German Democratic Republic 1953 5 Year Plan

[Rein]

In the DDR - German Democratic Republic during the period 1952-1956 two different types of watermark were used!

Watermark type I - orthogonal:

with two different orientations:

Direction of paper vertical:



Direction of paper horizontal:




Watermark type II - parallel:

with two different orientations:

Direction of paper vertical:



Direction of paper horizontal:



The Germans collectors do not care too much about directions of paper, they prefer to look at the shape of the characters DDR - whether the D is flatter [type II] or rounder [type I]...

They claim that the original pattern on the dandy-rolls [bailarin] is exactly the same and that due to the drying process the shapes have changed!

I am not sure whether I agree with them, but the very thought is not so bad! If it is true, then the sizes of the (RA+) Sun in Argentinean stamp paper might have been completely round [circle] and changed shape due to shrinking! Depending on whether the watermark was orthogonal [line of RA parallel to the axis of the dandy-roll] or parallel [line of RA parallel to the circumference of the dandy-roll] ...

to be continued ..

[Rein]

It is with these two watermarks that we will find a great mess is the catalogues!

The 1953 5 Year Plan definitives had been printed in offset-litho during the first year! Later that year they changed to typography! This all happened in the Printing House Graphische Werkstätten in Leipzig. GW used both watermarks we discussed above! Due to changes in the postal rates old, no longer needed values got overprinted and that is what the German specialists call the Third Issue. Adapted designs and colours for the newly needed values gave rise to the Fourth Issue. A change of Printing House and a new watermark [DDR + cross-flowers] resulted in the Fifth Issue. A last change in 1958 to the use of reel-fed typography by the Deutsche Wertpapierdruckerei in Leipzig and also to the finer perforation [comb 14 instead of 13:12 1/2] gave us the Sixth Issue.

If this was not complicated enough, in the mean time in 1957 the East German authorities decided to have large numbers of stamps reprinted in order to sell the stamps to the capitalistic world and thus earn some hard currency!

For 4 out of the 6 issues, reprints had been made in 1957 in the DWD in Leipzig including the variety of watermarks!!!! All stamps on un-gummed paper and all having the "cancellations" printed in typography [?]....


We will deal now with these reprints and see how the German catalogues messed it all up!

to be continued .....

[Rein]

How is it possible that the DDR Universal Katalog (1986) has NOT listed several watermarks [WZ = Wasserzeichen] and that now the Michel Germany Specialised (2011) lists them without making any differences in price???

Page 228 of the Universal listing the reprints of the First Issue:






Michel has priced all single stamps of the 1957 Nachdruck (CTO-printings) for 0.20, but I simply wonder when [if at all!] the missing watermarks had turned up and why the price should be so low.

In 30 years [1957-1986] no German philatelist had been able to show them and now it must look like they are as common as possible. There is something fishy!

The first German reaction on my question was that 25 years is a lot of time to do research or do discoveries! Yes, that is true!

But either these stamps have been found from under the bricks of the Berlin Wall or the editors of Michel have had problems in identifying the watermarks properly...

to be continued ...

[Rein]

Page 228 of the Universal listing of 1957 reprints of the Second Issue :






Twelve stamps out of the 36 are missing of these stamps in typography???

to be continued ...

[Rein]

Page 229 of the Universal Katalog listing the reprints of the Third Issue:



Pages 264-265 Michel Deutschland-Spezial 2011:





There should be only ONE watermark pro value?!?

to be continued ....

[Rein]

Page 229 of the Universal Katalog listing the reprints of the Fourth Issue:




Page 272 Michel Deutschland-Spezial 2011:



This time the price is a bit higher!

[Rein]

Let's compare the reprints of the Universal First Issue with what I have in my collection!





Value/Ortho/Para

1 -- 4 -- 2
5 -- 3 -- 0
6 -- 5 -- 0
8 -- 1 -- 3
10 -- 3 -- 0
12 -- 2 -- 0
15 -- 2 -- 2
16 -- 1 -- 3
20 -- 3 -- 2
24 -- 2 -- 1
25 -- 0 -- 2
30 -- 8 -- 1
35 -- 6 -- 1
40 -- 2 -- 1
48 -- 2 -- 4
60 -- 1 -- 4
80 -- 6 -- 1
84 -- 4 -- 0


The 3 red zeroes correspond with the missing ones in the Universal listing

to be continued .....

[Rein]

Let's compare the reprints of the Universal Second Issue with what I have in my collection!



Value/Ortho/Para

1 -- 10 -- 0
5 -- 6 -- 5
6 -- 2 -- 4
8 -- 0 -- 7
10 -- 4 -- 0
12 -- 0 -- 7
15 -- 4 -- 0
16 -- 1 -- 2
20 -- 5 -- 0
24 -- 6 -- 1
25 -- 6 -- 0
30 -- 7 -- 0
35 -- 6 -- 0
40 -- 5 -- 0
48 -- 8 -- 0
60 -- 5 -- 0
80 -- 5 -- 0
84 -- 0 -- 5

The 11 red zeroes correspond to the missing in the Universal listing. But in my collection I have the 12pf parallel (in green) and no orthogonal watermark. A new discovery or a mistake in the Universal?

to be continued ....

[Rein]

Let's compare the reprints of the Universal Third Issue with what I have in my collection!



Value/Ortho/Para

5/6 -- 0 -- 4
5/8 -- 0 -- 6
10/12 -- 0 -- 5
15/16 -- 0 -- 5
20/24 typography --11 --- 1
40/48 -- 4 -- 0
50/60 -- 8 -- 0
70/84 -- 0 -- 5

The 7 red zeroes correspond to the missing in the Universal listing!! On the other hand I do have the 24pf typography parallel!

to be continued ....

[Rein]

Let's compare the reprints of the Universal Fourth Issue with what I have in my collection!



Value/Ortho/Para

10 -- 10 -- 4
15 -- 0 -- 3
20 -- 5 -- 0
40 -- 0 -- 5
50 -- 6 -- 0
70 -- 2 -- 2

The 3 red zeroes correspond to the missing in the Universal listing!!

All in all, of the 4 Issues we have 3+12+7+3=25 stamps missing in the Universal Katalog that all by default present in the Michel Germany Spezial 2011 catalogue....

to be continued ....