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Alsace and Lorraine
10th September 1870
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| Alsace and Lorraine Sc-N1 |
perf 13½x14½, no wmk, typographed
Printed by the Prussian State Prinng Works, Berlin
| Description | Scott# | SG# | Mi# | Y&T# | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 centime bronze green | N1 | 17 | 'points up' |
There are more variations on this issue than can be usefully or sensibly summarised in a table:
- There are 7 values (1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20 and 25 centimes).
- The background pattern on the stamps can be with the 'points down' (Sc-N1-Sc-N7, SG17-SG27) or 'points up' (Sc-N8-Sc-N14, SG1-SG16).
- There are at least two colour variants for each value.
- There are three font variations for the 4c value and two for the 10c.
Only one stamp is therefore shown. If you need further details of the issues, please contact the web administrator.
Issued by the North German Confederation, these stamps were used generally in occupied France during te Franco-Prussian Was, but are particularly associated with Alsace and Lorraine. Mackay [1] notes the diplomatic use of French on the stamps. Germany invaded these areas and issued occupation stamps again in 1940.
Mackay goes on to describe the stamps as "the first of that modern phenomenon, the war stamp" although he suggests elsewhere that the issues for Schleswig and Holstein during the Seven Weeks’ War of 1866 were the first occupation issues.