Category - Sight
SubCategory - Stamps printed on Military Map Paper
My last post for this year 2018.. Wishing all my fellow unusual stamps collectors a very Happy New Year 2019 .. Happy Collecting
Latvia 1918 Latvia Coat of Arms Stamps
Issue date 18 December 1918
Latvia became part of the Russian Empire in the 1700s. On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, bringing Russia and Latvia into World War I. Latvian leaders began making calls for independence during this war. German forces invaded most of Latvia during the war.
The war officially ended on November 11, 1918, and a week later, on November 18, Latvia declared its independence. During the war, Latvia used overprinted German stamps.
As a new nation, Latvia needed to create its own postage stamps, but the war had caused a severe paper shortage. However, there was one source of top-quality paper – Latvia’s industrious government printed its first stamps on military maps left behind by Germany’s Imperial Army! According to their records, they used 79 different German maps of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as well as 62 different maps of southern Latvia and northern Lithuania.
To save precious paper, stamps were printed in 12 rows of 19 stamps each for a total of 228 stamps per sheet. The back of these stamps have detailed German military maps showing sections of Latvia, complete with name, scale and map grid position.
A total of only 11,956 sheets were printed. And of those, only about 4,900 were perforated. Of those sheets printed, only 4,750 were delivered to Latvia’s government in the period between 1918 and 1919. The shipment included imperforate gummed sheets (Latvia #1), and perforated gummed sheets (Latvia #2).
Latvian painter and graphic artist Ansis Cirulis designed the first stamps. The stamps’ designs were based on the Latvian coat of arms. This design used a sun symbolizing statehood, with 17 rays representing the 17 Latvian districts. The design also includes three ears of grain and three stars, representing the three historic districts of the new nation.
Disclaimer - Information about the stamp issues on this page has been taken from the net and are for informational purposes only. No copyright claim is made for the above mentioned information/pictures. The pictures have been scanned from my collection.
SubCategory - Stamps printed on Military Map Paper
My last post for this year 2018.. Wishing all my fellow unusual stamps collectors a very Happy New Year 2019 .. Happy Collecting
Latvia 1918 Latvia Coat of Arms Stamps
Front
Back
Issue date 18 December 1918
Latvia became part of the Russian Empire in the 1700s. On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, bringing Russia and Latvia into World War I. Latvian leaders began making calls for independence during this war. German forces invaded most of Latvia during the war.
The war officially ended on November 11, 1918, and a week later, on November 18, Latvia declared its independence. During the war, Latvia used overprinted German stamps.
As a new nation, Latvia needed to create its own postage stamps, but the war had caused a severe paper shortage. However, there was one source of top-quality paper – Latvia’s industrious government printed its first stamps on military maps left behind by Germany’s Imperial Army! According to their records, they used 79 different German maps of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as well as 62 different maps of southern Latvia and northern Lithuania.
To save precious paper, stamps were printed in 12 rows of 19 stamps each for a total of 228 stamps per sheet. The back of these stamps have detailed German military maps showing sections of Latvia, complete with name, scale and map grid position.
A total of only 11,956 sheets were printed. And of those, only about 4,900 were perforated. Of those sheets printed, only 4,750 were delivered to Latvia’s government in the period between 1918 and 1919. The shipment included imperforate gummed sheets (Latvia #1), and perforated gummed sheets (Latvia #2).
Latvian painter and graphic artist Ansis Cirulis designed the first stamps. The stamps’ designs were based on the Latvian coat of arms. This design used a sun symbolizing statehood, with 17 rays representing the 17 Latvian districts. The design also includes three ears of grain and three stars, representing the three historic districts of the new nation.
Disclaimer - Information about the stamp issues on this page has been taken from the net and are for informational purposes only. No copyright claim is made for the above mentioned information/pictures. The pictures have been scanned from my collection.
