Heligoland First Issues

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Heligoland

1st March 1867


	Heligoland #1	1a

Rouletted, no watermark, typographed and embossed.
Printed in Berlin.

Description	Date issued	Die used	Scott	SG	Mi	Y&T	Mink
1867-68 Head Die I in colourless relief, rouletted
½ schilling blue-green and rose	1st March 1867	Die 1	1	1	1(I)	1	1
½ schilling blue-green and rose	July 1868	Die 2 †	1A	1a	1(II)	1a	2
1s rose and blue-green	21st March 1867	Die 1	2	2	2	2	3
2s rose and grass-green	21st March 1867	Die 1	3	3	3	3	4
6s green and rose	1st March 1867	Die 1	4	4	4	4	5

† Die 2 differs from Die 1 in two respects: a curl under the chignon (hair at right); one jewel on the diadem (jewellery on forehead). Die 3 was used for some of the subsequent reprints.

An island in the North Sea, previously owned by Denmark, occupied by Britain after the Napoleonic Wars and ceded to Germany in 1890. The population was largely German and the stamps of Hamburg had been used prior to this issue which shows Victoria in profile, printed in Berlin and using the island’s colours of red and green (as did all the nineteen(-ish) stamps issued). Minkus [1] notes that, “after WWII British razed island, used it for bombing practice. Upon appeal by inhabitants it was returned to Germany in 1952.”

All the catalogues warn of reprints. Minkus [1] states “ impressions for official use were made [of some issues and] were sold, together with the plates, to the public. Private impressions from the plates, on diff paper & in various shades & perfs other than those of the originals, exist in large quantities.” The majority of the illustrations used on this page are from ebay and thus reprints are more than likely: the purpose of this exercise is to illustrate the issues and so that is regarded (by the author, at least) as acceptible.

As only nineteen stamps (plus variants) were issued and they are all rather distinctive and attractive, it is worth listing and illustrating in its entirety. The listings on these pages are usually built on the Scott catalogues (ScC), but in this instance will be based on Gibbons (SGP1).


SG1	SG1a	SG2	SG3	SG4

			image	image
SG5	SG6	SG7	SG8	SG9

Description	Date issued	Die used	Scott	SG	Mi	Y&T	Mink	Notes
1869-73 Head in colourless relief perf 13½ x 14½
¼ schilling rose and green	Aug 73	1	7+a, 8, 13	5	8+a-b	5, 5a	10+a, 11	SG5a, 5b colour variants, no Mi5
½ sch blue-green and rose	1869	2	5+a-b, 9	6	6+a-h	6	6+a, 7	SG6a, 6b colour and paper variants
¾ sch green and rose	Dec 73	1	10	7	9	7	12
1sch rose and yellow-green	Jul 71	3	6, 11	8	7+a-d	8	8, 9	SG8a colour and paper variant
1½ sch green and rose	Sep 73	1	12	9	10	9	13	quadrille paper

An explanation of the numbering, Scott “5+a-b, 9” means that there are Sc5, Sc5a, Sc5b and Sc9 equivalent to SG6, SG6a and SG6b.


SG10	SG11	SG12a	SG13	SG14

image	image	image
SG15	SG16	SG17	SG18b	SG19

Description	Date issued	Scott	SG	Mi	Y&T	Mink	Notes
1875-1890 Head Die II embossed in colourless relief perf 13½ x 14½, currency change denominated in pfennigs or marks and also farthings (¼d), pence or shillings
1 pfennig (1 farthing) deep green and rose	1875	14	10	11	10	14
2pf (2f) deep rose and deep green	1875	15	11	12	11	15
3pf (2½f) pale green, red and yellow	Jun 76	20+a	12	17+a-b	16	20+a	SG12a colour variant
5pf (3f) deep yellow-green and rose	1875	16	13	13+a-b	12	16+a	SG13a colour variant
10pf (1½ pence) deep rose and deep green	1875	17+a-b	14	14+a-e	13	17+a-b	SG14a colour variant
20pf (2½d) rose, green and yellow	Jun 76	21+a-e	15	18+a-h	17	21+a-b	SG15a-c colour variants
25pf (3d) deep green and rose	1875	18+a	16	15	14	18
50pf (6d) rose and green	1875	19+a	17	16	15	19
1 (1 shilling) mark deep green, scarlet and black	Aug 79	22+a-b, 24	18	19a-b	18, 18a	22+a,v	SG18a-b perf and colour variants
5m (5s) deep green, aniline rose, black and yellow	Aug 79	23, 25	19	20	19, 19a	23+v-v1	SG19a perf variant

Heligoland 1890 cover from ebay with Sc13a, 17a, 21b, 16, 17 Heligoland Registered to Harburg, Germany.