MEMEL REVISITED

I promised you some overprints on overprinted stamps from Memel, and I've found them so here they are.

These overprints were issued in 1921. In 1920, two sets of ordinary overprinted stamps were issued, one on French stamps (I showed you some last time) and one on German stamps. Now, the fact that after these double overprints a new set of single overprints (again on French stamps) was issued (in the same year), would lead to the conclusion that the double overprints were some form of interim emergency solution. Probably, the new stamps weren't ready yet and stocks of old stamps were running low so I suppose that's why these overprinted stamps were overprinted once again, with values that were needed but could not be supplied yet. Which would lead to the conclusion that these second overprints were probably applied locally.

When I rediscovered these stamps, I noticed that some values were printed on the famous (or infamous?) GC paper, with GC standing for Grande Consommation. This was a cheap wartime paper used for large bulk printings of definitives. It is rather brownish-greyish in appearance which is clear to see on the scans. The Letters GC appear in large capitals on the margins of these sheets so that is something well worth looking out for!

:-)

Adrian

MEMEL

The Silence after the Storm? Writer's Block? No, just work getting in the way of life, like it has an annoying habit to! But here I am again!

Ever heard of Memel? Well, apparently it is a seaport and district on the Baltic Sea. It used to be part of Germany, but after the Great War of 1914-18, it came under Allied Control. From, then (well, from 1920 to be precise) stamps from France and Germany were overprinted in various ways for use there. Among those were the Sower stamps that I collect which is why I can show you these! The overprints consist of the word MEMEL and a value in either Pfennig or Mark.

It's a bit of a mess, because from 1921 onwards, the surcharged stamps were surcharged even further but I'll show you these at a later date. In all, there are some 130 basic overprinted stamps to be collected!

In 1923, Memel was captured and absorbed by Lithuania, and in 1939 it was returned to Germany. After World War II Memel became part of Lithuania, which it still is now.

:-)

Adrian