Content of Deutschland-Spezial 2020 catalog Volume I: 1849-04/1945

Old Germany; Northern German Confederation and German Reich; local issues 1923; foreign post offices; colonies and maritime mail abroad; occupation issues of World Wars I and II; plebiscite areas, Belgian military mail in Rhineland, Eupen and Malmédy; Gdansk, Memel, Sudetenland; field post stamps; official mail, war and propaganda forgeries; international reply coupons.

• 50th anniversary edition with three book markers for the same price as last year’s edition!
• Numerous novel discoveries, such as MiNo. 9 Y of the German maritime mail, Saar double print MiNo. 142 DD, Elwa se-tenant print MiNo. 33/28 or the upside-down cogs of Gdansk
• The collection areas German colonies, Gdansk, Sudetenland, occupation in World War II and propaganda forgeries present many additional type variations, plate flaws and other new special issues
• Modified appraisals, particularly concerning the collection areas Old Germany, Northern German Confederation, German Reich and Sudetenland
• Editorial improvements throughout the whole edition; specially the areas of Bohemia and Moravia as well as the stamp booklets issued by the German Reich have been revised and expanded considerably
• Over 6000 high-resolution colour photos and approx. 96,000 price appraisals

The Michel Catalog Deutschland-Spezial has contained in-depth special information for experienced philatelists and collectors of specialties and type variations since its very first edition. In particular the first book, which contained only 436 pages, published in 1935, catalogued one of the most famous and expensive type variations of Old Germany.

The Baden misprint MiNo. 4F started with an appraised value of Marks 25,000 and has been very much sought after ever since. Its value culminated in 2019 when it was sold for more than one million Euros while launching the high-profile auction sale series of the collection of Erivan Haubs.

This first type variation of the Germany Special is considered to be the most precious German stamp there is, yet even in 2020 the last type variation of German collection areas prior to 1945 has not been sighted yet by far. New discoveries are constantly made and are included in our new reference books after they have been thoroughly examined and approved by experts. A particularly large number of formerly unknown specimens celebrate their philatelic debut in this 50th Anniversary edition of our Michel Catalog Deutschland-Spezial.

Content of Deutschland-Spezial 2020 catalog Volume II: 05/1945-

German local issues starting with 1945, including official stamps and private products; joint issues; Berlin and Brandenburg; the Soviet Zone; German Democratic Republic; Berlin (West); Saarland as well as Saarland as federal state of F.R.G.; the French Zone, the American Zone and the British Zone; F.R.G., foreign post offices; international reply coupons.

• 50th Anniversary edition with three book markers for the same price as last year’s edition!
• Price changes, particularly concerning local issues, the Soviet and the French occupation zones and bizones
• Numerous new type variations in various collection areas have been confirmed
• A lot of new information and newly added issues, such as the test prints for the postage stamp series “Frauen der deutschen Geschichte“ (“Women in German History“) or supplements regarding the vending machine test stamp MiNo. 10 issued by the Federal Republic of Germany
• Many new high-resolution colour photos
• About 10,000 pictures and over 115,500 price quotations
• Novelties up to MICHEL Rundschau No. 3/2020

This anniversary edition of the MICHEL Germany Special once again shows that contemporary German philately offers lots of special gems for collectors. In the past years even the latest issues of the German Postal System produced many new plate flaws that will make it worth while for specialized philatelists as well as for collectors of novelties to search for treasures in their own collections.

A dual flaw that was not discovered for several years even though it was highly visible shows that even – or especially – the latest state-of-the-art digital printing technology is not immune against problems. The same plate flaw affects both lighthouse issues of July 2016: a spot roughly shaped like a triangle that is found at the lower end of the letter “c” in “Deutschland”. This flaw was obviously caused by a flaw in the software. It is not yet known how many stamps have this new plate flaw – and what their potential value may be.

Additional Information:

• Content: The classic and modern postmarks from the "One Kreuzer Black" of 1849 to the latest issues of Deutsche Post AG in 2020
• hardcover print, colored bookmark and watermark-folding plate
• Optimal reference book for both experienced philatelists as well as new and for all ages
• Incl. issue dates and prices in various conditions
• Size specifications for mounts
• Editorial revision of the entire catalog
• Complete revision and adjustment of minimum prices
• Including international sales results
• New Releases cataloging up to MiR 03/2020

The catalog is organized according to collection areas. Cataloging within these sections is chronological, based on issue date. Special stamp types, like official stamps, are located at the end of a collection area section. In order to assist collectors organize their stamps, numerous illustrations are provided, as well as information on similar stamps to help avoid possible mix-ups.

Target Group:

Stamp collectors specialized in stamps of Germany, experts, dealers, thematic collectors, study groups, teachers

Title: Deutschland-Spezial 2020
Volumes: I (1848-04/1945), II (05/1945-03/2020)
Edition: 50th edition, in colour
Pages: Volume I ca 1216, volume II ca. 1472
Format: 155 mm x 230 mm, hardcover with three book markers
Publisher: Schwaneberger Verlag GmbH
Publication Date: 3 April 2020
Language: German

MICHEL provides top-quality information for collectors

Thanks to decades of experience and constant revision, the MICHEL catalogs are unmatched in terms of lay-out, comprehensiveness, accuracy and production. MICHEL catalogues provide all key information on stamps, postal stationary and coins. The systematic collection of data on collectable items, a well-organised system and detailed illustrations ensure easy use and a quick way to find required information. Each new edition of a MICHEL catalog is completely revised, updated and expanded so that it always reflects the latest situation on the market.

Users of the MICHEL catalogs value the comprehensive and detailed listings of collectable items. The MICHEL catalogs are among the best in the world when it comes to details, comprehensiveness and illustration. MICHEL products have been awarded well over 600 medals (including 31 gold), diplomas and honorary prizes in the course of the company’s history. The expertise of the Schwaneberger publishing house’s staff is outstandingly represented in the MICHEL catalogs.

The colourful, varied range of products includes standard and special-edition catalogues for Germany, Europe and overseas. There is also philatelic literature, the MICHEL-Exklusiv album, the MICHEL Colour Guide, the MICHEL-Lux examination lamp and the MICHEL-Rundschau monthly magazine. More than 85 different products in total.

MICHEL also enjoys a good reputation in electronic publishing thanks to various software programs, websites and e-catalogs. It is no wonder that the MICHEL catalogs have been known for years as the “philatelists’ bible”. However, bearing this accolade brings with it the responsibility of always remaining at the top with regard to quality.

The 669,000th MICHEL catalog number was issued recently. A look at the most important of the 85 different MICHEL catalogs reveals that the catalogues for Europe and overseas alone make up some 25,000 catalog pages. They contain 314,000 pictures and 1,800,000 price quotations. Most of this information is stored in powerful picture and text databases and is consulted, revised and corrected for each new edition of a MICHEL catalog. And of course that also applies to each individual page, irrespective of which MICHEL catalog it comes from. MICHEL goes to great lengths on its customers’ behalf. MICHEL’s editorial team spends an average of 45 minutes on research for each new set of stamps. Around 18,000 new stamps appear each year, which are then catalogued and published in the MICHEL-Rundschau, as well as in the relevant MICHEL catalog and online catalogue.

100 years of the MICHEL catalogue

It is more than 100 years since the stamp dealer Hugo MICHEL from Apolda in Thüringen published the first MICHEL stamp catalogue in 1909. He thereby created a product that would be continually be improved, but never surpassed. In the same year, publisher and philatelic editor Hugo Schwaneberger founded a publishing company that bore his name. The philatelist, who was well known in his field, created the Schwaneberger Album, the first album to adopt a scientific approach.
Owing to the great demand for MICHEL catalog, Hugo MICHEL was no longer able to dedicate himself to his career as a stamp dealer. He therefore sold the rights to the publisher Schwaneberger. The catalogue, which had only covered Europe until that point, was expanded by the new publishing house to include overseas countries.

Hugo MICHEL continued to edit the catalogue supplement, which is today known as the MICHEL-Rundschau. The company was then bought by the publisher Eugen Berlin. He moved it to Munich in 1950 where he came across a company, the Carl Geber printing works (now the Gerber Satz und Gerber publishing house) that was able to draw up the complicated catalogue typesetting. The publishing rights went to the Hohenester/Gerber families who assigned them to the publishing house, now trading as the “Schwaneberger Verlag”.

At the turn of the century other stamp catalogues had already appeared, but the remarkable success of the MICHEL catalog was attributed to its sophisticated and comprehensive cataloguing system. The stamps were numbered successively from the first number for each country, yet at the same time organised according to various sub-categories and genres, and described as fully as possible. This system was refined over the years and adapted where necessary - but never had to be changed! In fact, the MICHEL numbering system has become standard in Germany. This is underscored by the numerous licence contracts that the Schwaneberger Verlag has concluded with other publishers. All stock lists of German dealers are organised according to the MICHEL numbering system. Collectors exchange, buy and sell using MICHEL numbers.

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