GermanyFirst Postage Stamp

From embossed paper to empire

Just a year after the German Empire was proclaimed, its first stamps hit the post. The ¼ groschen violet (with a small shield) featured here is part of that inaugural issue, simple, proud, with a finely embossed imperial eagle at its centre. This example belongs to the Small Shield (Kleiner Brustschild) type, issued in early 1872. Later that same year, the design was modified into the Large Shield (Großer Brustschild), with a more prominent central escutcheon and slightly heavier appearance. These are not commonly seen very well centred, with frames often drifting into the margins, which makes nicely balanced copies especially appealing. Early German Empire stamps were split by region: northern states used groschen, while southern ones used kreuzer. It wasn’t until 1875 that a unified currency, pfennig and marks, took over nationwide.