COVER N.181 - GERMANY

Postmark: Deutsche Post - Munchen Philatelie-Shop 81825 / Munchen 81825 zz 18.11.2022  
Posted on the 18th November, received on the 22nd November 2022
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22-11-22, nice date to receive a cover. I'm not at all attracted to strange theories and numerology and stuff like that, but I have to say that this is really a once in a lifetime combination of numbers in a date, given that not only its is a palindromic sequence but also the mid section is exactly half the rest. Cool. 

Now I shall connect this with the fact that on this date I have received a cover dedicated to a number that will read the same way if I turn the envelope upside down - 96 - and I'm sure there's more than enough here to start a rocambolesc divagation into what this means, probably a secret message in need of decoding  from those that hold the everlasting power and secretly dominate the world, for whom we are but pawns of their vicious game...

I shall don my secret superhero vest then.... :-)

Thank you so much, Alexander, for a really nice cover with the face of the envelope totally taken up by interesting stuff..

Errors are a classic amongst  collectors. The uniqueness of the odd item that, for a twist of fate, ends up having a “genetic" difference vis a vis the other members of the series can only add interest and singularity to the collection,  and as such it comes as no surprise that  errors, which from a production point of view, should be considered faulty elements and be thus discarded when undergoing quality control, end up being the most valuable pieces of the whole run.

Printing errors are a classic amongst stamp collectors. One such case is the subject of this year's Deutsche Post Stamp day issue: the Baden misprint.

Nothing easier that to take a 6  for a 9 and vice versa. History has it that when the Grand Duchy of Baden issued its first stamps on the 1st Mat 1851, the 9 Kreuzer-Marke stamp would have been printed in pink, while the 6 Kreuzer-Marke would be a darkish turquoise colour.

Somewhere along the prnting run it seems, the printers took a 6 for a 9 and printed some 9 Kreuzer Mark stamps in the turquoise paper meant for the 6 Kreuzer mark

The relevant bit is that the error went unnoticed and the stamps went on the market to fulfil the aim they had been created for.

It was only more than four decades later that the mishap was detected when a philatelist called on the attention of his peers to a singular cover he had come into possession of, with a 9 Kreuzer Mark turquoise stamp. Since that day two other examples of the faulty stamp have been found, one in a cover that is now residing at the Museum für Kommunikation in Berlin. while the other two are in  private hands. 

The Deutsche Post commemorative souvenir sheet featuring fac-similes of  both the 9 Kreuzer mark stamps, the urquoise one being an actual  stamp itself, was issued on 06OCT2022. The stamp has a face value of 0,85€ and along its 4 edges it has  the face value and the legends "Deutgschland"; "Tag der Briefmarke" (Stamp day) and "Baden Fehldruck" (Baden Misprint).

The souvenir sheet bears the following legends :

On May I, 1851, the Baden misprint of a 9-Kreuzer postage stamp was issued. This was printed on blue-green paper instead of pink.

The value was probably confused by the printer with the 6-Kreuzer-Freimarke, which was printed on blue-green paper.

Further to this interesting souvenir sheet, Alexander used a 0,05 € stamp, which is part of the "World of the letter" definitive set, first instalment, issued on 02_DEC2021. The stamp image represents a lotus flower made with letters.

To complete the postage, Alexander used a 0,20 € label.

The postmarks indicate that the Cover was posted at the Deutsche Post Philately shop of Munich.