Lot 318 German Democratic Republic #216-223A, 227-230A 1954-1955 Third and Fourth 5 Year Plan Definitive Issue, Specialized CTO and Used Lot of Originals and Reprints, Horizontal and Vertical Wove Papers, Some Fluorescent

A Specialized lot of 57 stamps, most being cancelled to order, as noted in Scott, but with 9 stamps having genuine postal cancellations. These two sets differs from lot 311 in that the first set has new values surcharged over the old ones, and the second stamps has the stamps reissued with the new values. These sets were printed on both horizontal and vertical wove papers, as well as fluorescent and non-fluorescent papers. The lot begins with the original printings on non-fluorescent horizontal and vertical wove papers and includes 1 value on horizontal wove and 7 on vertical wove. These stamps all have genuine postal cancellations. Then, it continues with the first reprints on non-fluorescent paper, again both horizontal and vertical wove. These stamps all have printed cancellations, and once you become familiar with what they look like you can spot them easily, because they always look the same. For these reprints, the shades are also different from the originals. For the vertical wove papers there are papers showing clear vertical mesh and others that show none at all. In this lot there are 17 reprints on horizontal wove, and 14 on vertical wove, with some slight differences in shade or reaction under UV light. Then finally, there are the subsequent reprints on papers of varying fluorescence, from low fluorescent to high fluorescent, again on both horizontal and vertical wove papers. These, again, except for one, have all printed cancellations, and there are 6 stamps on horizontal wove and 12 on vertical wove.
The Scott price of 25c per stamp is for the reprints, which are plentiful. The originals are much scarcer, but are not priced used. However, if you look at stamps of this period for other issues there isn’t a significant difference in price between mint and used. So, I would estimate that the originals are worth at least $0.75 per stamp. So, my estimate for this lot is $15. It is a fascinating series to collect, as there are two or three more sets, all with design differences and their own watermark and paper changes, as well as original and reprints.

Almost all commemoratives well into the late 1960's can be found on both horizontal wove paper and vertical wove paper, though usually, one orientation will dominate for each issue. Starting in about 1955, several issues can be found on both non-fluorescent and fluorescent paper, and by the late 1950's most issues are on fluorescent paper. Most of the used lots in this sale will contain a good number of genuine postal cancels, as opposed to the common CTO cancels. Bidders should note, that with exception of the souvenir sheets, the used prices given in the catalogue are for CTO, so the stamps with postal cancels should be worth a significant premium.