GERMAN EMPIRE
STAMPS
1880
MICHEL 39 to 44
"PFENNIG" WITHOUT FINAL 'E'
Regular issue 'Number or Imperial Eagle in Oval'. Identical to Michel 31 through Michel 36 but the value is in "PFENNIG" (without the 'E' as opposed to 'PFENNIGE' with the final 'E' in the 1875 versions). Type 'I' is the early issue and Type 'II' is the later issue.
Type 'I' colours are typically matt finish (not glossy or shiny) and the gum is yellowish with small cracks and wide variations in the paper and colour. The Type 'II' issues are from the end of 1886 and exhibit wide variations in colour, paper and gum.
Notes
1. There were two issues of these stamps, 'I' the early issue up to 1886 and 'II' the later issue from 1886. The early issues have a matt finish (not shiny or glossy) and the gum is yellowish. The later issues, from the end of 1886, have glossier and richer colours and the paper is more variable in terms of colour and gum.2. These stamps also have variations in the perforations with many having a more ragged series of perforations, especially in the corners.
