2018-08-02 Thu

The term Instruktionsmarken refers to the Instructional Stamps. These are one of the unique stamps of one of the states of Germany which have an interesting background.

Hamburg, one of the most affluent cities in the World was an important commercial centre of Northern Europe and the most important banking city of Northern Germany. As the trade and commerce flourished, the city of Hamburg became the main communication centre. Hence, the postal system developed at a fast pace.

The most unique stamps of the State of Hamburg are Instruktionsmarken or to the Instructional Stamps. Issued in 1859 these stamps proved to be the essential part of the postal system. The stamps printed in black on golden-yellowish paper were issued with the denominations ranging from ½ postmarke to 9 postmarke.

These were affixed to packages of new stamps being shipped from the printers to the main post office to identify the denomination of the postage stamp sheets contained in the packages.

Image Courtesy: https://www.stamp-collecting-world.com