Jay Smith & Associates: Danish West Indies: Shipping Company Stamps: HAPAG

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Danish West Indies: Shipping Company Stamps: HAPAG - Hamburg American Packet Company

These interesting stamps are often called Ship Letter Stamps. They were sold by the agents of ship operators and paid the postage on letters carried by commercial ships, usually when government mail service was not available. The DWI Shipping Company Stamps are listed in the annual Facit Specialized Catalog which I distribute and are most comprehensively listed in the beautiful 1976 handbook and catalog by S. Ringström and H.E. Tester The Private Ship Letter Stamps of the World, Part 1, The Caribbean which I have available.

I often have a wide range of Danish West Indies (as well as Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish) shipping company stamps in stock. These usually never make it to the website or price lists and are usually only available via approvals. Please be sure to let me know of your interests.

HAPAG Caribbean service started in 1870. One stamp design was issued in 1875; in 1879 a new printing was issued in slightly different colors. They were used until 1881. While I am not aware of any forgeries of these stamps, there were four reprints officially issued by the company: 1897, 1938, 1955, and 1975. The reprints are all perforated differently than the original stamps and have various differences in appearance, design, and paper.

HAPAG - Hamburg American Packet Company

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Item #

Quality & Description

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US$

222149

HAPAG Ship Letter Stamp: 1938 reprint (the second reprinting) in Mint VF (some stamps NH) full sheet of twelve as issued. Imperforate as issued. Full margins all around which seems to be somewhat unusual on the surviving sheets. Seldom offered.

ACTUAL item.

Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.
If you are seeking such items, please let me know.

222150

HAPAG Ship Letter Stamp: 1938 reprint (the second reprinting) NH VF upper right corner margin horizontal pair: right stamp with clearly double impressed central embossing. The embossing was done as a vertical column of three, thus if one is doubled, the entire column is doubled. Imperforate as issued. Very scarce variety.

ACTUAL item.

Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.
If you are seeking such items, please let me know.

235282

HAPAG #1/2 1955 Official Reprint. Perforated 11.5 x 10 on bright white paper with thin white gum and lozenge watermark. NH VF lower left corner sheet margin example. Accompanied by an April 1956 letter from the United States Navigation Co., Inc. presenting the stamp to a collector -- this company was the U.S. agent for HAPAG. The reprint is quite difficult to obtain, but the letter must be rare.

ACTUAL item.

Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.
If you are seeking such items, please let me know.

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