GERMAN POST OFFICES ABROAD
TURKEY
STAMPS
1889

Forerunners are stamps of the German Empire that were in circulation in foreign countries and the colonies without any special identification (i.e. not overprinted "Turkey"), until issue of their own stamps. 'Proper' forerunners were officially delivered to post offices and were sold from postal counters, stamps that were not used or not officially issued are non-proper forerunners (e.g. Michel 1 and V43). All forerunners and interim stamps can only be recognised by the cancellation and as such there is no such thing as an unused forerunner.
The first German Post Office in Turkey was opened in Constantinople on 1st Mar 1870. The stamps of the North German Confederation were the first to be used in Turkey. The Constantinople Office was opened as the "North German Postal Agency" and was renamed the "German Empire Post Office" on 6th May 1871 and served the so-called European Quarter of the city. A second branch post office was opened in the city district of Stambul in the Turkish Quarter.

MICHEL 9
REGULAR ISSUE GERMAN EMPIRE
CROWN / EAGLE
(with Overprint)
Issued 1st Oct 1889 Regular Issue German Empire stamps. So-called "Crown/Eagle" with black overprint.
Mi 9
1¼ PIASTER on 25Pf
yellow orange
(variations)
1¼ PIASTER on 25Pf
yellow orange
(variations)

VARIATIONS
Mi 9 a
yellow orange (1889-1890)
yellow orange (1889-1890)
Mi 9 b
yellowish orange
yellowish orange
Mi 9 ba
dark orange (1899)
dark orange (1899)

OVERPRINT FLAWS
Mi9 PF I
"1" of left "¼" shortened
"1" of left "¼" shortened
Mi9 PF II
"1" of right "¼" shortened
"1" of right "¼" shortened
Mi9 PF III
both "1"'s of "¼" shortened
both "1"'s of "¼" shortened
Mi9 Pf IV
right number "¼" bent to the left
right number "¼" bent to the left

PLATE FLAWS



Mi9 PF V
large white mark over second "S" in "REICHSPOST"
large white mark over second "S" in "REICHSPOST"
Mi9 PF VI
"I" in "REICHSPOST" split on top
"I" in "REICHSPOST" split on top
Mi9 PF VII
"I" in "REICHSPOST" broken out on top right.
"I" in "REICHSPOST" broken out on top right.

STAMPS FROM MY COLLECTION
Mi 9
Cancelled
Cancelled
Mi 9
Cancelled
Cancelled
