Province of Saxony

After the Second World War, Germany was occupied by the Allies. The eastern part was occupied by Russian troops of what later became the German Democratic Republic. For the purposes of the postal service, the country was divided into districts (Ober Post Direktion), and the province of Saxony belonged to Halle and Magdeburg. Large quantities of occupation stamps were printed on many different types of paper. For instance, on December 17, 1945, two stamps were issued dedicated to the 'Bodenreform', or, as we would say here, agricultural land consolidation. The two stamps, featuring an image of a plowing farmer, were designed by Gebauer and letterpress printed by Ebelt in sheets of 5 by 10. The first edition was sold unperforated, and these stamps are the most commonly encountered. The first paper used was grayish-gray to yellowish-gray and thin. Later, thicker, coarser paper was used. The proofs were produced on this type of paper. The proofs can only be identified if one has a margin piece. In addition, the numbers on the left side of the sheet are printed vertically, whereas the numbers on the normally sold sheets appear horizontally. The value indications are missing on the right side of the proof sheets. Proofs are extremely rare. The two stamps were also issued perforated. They are known as four-sided perforated with line perforation 11½, horizontally unperforated and vertically perforated, horizontally perforated and vertically unperforated, and with irregularly shaped through-perforation. Plate errors occur on both values. The best-known plate errors on the 12 Pfennig stamp are the damaged letter Z of PROVINZ, also known as the 'little heart', and the damaged border line to the left above the number 1. A small error can also sometimes be found in the border above the letter M on the right, but this is considered a printing error. Printing errors are frequently encountered in this series. Furthermore, stamps printed on the gummed side occur. The print run amounted to more than 12 million sets. On February 21, 1946, a reprint of the two stamps appeared that differed completely from the first edition. The two stamps were printed on thin, glossy, transparent paper with a watermark. Collectors refer to it as cigarette paper. They occur in unperforated, partially perforated, and four-sided perforated versions. The stamps were printed by Giesecke & Devrient using letterpress. The paper used was originally intended for Greek tax stamps and featured a watermark consisting of the Greek letters M and ?. The print run amounted to more than 6 million sets. Two simple stamps with many collecting possibilities.