Glauchau (Saxony) postage stamps year 1945 Local issue MNH
The 1945 Glauchau (Saxony) local issue stamps are an interesting part of post-World War II German philately. They were issued under the authority of the local postmasters (known as Lokalausgaben) in the Soviet occupation zone before the establishment of centralized postal services.
Here are the key details about the main Glauchau local issues from 1945:
🇩🇪 Glauchau Local Issue (1945)
- Type: Local Post (Lokalausgabe).
- Date of Issue: Primarily in June 1945.
- Description: These were generally official stamps of the German Reich (Hitler Head issue) that were overprinted and/or surcharged to make them valid for local postage in the district of Glauchau. The overprints typically included a denomination change and/or text to invalidate the original inscription (often “Deutsches Reich”) and sometimes bore the name of the district (“Kreis Glauchau”).
- Catalog Numbers: In the specialized Michel Catalogue (the standard German catalogue), the main sets are referenced as:
- Mi. GLA 1-18 (Overprints, 18 values in the set)
- Mi. GLA 19 (Another single overprint value)
- There were also Official Government Stamps (Dienstmarken) for the Party and Authorities, which are cataloged separately (e.g., Mi. 30-42 for the “Kreis Glauchau” overprints).
Key Characteristics:
- Overprint Varieties: Since these were produced locally under emergency conditions, there are numerous variations in the type of overprint, the color, and the underlying stamp used.
- Rarity: Some of the Glauchau local issues, particularly the official stamps (Dienstmarken) and certain specific overprint varieties, are quite rare and highly sought after by collectors. For example, some sets had a very limited print run, sometimes fewer than 200 sets.
