POSTAGE STAMPS
(1923)

This page was last updated
07-Mar-2023 07:13

MICHEL 331
REGULAR ISSUE NUMBER IN CIRCLE

This stamp was printed rotary press only and is sometimes referred to as 'The Hitler Revolutionary Stamp' (Hitlerputschmarke), or Hitler Provisional (Hitlerprovisorium) mainly due to the fact that it was issued the day before the failed Nazi Putsch in Munich on 8th/9th Nov 1923.

There are known forged overprints, mostly Mi 331 a, one of which is known as the 'Kirsten of Dresden Forgery'



VALIDITY: 7th Nov 1923 until 31st Dec 1923
VALUE: 1 Milliarde on 100 MARK
COLOUR: dark to blackish grey purple (shades)
WATERMARK: Waffle
PERF: comb 14 x 14¼
SIZE: 22 x 26mm
PRINT TYPE: Typography
AVAILABILITY: Sheets
QUANTITY PRINTED: Unknown

SIMILAR STAMPS

ABOVE: Mi 268 - Identical to Mi 331 but without an overprint

MAJOR VARIATIONS

There are no major variations

COLOUR VARIATIONS

There are two major colour variations



ABOVE LEFT: Mi 331 a - dark to blackish grey purple (shades) (violet purple) (like 268 a)
ABOVE RIGHT: Mi 331 b - bright grey violet (light violet) (like 268b)

UPPER EDGE MARGINS

This stamp was overprinted with the folllowing OPD:

OPD H (Munich – Mc) (overprint dull, glossy)

This stamp was only overprinted in Munich as only exists as OPD H with two possible margin types.



ABOVE LEFT: Type ‘g’ – two thin bars (Mc)
ABOVE RIGHT: Type ‘h’ – lower margin with bar print (Mc)

The following are valid upper edge pieces for this stamp

Mi 331 a OPD H g W OR - 1'11'1
Mi 331 a OPD H g W OR - 2'9'2
Mi 331 b OPD H g W OR - 1'11'1
Mi 331 b OPD H g W OR - 2'9'2
Mi 331 b OPD H h W UR - 1'11'1

HAN: There are no HAN

OTHER VARIANTS

Mi 331 b I: double number overprint (331 b I DD)
Mi 331 b K: inverted overprint

PLATE FLAWS

There are two major plate flaws



ABOVE LEFT: Mi 331 PF II - foot of the '1' in the overprint separated (field 67)
ABOVE RIGHT: Mi 331 PF III - thick scratch by 'rd' in 'Milliarde' (field 68)

STAMPS FROM MY COLLECTION

All of the stamps from here until the end of the page are from my collection

MINT / POSTALLY UNUSED

ABOVE: Mi 331 b

REFERENCES:

1. MICHEL Deutschland-Spezial 2022 Band 1: 1849 bis April 1945. ISBN: 978-95402-401-8.
2. www.colnect.com
3. Plattenfehler Katalog Deutsches Reich 1872-1945 inkl. Dienstmarken, 4th Edition 2003. Thomas Schantl Verlag. ISBN: 3-932769-25-2