Germany: North German Confederation 1866-71

1869 Scott 15 1/2gr orange

Postmarked March 31, 1870

Quick History
The North German Confederation (Norddeutcher Bund) was a federation of independent "states" formed in 1866-67. This confederation had various Kingdoms, Grand Duchies, Duchies, Principalities, and Free Hanseatic cities, 22 of them in all, come together as the first "modern" German Nation State.

 North German Confederation 1866-71

For stamp collectors, that meant the German States of Prussia, Saxony, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Bremen, Hamburg, and Lubeck ceased issuing their own stamps. ( Hanover and Bergedorf  had already ceased, having been subsumed into Prussia and Hamburg respectively.)

Stamp production for the North German Confederation existed between 1868-1870.

Although not a German State, the House of Thurn and Taxis had a postal monopoly with horse drawn mail coaches throughout Europe. They had Northern District stamps (In Silver Groschen), and Southern District Stamps (In Kreuzer). When the North German Confederation was developed, Thurn and Taxis had to sell its monopoly in 1867.

Prior to the North German Confederation, there was the historic German Confederation (1815). But with the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia and its allies founded a military alliance (North German Federation), which quickly became a Confederation with a Constitution in 1867.

The Confederation agreed that the citizens would have free movement, a common postal system, passports, and equal rights for religious denominations.

The Constitution also allowed the southern German States to join. This in fact occurred in 1870-71, when Bavaria, Wurttemburg, Baden, and a part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse joined under a new Nation State- the German Empire (Deutsches Reich). The Flag and Constitution were virtually identical, but this was the formal end of the North German Confederation as such.

Curious who the 22 member States were? Here is a list, with an asterisk (*) for those States that had their own stamp production prior to joining the North German Confederation

The 22 member States of the North German Confederation 1866-71


State/Capital/Population figures for 1865-1910

Kingdoms
Prussia*/Berlin/40,000,000
(Note: Hanover*/Hanover/3,200,000 became a province of Prussia in 1866)
Saxony*/Dresden/2,500,000

Grand Duchies
Hesse/Giessen/1,200,000
Mecklenburg-Schwerin*/Schwerin/670,000
Mecklenbeurg-Strelitz*/Neustrelitz/100,000
Oldenburg*/Oldenburg/480,000
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach/Weimar/390,000

Duchies
Anhalt/Dessau/100,000
Brunswick*/Braunschweg/350,000
Saxe-Altenburg/Altenburg/200,000
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha/Coburg/240,000
Saxe-Meningen/Meiningen/270,000

Principalities
Lippe/Detmold/?
Reuss,junior line/Gera/145,000
Reuss,senior line/Greiz/?
Schaumburg-Lippe/Buckeburg/45,000
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt/Rudolstadt/97,000
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen/Sondershausen/85,000
Waldeck-Pyrmont/Arolsen/60,000

Free Hanseatic cities
Bremen*/Bremen/122,000
Hamburg*/Hamburg/450,000
(Note: Bergedorf*/Bergedorf/3,000 was purchased by Hamburg in 1867)
Lubeck*/Lubeck/136,000

As mentioned, the North German Confederation lasted until 1871. Prussia was by far the most dominant member with 80% of the territory and population. The other 21 members had 20% of the territory and population.

Additional States joined ( Now 27 members) to form the German Empire in 1870-71.

State/Capital/Population

Kingdoms
Bavaria*/Munich/7,000,000 -(Continued to issue stamps until 1920.)
Wurttemburg*/Stuttgart/2,500,00-(Continued to issue regular stamps until 1902, official stamps until 1923.)

Grand Duchies
Baden*/Karlsruhe/1,400,000

Imperial Territory
Alsace-Lorraine/Strassburg/1,800,000

Note: asterisk (*) for those States that had their own stamp production

The North German Confederation (red)

States that joined in 1871 to form the German Empire (yellow-orange)

Territory of Alsace-Loraine annexed after the Franco-Prussian War (pale beige)

Into the Deep Blue

The Scott Classic Specialized catalogue has, from 1868-70, 35 major stamp descriptions for regular and official categories. Nine stamps are valued at $1+ or less, and eleven more form $2+-$9+. "Affordability" Index is 57%.

A closer look at the stamps and issues

1868 Scott 5 2gr ultramarine

The first issue ( eleven stamps) for the North German Confederation was produced in 1868, and was rouletted. These stamps are fairly inexpensive, with seven valued between <$1-$7+. Of interest, for the Northern Postal District, the stamps were valued in Groschen ( 30 Groschen= 1 Thaler).  The numeral in the center is surrounded by a circle.

1868 Scott 9 3kr rose

Postmarked "Mainz"

For the Southern Postal District, the stamps were valued in Kreuzer ( 60 Kreuzer= 1 Gulden). Here there is an oval surrounding the center numeral. Altogether, six stamps are in Groschen, and five stamps are in Kreuzer. There was, in addition, a 1/2 shilling valued stamp (Scott 12) for Hamburg.

1gr rose "Norddeutscher Postbezirk" inscribed

1868 rouletted and the 1869 perforated examples

In 1869, stamps (Eleven) with perforations rather than rouletting was issued. The inscription above is translated "North German Postal District" Note the 'Leipzig" postmark.

1869 Scott 14 1/3gr green

The 1869 issue is likewise inexpensive, with eight stamps between $1+-$8. Note the "posthorn" design in the upper right and lower left of the stamp. The posthorn was used to signal the arrival of the mail coach or post rider.

Finally, I don't have an example (CV are $200+), but in 1869, 10gr and 30gr denomination stamps were issued using Goldbeater's skin, the outer membrane of an oxen intestine. This is a parchment used for making gold leaf. The Goldbeater's skin was used as an anti-counterfeiting measure for these high value stamps.

Deep Blue
The Steiner album has two pages for North German Confederation stamps, following the Scott sequence exactly.

1868 Scott 6 5gr bister

Closeup of "winged wheel" and "posthorn" motifs

Big Blue
Big Blue '69, on three lines of one page, has 14 stamp spaces for regular and official stamps. BB gives all eleven denominations of the 1868 and 1869 issues a space. Total coverage is 40%.

The first stamp space is a bit problematic though, as BB specifies 1/4 G "red lilac" and "rouletted". "Red lilac" is now a minor number (Scott 1b), while the major number (Scott 1) is "violet". As stated in the "Big Blue checklist-how it is done" blog, I now also give a major number as a choice for a space if BB specifies a minor number. So Scott 1 "violet" is listed as a choice.

"Rouletted" is also specified for the 1/4 gr space. Fine, that can be done, and the perforated 1869 Scott 13 1/4 gr will not be given as a choice. But BB probably is suggesting putting only the "rouletted" 1868 issue in the remaining spaces. I choose to ignore, and will admit also the 1869 perforated issue as a choice for the remaining spaces. So, to summarize, the spaces can be filled with either the rouletted or the perforated varieties.

The 1868 Scott 1 1/4gr "violet" ($15), the 1869 Scott 20 2kr "orange" ($37+ mint), and the 1868 Scott 11 18kr "bister" ($32+ mint) are the most expensive spaces to fill.

Simple Checklist
1868-69
1b or 1, 2 or 14, 3 or 15, 4 or 16, 5 or 17, 6 or 18,
7 or 19, 8 or 20, 9 or 21, 10 or 22, 11 or 23,

Official Stamps
1879
O2,O4,O5,

Comments
A) Most expensive:
1868 Scott 1 1/4gr "violet" ($15)
1869 Scott 20 2kr "orange" ($37+ mint)
1868 Scott 11 18kr "bister" ($32+ mint)
B) See discussion about permitting both rouletted and perforated varieties.
C) See discussion about permitting a major number if BB specifies a minor number.

1869 Scott 17 2gr ultramarine

Out of the Blue
Of interest, Deep Blue includes the North German Confederation stamps as part of the "Germany" pages. The Michel catalogue places the stamps not under "Altdeutschland", but with the "Norddeutscher Bund-Deutsches Reich" section. Only Scott is a little more equivocal. The catalogue has these under "German States", but in the last part, right next to "Germany".

Maps appear to be in the public domain.

Links
North German Confederation - Bud's Big Blue

Comments appreciated!