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Post by PostmasterGS on Dec 29, 2014 1:54:51 GMT
Rod,
These can be difficult to distinguish without side-by-side comparison. And even then, discoloration due to age, soaking, etc., can skew the comparison. Trying to ID them from a scan is usually futile, as variations in brightness of the scan make it difficult to accurately capture white/yellow distinctions.
The easiest way would probably be to compare the paper with the issues that were never issued on the yellowish paper. Of the 9 major issues in this set, 5 (15/20/25/30/40 Pf) weren't issued on yellow, so any copies of those you have have to be white.
Also, the cancel dates on any used copies may help. For the coil perfed copies like those shown above, any cancels pre-Oct 1935 have to be white.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Dec 10, 2014 19:46:18 GMT
Rod,
I think the previous post to which you're referring was on SCF, and it dealt with flaggenstempel cancels of the 1930-1940s rather than yacht cancels. Honestly, I know of no yacht cancels - the yacht stamps fell out of use about 10-20 years before slogan or commemorative cancels became widespread in Germany.
When I get a chance tomorrow, I'll post a new thread about the flaggenstempel cancels.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Dec 9, 2014 22:08:05 GMT
Rod, That's the first time I've seen that yacht. It's definitely not part of the cancel. It almost looks like a cachet or something similar on the envelope. Let me see if I can find any additional info on it. The yacht is the Hohenzollern II, BTW.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Dec 1, 2014 6:50:45 GMT
They responded that they would remove them, but I would have to identify which specific images. I just don't have the time to do that. Especially since they allow user-uploaded images, so unless they implement some controls, it wouldn't be long before the images were re-uploaded.
I can tell which ones are mine by looking at the details of the stamps -- a short perf here, a discolorored spot there.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Nov 30, 2014 19:02:35 GMT
That I have heard from members on another forum that some of the images they have are "borrowed" from other sites. That was me. They lifted over 2,000 images from my site without asking. I've had quite a few people tell me it's no big deal, since they're just photos of existing stamps. But hey, they're not the ones who've put thousands of hours into scanning an entire collection and building a website to display it.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Nov 25, 2014 20:10:55 GMT
If those are "100% originals", the seller is an idiot. Final hammer price of £79 for a pair with a CV of €2,500 (just short of £2,000), and which routinely sell for north of 50% CV.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Nov 19, 2014 17:54:40 GMT
Rod,
I'm not 100% sure, but this is my understanding of the purpose.
At that time, Germany had a Statistical Office that tracked a variety of data with an eye toward economic improvements. The data was vast -- everything from employment numbers and factory production to bicycle usage. Much of the data was acquired by requiring businesses and individuals to file certain documents with the Statistical Office. And being the government, there was a fee associated with the filing.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Nov 19, 2014 7:47:08 GMT
Rod, The revenues are statistical fee stamps from 1923. They're cataloged in Erler as AF25. The "In Deutschland Zollpflichtig" is a duty stamp. Certain goods were subject to customs duties on export from Germany. This label was attached to indicate that the customs fees had been paid. The "Zollstück" labels are customs stamps. The "Hauptzollamt" is from the Main Customs Office in Kehl.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Nov 4, 2014 19:51:11 GMT
Here are a couple recent additions to my Luftschiffexpedition collection. This is a really nice corner copy of the 2 Pfennig value. And this bad boy... This is a rare one. Prior to the issue of the stamps in 1914, postcards were printed allowing collectors or users to order copies of the 2 Pfennig, 1 Mark, and (eventually never-issued) 20 Mark values. The details of this postcard are truly unknown -- no idea how many were printed or whether they were ever widely available. This copy was not used for its intended purpose, but appears to have been sent through the mail for philatelic purposes. Perhaps this is why it survived. There's a possibility that other copies were available and used for their intended purpose, but as cards used for ordering purposes would have all been to the same destination (the Luftschiffexpedition Office in Berlin), they could have been destroyed en masse upon the cancellation of the program. The end result -- this is the only copy of the order card known to exist.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Oct 29, 2014 20:37:09 GMT
Aren't you a Navy man, Rod? Take a stab at it.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Oct 28, 2014 20:13:14 GMT
Here's another nice story from the collection. In 1898, Germany launched the Deutsche Tiefsee-Expedition (German Deep Sea Expedition). The purpose of the Expedition was to conduct oceanographic and biological studies off of Antarctica and in the Indian Ocean. Route of the ExpeditionThe Expedition traveled via the Valdivia, a steamer formerly of the Hamburg-America line. ValdiviaThe Valdivia arrived in Kamerun in late September 1898, and departed in early October. Due to the unusual volume of mail being sent by the members of the Expedition, the post office in the city of Kamerun (present-day Douala) ran short of 10 Pf stamps. To remedy the shortage, the postmaster bisected 20 Pf stamps for use as 10 Pf provisionals. As with other provisional uses throughout the German colonies, this practice was frowned upon, but tolerated by the German postal authorities. The bisects became known as the Valdivia Provisionals. Valdivia ProvisionalAll legitimate uses are canceled on 3 October 1898. The total number of stamps bisected is unknown, but is believed to be approximately 100 (1 sheet). It's among the rarest of the German colonial bisects, third in catalog value (€20,000) only to two of the three bisects from the German Marshall Islands (MiNr 3 I H at €35,000, and MiNr 12 H at €45,000).
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Post by PostmasterGS on Jun 14, 2014 3:46:49 GMT
Greetings, all. I'm working on a major re-design of my website, and I need your help. As my website is currently setup, when a user clicks on a thumbnail of a stamp, it pops up a larger version with a caption. With this larger version on the screen, the user can click the left/right halves of the photo to scroll to the previous/next images, or click off the image to exit. This system is called a "lightbox". See here for an example. The problem with any lightbox-based system is that without some serious effort, it's not scalable, meaning it doesn't adjust for image height/width. It therefore doesn't do well with large images, lower screen resolutions, and especially mobile devices. In an effort to develop a better solution, I'm testing a system called TouchNSwipe that is built to be cross-platform compatible. It utilizes the swipe and pinch controls on touchscreen devices, and mouse clicking/dragging/scrollwheel on traditional systems. I've implemented it on a small portion of my website, but before I put in the effort to update ~1,200 templates on my site, I wanted to get some feedback from those who use other browsers on mobile platforms. So far, it's been tested on the following: - Firefox on Mac OS X 10.9.3 - Safari on Mac OS X 10.9.3 - Safari on iPhone 4 running iOS 7.0.6 (known issues with navigation bar) - Safari on iPad (3d Gen) running iOS 5.1.1 - Safari on iPad (4th Gen) running iOS 7.0.6 - Puffin on iPad (4th Gen) running iOS 7.0.6 (known issues with touch scrolling) - Atomic on iPad (4th Gen) running iOS 7.0.6 - Mercury on iPad (4th Gen) running iOS 7.0.6 - Chrome on iPad (4th Gen) running iOS 7.0.6 - Dolphin on iPad (4th Gen) running iOS 7.0.6 The iPhone issue is for those using iOS versions earlier than 7.1. The navigation buttons on the iPhone can't be suppressed, and they get in the way of the TouchNSwipe controls. The temporary solution is to rotate the iPhone. If anyone would like to help out, especially those with other types of mobile devices, click on over here and give it a try. Any of the pages in the "Ship Post" section should do. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Jun 7, 2014 8:28:26 GMT
Rod,
At that time, lower-ranking enlisted members of the armed forces were allowed to send letters free of postage, up to 60g weight, if the envelope was marked "Soldatenbrief - Eigene Angelegenheit des Empfängers" (soldier letter - personal for recipient). The text was normally written on the bottom left of the envelope.
At some point, unknown private parties decided to make labels which said the same for sale to the troops. The men could use them in lieu of the handwritten notation, presumably to save the effort or to distinguish their mail. They were commonly sold in mess halls and stationery stores.
There's a brief note on these in Michel's Specialized Band 1 -- page 568 in the 2013 catalog, and page 211 in the 2007 English-language version.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Jun 4, 2014 11:21:41 GMT
Mi IIa (Bagamojo) The post offices were under orders to use the stamps only on official parcel post cards. The stamps were not to be sold to, or used on mail addressed to, private parties. And yet... The cover shown below is addressed to the Catholic Bishop in Bagamojo. It originated at the Catholic mission in Bahi, which was near Dodoma, and the 3 Pf Germania stamps are likely from Dodoma's stock of 100. It was cancelled on a train of the Mittellandbahn (Central Railway), which ran through Dodoma. This is likely a unique (as in one-of-a-kind) item, as it contains both a rare private use of the provisional stamps, and a railway cancel, which would not be normal with the proper official use of these stamps. Mi IIa (x2) on cover with Mittellandbahn cancel Michel IIb (Mohorro) Michel IIc (unknown cancel) Michel IId (Mombo) The 50 Pf value (Michel IIe) comes up for auction infrequently (one a year or so). I'll post one of those when I get one! Only one copy of the 1 M value (Mi IIf) has ever been found. It was cancelled at Mombo on 4 January 1916. Unfortunately, it has not been seen since WWII, and is believed to have been lost or destroyed during the war.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Jun 4, 2014 11:21:29 GMT
So what do these two ships of the German Navy have to do with philately, you ask? Well... In addition to salvaging the guns off these vessels, the Germans salvaged their supply of German postage -- specifically, 6 values of the Germania issues of 1905/06 (Michel 84I, 85I, 86I, 87I, 91I, 94AI). This was done primarily due to shortages of German East Africa postage caused by the British blockade. On 20 December 1915, the stamps were distributed to 8 post offices in German East Africa. Because they had been submerged in the scuttled ships, they had no gum, and had to be affixed with glue.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Jun 4, 2014 11:21:11 GMT
On 5 June 1914, the German light cruiser SMS Königsberg, under Fregattenkapitän Max Looff, arrived in German East Africa as part of a regularly scheduled two-year deployment to the German Navy's East Africa Station. In that assignment, her mission was to protect German interests in East Africa. SMS KönigsbergAt the outbreak of World War I, the Königsberg initially conducted commerce raiding off the coast of East Africa. With the British blockading Dar-es-Salaam, however, she quickly ran short of supplies, fuel, and parts. So in September 1914, she withdrew to the delta of the Rufiji River, where she could hide from roving British ships while awaiting resupply. The Germans launched several attempts to resupply the ship, but most were unsuccessful. As supplies ran out, the British Navy closed in, using shallow-draft vessels to get within artillery range. Finally, on 11 July 1915, after 9 months of British attempts to destroy Königsberg (collectively known as the Battle of Rifiji Delta), Looff ordered her scuttled in the Rufiji River. Her main guns were salvaged, and went on to see service as coastal guns and artillery pieces of General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck's German army during the East African campaign. Scuttled SMS KönigsbergAlso in German East Africa at the outbreak of war was the German survey ship SMS Möwe. Trapped in Dar-es-Salaam by the British blockade, she was scuttled on 20 September 1914. SMS Möwe
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Post by PostmasterGS on May 26, 2014 2:10:03 GMT
Germany's Germania issues of 1900-1922 can, at first glance, be a real pain to identify. To help in this regard, I've put together a little tool that allows you to filter the Germania issues by face value, watermark, and type, to narrow down the potential catalog numbers. Give it a try here. As it's early in the development, there are a couple in-work items -- (1) A handful of the photos are representatives, not actuals -- meaning, if two catalog numbers (say, #68 and #83) are identical except for the watermark, they may have the same photo (in this case, #68). I have photos of most of the actual issues, but they're on a boat to the Azores at the moment, so I had to make do with what's available on the Internet. (2) I'm working on adding the larger issues, and some more specialized items. There are a lot of minor variations, and I may eventually add them all, but for now it's just the basics to get you in the ballpark. As always, feedback is appreciated.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Apr 13, 2014 10:03:43 GMT
In March 1945, Allied forces finally crossed the Rhine River into Germany. After gaining a foothold, two large Allied armies swept into Germany -- the American 12th Army Group from the southwest and the British 21st Army Group from the northwest. As the armies sped through Germany, they bypassed and eventually surrounded Field Marshal Walter Model's German Army Group B, which was positioned in the Ruhr Valley. This area of encirclement would come to be known as the Ruhr Pocket. For three weeks in early April 1945, these 430,000 Germans were cutoff from the outside world. For reasons that have been lost to history, the Army Group B Postmaster determined that they were in need of provisional permission stamps for use on airmail originating in the Pocket (though regular Feldpost mail was free of charge, airmail service was not). So, he commissioned the Kämper printing house in Meinerzhagen to overprint the 1941 3 Pf Hitler Head ( Michel 782) with "Feldpost" for use as an airmail stamp. The provisional stamps were issued to troops in portions of the Ruhr Pocket, but the airmail service never materialized due to the war situation. So, they cannot be found validly used, though CTOs exist. Two major variations exist -- one with smooth gum (Michel 17x) and one with vertically ribbed gum (Michel 17z). Additionally, a rare variation exists with inverted overprint (Michel 17zK).
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Post by PostmasterGS on Apr 11, 2014 13:19:22 GMT
Here's a unique one from the collection. First, a little background... In the 19th Century, it was common for European governments to spread their influence around the world by encouraging domestic companies to venture abroad and conduct business in colonies, treaty ports, or underdeveloped countries with valuable trade opportunities. In doing so, however, the companies often faced a problem -- postal service could be unavailable or unreliable in these areas. To solve this problem, the European powers would frequently open local postal agencies for the sole purpose of serving their own interests in the foreign country. Among these overseas postal agencies was the German postal agency in Turkey. It was first established in Constantinople on 1 March 1870 to provide mail service to German companies operating in Turkey. Over the next 44 years, Germany would operate her postal agency in Turkey. She would eventually open post offices in Jaffa, Beirut, Jerusalem, Smyrna, and several additional offices in Constantinople. All office were closed on 30 September 1914 by voluntary agreement between Germany and Turkey. Map of German post offices in Turkey The postal history of the German Offices Abroad in Turkey is quite colorful, but this is perhaps her most unusual item. The city of Smyrna (modern Izmir), Turkey, was famous for its raisins. Dealers in Smyrna would frequently mail raisin samples to prospective buyers around the world. The raisin samples were mailed in small, round packages (in German, musterpäckchen), with postage attached directly to the container. This presented a problem, however, in that the packages were fragile, and the normal metal canceller would damage the package. To solve this problem, they developed a rubber canceller solely for use on the raisin packages. This cancel is commonly referred to as a Smyrna box cancel or raisin cancel (in German, Rosinenstempel). The cancel can be found in two variations -- one with stars and one without. Cancel with stars: 17 Aug 1910 - 30 Sep 1914 Cancel without stars: 19 Nov 1912 - 30 Sep 1914 Because this cancel was unique to raisin samples, it's easy to distinguish stamps which were used for this purpose, even off-piece. Smyrna Rosinenstempel off-piece (not from my collection) The stamps with complete cancel are fairly rare complete on-piece. This example, from my collection, features a complete, round top/bottom of the sample package, with three copies of Michel 36 and one copy of Michel 37, all with complete cancels. The arrival cancel is from Laggenbeck, Germany.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 24, 2014 9:14:25 GMT
There are about 6-7 mint copies of these up on eBay right now for pretty cheap.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 23, 2014 10:03:36 GMT
At the end of the war, Degrelle fled to Denmark and Norway, where he then commandeered a Heinkel He 111 aircraft and fled to Spain. Franco's government refused to turn over Degrelle for extradition, even going so far as to allow him to escape from the hospital where he was staying while handing over a look-alike. In 1954, Spain granted him Spanish citizenship under the name José León Ramírez Reina. Belgium convicted him of treason in absentia and condemned him to death by firing squad.
Degrelle would remain in Spain until his death in 1994.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 23, 2014 10:03:05 GMT
In addition, Ministerblocks of these issues were printed. Michel lists two varieties -- (1) a 146x211mm sheet, and (2) a 145x198mm sheet with "A Leon Degrelle, Chef de Rex" inscription. The Ministerblock from my collection is an unlisted third variety -- 145x198mm, but without the inscription. Ministerblock
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 23, 2014 10:02:18 GMT
The cinderella sheets can also be found imperf, but they're much, much rarer (Michel CV €6,000 for the imperf, versus €550 for the perf). Michel I U Sheetlet Michel II U Sheetlet Michel III U Sheetlet Michel IV U Sheetlet
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 23, 2014 10:01:45 GMT
About a half-dozen varieties exist where the red color was printed incorrectly (or not at all). Michel III F Sheetlet (missing red printing)
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 23, 2014 10:01:21 GMT
On 10 April 1942, a set of Walloon Legion cinderellas was issued to serve a dual purpose -- as propaganda, and to raise funds to help support the legion. Michel I Sheetlet Michel II Sheetlet Michel III Sheetlet Michel IV Sheetlet
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 23, 2014 10:00:12 GMT
With the violation of Belgian neutrality by the Nazis on 10 May 1940, the Rexist Party split over the matter of resistance. Many Rexists went underground and began resisting the German occupation. Others, most notably Degrelle, sided with the Germans. Degrelle was arrested for collaborating with the Germans and was evacuated to France, where he was eventually released by the Germans. Upon his release, he returned to Belgium and joined the Walloon Legion of the Wehrmacht, which was formed by Belgians from the Walloon region to fight against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. Degrelle would eventually rise to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel), and become one of only two foreigners to be awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. Walloon Legion Recruitment Flyer This recruitment flyer reads as follows: Front"All people of Europe have a supreme duty to participate in the fight for the destiny of Europe. This participation is not only a duty in the common interest of the European way of life and the preservation of our people, but is also for the rank and dignity of all the people of the new Europe that will be borne of this crisis. By order of the Führer, the Walloon Legion, which has fought valiantly on all fronts in the East, is incorporated into the formations of the Waffen SS." Inside - Left"In order to permit active participation of Walloons, the SS-Sturmbrigade Wallonien was created. It will be an elite group, equipped with the most modern weapons and equipment perfect in all points of view. Enlist in large numbers! The day is near, or you will be proud to have been part of this formation of honor, wearing the glorious cross of Burgundy on your collar. If you are brave, if you have a sense of responsibility, if you are able to bear arms, if you are willing to foght for your native land and Europe against Bolshevism, commit to the SS-Sturmbrigade Wallonien (Motorized)." Inside - Right"For information on pay, benefits, special supplies for family, insurance, etc., please contact the Ersatzkommando Wallonien der Waffen-SS, at 10 Congress Street, Brussels, and in all recruitment offices." BackOn the back is a form to be filled out by the recruit, then detached and mailed to the address on the reverse (Ersatzkommando Wallonien der Waffen-SS, at 10 Congress Street, Brussels). The form asks for the enlistee's name, birthplace, address, and profession.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 23, 2014 9:58:49 GMT
In 1930, Léon Degrelle founded the Rexist Party in Belgium. Rexism called for a reformation of Belgian society in conformity with the teachings of the Catholic Church, but in a fascist form of government. Léon Degrelle In 1935-36, the Catholic Church cut ties with the Rexists over their increasingly close ties with Hitler and Mussolini. The Rexists began receiving monetary support from Germany and Italy, to the tune of approximately 2 million lire and 100,000 marks in 1936 alone. Flag of the Rexist Party In the 1936 elections, the Rexists reached the peak of their power, claiming 21 deputies and 12 senators in the Belgian elections. To raise funds for the election, the Rexists published these cinderellas featuring Degrelle. Léon Degrelle Cinderella The cinderellas were sold in booklets of 10. Booklet front Booklet back Booklet inside featuring a pane of 10
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 21, 2014 21:37:11 GMT
It appears to be a crude forgery of the Confederate States Macon, GA, Five Cent Provisional. A couple copies I found online from old auctions: From Spink Shreves Galleries: #53X3, Macon, Ga., 5c Black on yellow wove, bottom right corner sheet-margin horizontal pair, with large to huge margins all around, fresh color, tied by portion of large "Macon Ga." c.d.s. on small cover addressed to Richmond, Va., from the Cobb correspondence, backflap removed and a bit reduced at top, lightened stain at left and an insignificant edge tear, none of which affects the provisional pair which is is extremely fine.One of five recorded covers bearing a pair of the attractively designed Macon Five Cent Provisional. A rare and eye appealing cover; ex-Caspary, Meroni and Kilbourne. Price Realized: $5,250. And from Rumsey Auctions: Confederacy, Macon, Ga., 1861, 5¢ black on yellow, Horizontal Pair. Large margins to just touch floral ornament tips at left & bottom, dark shade on fresh paper, tied by two strikes of clear "Macon Ga./Aug. 7" (1861) double circle postmark on Patriotic cover showing 7-Star Flag design (Dietz F7-12) in red, white & blue, cover addressed to Prince Edward C.H., Va., trivial flap tear, Extremely Fine. Scott No. 53X3 Estimate $10,000 - 15,000. One of two recorded examples of the Macon floral-border provisional used on a Patriotic cover. The other is from the same correspondence with same franking and Patriotic design. Truly one of the Classic Confederate States Rareties. . Price Realized: $35,000.
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 21, 2014 1:22:53 GMT
And here's an ad that isn't part of the Deutsche Nothilfe/Winterhilfswerk series -- a 1937 ad for Michel Block 7, which was issued to commemorate Hitler's 48th birthday. The ad is A3 size (11.7" x 16.5"), and it reads, "If you want to help the Führer in supporting the cultural programs, then buy the Führer commemorative stamp. On sale for a limited time at the counter."
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Post by PostmasterGS on Mar 21, 2014 1:22:43 GMT
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