 3 dotted lines. There are two versions of this card: P225-I has straight edges and P225-II has a serrated edge.
A P216 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf light-green, Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp. And
(2) 3 lines of sender's text. And
(3) Only 1 vertical dividing line.
P225
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P228
(REPLYCARD)
Issued: 1933/1934. Change of form, thin (single line) central divider. The sender's section now only has three lines of text and 3 dotted lines. There are two versions of this card: P228-I has straight edges and P228-II has a serrated edge.
A P228 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf light-green, Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp. And
(2) 3 lines of sender's text. And
(3) Only 1 vertical dividing line.
P228 F
REPLYCARD
REPLYCARD
P228 A
REPLYCARD
REPLYCARD
P234
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1934. Memorial card issued to commemorate the death of Paul von Hindenburg, Reichspresident of Germany. This card is differentiated by the black line running around the edges of the card.
A P234 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf light-green, Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp.
(2) black border running around the edges of the card
P234
POSTCARD
POSTCARD
P238
(POSTCARD)
Issued: 1937. This is a series of 9 picture postcards all featuring places of interest within Germany. These cards are differentiated by the short-tailed 'e' of 'Postkarte' and the printer's date at the lower right-hand side of the card. Click here for more details on this series of cards.
A P238 must have the following characteristics:
(1) 5Pf green, Hindenburg Medallion pre-printed stamp.
(2) printer's date on lower right-hand corner.
P238
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
