Schleswig Holstein postage stamps year 1865/67

Schleswig Holstein postage stamps year 1865/67 Used set

The Schleswig-Holstein postage stamps from the years 1865 to 1867 reflect a complex historical period during which the duchies were under joint and then separate administrations following the Second Schleswig War of 1864.

Key points about these stamps:

• In February 1865, a joint Prussian-Austrian administration issued a set of five stamps inscribed “Schleswig-Holstein,” continuing from the previous year’s style but with the combined name.
• On November 1, 1865, the administrations split: Prussia issued a set of five stamps inscribed “Herzogth. Schleswig” and Austria issued a separate set inscribed “Herzogth. Holstein,” each with similar denominations but different inscriptions and colors.
• The Austrian administration added two more stamps in 1866, one brown-lilac (1¼ schilling) in February and a blue (2 schilling) in July.
• These stamps were lithographed and imperforate or rouletted, with denominations mainly in schillings.
• By January 1, 1868, the North German Postal Union took over, introducing stamps denominated in groschen and thalers, replacing the Schleswig-Holstein issues by 1872 with German Empire stamps inscribed “Deutsches Reich.”

The stamp designs commonly featured numerical or oval numeral motifs and inscriptions indicating the issuing authority and duchy name. The stamps reflect the transition in control from Danish to German hands and the administrative division between Prussia and Austria after the war.

To summarize:

These stamps are of great philatelic interest due to their historical context and administrative changes during a turbulent period of the duchies’ history.​