Schleswig - Bud's Big Blue

1920 Schleswig in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

(From Jim: Bud is well, but has a lot of non philatelic obligations and responsibilities at the moment. With his permission, I will upload  country pages in his complete '69 Big Blue that so far has not been shown. He might add his observations later. Enjoy!)

Jim's Observations

As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, Schleswig , comprising the southern Jutland Peninsula lands of the former Duchy of Schleswig, was offered a plebiscite after WW I.

The reason for the plebiscite was the majority Danish population in northern Schleswig, and the Danes had long advocated for that portion to be formally annexed to Denmark. After WW I, their arguments fell on the sympathetic ears of the French, and hence the plebiscite was organized and monitored by a commission with members from France, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden.

To publicize the referendum, fourteen stamps were issued January 25, 1920, denominated in Pfennig/Mark.

There was actually two plebiscite votes: one in Zone I, the other in Zone II. No doubt the "zones" were set up to make the results clear, if one wants to be cynical about the process.

The northern portion (Zone I) voted on February 10, 1920 to accept Danish rule (75%). The central part (Zone II) of the southern portion voted on March 14, 1920 for Germany (80%). 

On May 20, 1920, there was another fourteen stamp issue intended for use in Zone I, and now denominated in Ore/Krone.

Zone I (Southern Jutland) was transferred to Denmark on June 15, 1920.

The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Schleswig 1920, 42 major descriptive numbers. Of those, 24 are CV <$1-$1+, or 57%. Clearly, a nice sampling can be acquired by the WW collector for not much expense.

Big Blue '69, on three lines of one page (shared with Senegambia & Niger, and the beginning of St. Vincent), has 21 spaces. Coverage is 50%.

All of the coverage is for the first two issues (The official issue, which is not covered by BB, is quite expensive). BB is missing three stamps from the second issue with CV <$1.

There are no expensive stamps: In fact, the most expensive space is for the Scott 13 5m green @ CV $1+. !

For more on the stamps themselves, and the BB checklist, click on the link below.

Schleswig Blog Post & BB Checklist

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Supplements

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