My Postcards & Covers

GERMAN COLONIES
KIAUTSCHOU
OFFICIAL POSTCARDS

MICHEL P1 to P4
REGULAR ISSUE IMPERIAL YACHT
CURRENCY in PFENNIG

P1 to P4 were issued from 1901 and depict the Kaiser's yacht with the inscription 'KIAUTSCHOU' in an arc across the top. The postcards were issued to coincide with the new Kiautschou stamps which have the same design as the pre-printed stamps on these postcards. Unfortunately there are a lot of fake versions of these postcards available on the internet. Not only the Kiautschou postcards have been 're-printed', but also all other colonial issues of these postcards as well. However the forgeries and the real versions can be differentiated by looking closely at the pre-printed stamps. Below are two close up views of the postcards (the genuine one is the Kiautschou image and the forged is the Togo image) in the Kaiser's yacht series to assist with determining which are fake and which are genuine.

Genuine

Forged

The genuine stamp has clearly defined white lines running up the two smoke stacks (chimneys), two parallel lines on each chimney. The fake versions are much less visible and almost disappear on the second smoke stack. The horizontal shading lines each side of the denomination are also much clearer on the genuine stamp. Finally the smoke emitting from the genuine chimneys is much sharper than the blurred smoke of the fake version.

If you are looking to buy any of these postcards on the internet and the image posted is too small for you to make a positive identification, then it should be noted that the fake postcards look much newer and fresher than the genuine items. These postcards are over 100 years old and should not look like they are fresh of the printing press.

MICHEL P1
REGULAR ISSUE IMPERIAL YACHT

Issued from Aug 1901. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 5Pf 'KIAUTSCHOU' pre-printed stamp, currency in Pfennig.

Michel P1
5Pf green

MICHEL P2
REGULAR ISSUE IMPERIAL YACHT

Issued from Aug 1901. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 10Pf 'KIAUTSCHOU' pre-printed stamp, currency in Pfennig.

Michel P2
10Pf Carmine

MICHEL P3
(Reply Card)

Issued from Aug 1901. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 5Pf 'KIAUTSCHOU' pre-printed stamp, currency in Pfennig. This is a reply card and has pre-printed text and stamps on both sides.

Michel P3
Reply Card
2x 5Pf, green

MICHEL P4
(Reply Card)

Issued from Aug 1901. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 10Pf 'KIAUTSCHOU' pre-printed stamp, currency in Pfennig. This is a reply card and has pre-printed text and stamps on both sides.

Michel P4
Reply Card
2x 10Pf, carmine

MICHEL P5 to P15
REGULAR ISSUE IMPERIAL YACHT
CURRENCY in CENTS

MICHEL P5

Issued from 1905. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 'KIAUTSCHOU' imprint and currency in CENTS. Michel P5 is the same as P1 only now with the currency in CENTS rather than Pfennig.

Michel P5
2 CENTS, green

MICHEL P6

Issued from 1905. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 'KIAUTSCHOU' imprint and currency in CENTS.

Michel P6
4 CENTS, carmine

MICHEL P7
(Reply Card)

Issued from 1905. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 'KIAUTSCHOU' imprint and currency in CENTS. Michel P7 is a reply card with text and a pre-printed 2 CENTS stamp on both sides.

Michel P7
Reply Card
2x 2 CENTS, green

MICHEL P8
(Reply Card)

Issued from 1905. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 'KIAUTSCHOU' imprint and currency in CENTS. Michel P8 is a reply card with text and a pre-printed 4 CENTS stamp on both sides.

Michel P8
Reply Card
2x 4 CENTS, carmine

MICHEL P9

Issued 1911. Address lines are 85mm long (shorter than previous issues) and it also has a diamond watermark.

Michel P9
4 CENTS, carmine

MICHEL P10

Issued 1914 to 1916. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 2 CENTS pre-printed stamp. Plain postcard with 'Postkarte' to the right of the diving line and no other text.

Michel P10
2 CENTS, green

MICHEL P11

Issued 1914. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 4 CENTS pre-printed stamp. Plain postcard with 'Postkarte' to the right of the diving line and no other text.

Michel P11
4 CENTS, carmine

MICHEL P12
(Reply Card)

Issued 1916. Regular issue Imperial Yacht with 2 CENTS pre-printed stamp. This is a reply card with 2 CENTS pre-printed stamp and text on both sides of the card. The text reads 'Postkarte | mit Antwort'

Michel P12
Reply Card
2x 2 CENTS, green

MICHEL P13

Issued 1914. Regular issue Imperial Yacht inscribed 'KIAUTSCHOU' with pre-printed 4 CENTS stamp. 'Postkarte' printed directly over the diving line and no other text.

Michel P13
4 CENTS, carmine

MICHEL P14
(Reply Card)

Issued 1919. Regular issue Imperial Yacht inscribed 'KIAUTSCHOU' with pre-printed 2 CENTS stamp. This is a reply card with pre-printed stamp and text on both sides of the card. 'Postkarte | mit Antwortkarte' printed directly over the diving line and no ohter text.

Michel P14
Reply Card
2x 2 CENTS, green

MICHEL P15
(Reply Card)

Issued 1917. Regular issue Imperial Yacht inscribed 'KIAUTSCHOU' with two pre-printed 4 CENTS stamps. 'Postkarte mit Antwortkarte | Carte postale avec réponse payée' printed directly over the diving line.

Michel P15
2x 4 CENTS
Answer Card
carmine

GERMAN COLONIES KIAUTSCHOU OFFICIAL POSTCARDS

MICHEL P1 to P4 REGULAR ISSUE IMPERIAL YACHT CURRENCY in PFENNIG

MICHEL P1 REGULAR ISSUE IMPERIAL YACHT

MICHEL P2 REGULAR ISSUE IMPERIAL YACHT

MICHEL P3 (Reply Card)

MICHEL P4 (Reply Card)

MICHEL P5 to P15 REGULAR ISSUE IMPERIAL YACHT CURRENCY in CENTS