Mesa Stamps has been selling rare and vintage collectible German stamps for over forty years. Shop all our German and German colony stamps here on our website; some of these are rare and hard to find anywhere else.

Collectible Germany Stamps

January 1st 1872 was the date that the original German stamps were issued. The original stamps were printed in two currencies, Groschen and Dialer for the North German Confederation, with two currencies for the incorporated southern states, Kreuzer and Gulde. The German Empire was on of the original signatories of the General Postal Union out of 22 signatories.

In 1911, Germany became the first country to make stamps using photolithography with a series celebrating the 90th birthday of Prince Regent Luitpold. Within two years after, stamps featuring the Luitpold’s son Ludwig III were the first to use the photogravure process. November 9th 1918 was when the Weimar Repulic was formed and has issued their first stamps on May 1at 1919. From there in 1933, the Third Reich was created and the first stamps were issued on April 12th of that year.

During the time between 1940–1942 Germany continued to occupy territories  from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus and Volga River, and from El Alamein to the North Cape. After those hears, the Allies slowly started regaining their territory back. Through these evens, many collectible stamps were created from these areas.

Once Germany had surrendered, it was divided into four areas; Russian, American, French and British. The time between 1945–1949 was complicated considered by how many stamp were issued and appeared in different areas and is known as one of the most interesting periods.

Rare German Stamps

Germany joined in the colonization effort later than most European nations, but they still established several colonies in Africa and in the Pacific Ocean. Prior to their colonization, half of the German states had their individual stamps. The most notable of the colonial issues was the “Kaiser” yacht issues in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Among the German colony stamps are also the German Democratic Republic or DDR and the issues of Berlin. Click here to learn more about the history of German stamps.

Within the lists of German related countries you will find Togo, Samoa and the Marshall Islands. In most cases, these stamps were limited to issues up through World War I, after which Germany lost most of their influence in these countries. Many Americans have German ancestors, so stamps and German related issues are highly collectible worldwide.

As an avid stamp collector, you may be interested in which are the most valuable German stamps. In addition to Germany stamps, Mesa Stamps provides stamps from countries around the world. Please browse our rare German stamp collections and stamps from across the globe and feel free to reach out with any questions regarding  stamps.