day of the stamp - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1979 - 60 Pfennig

Since 1975, the Deutsche Bundespost has been issuing special stamps for the "Stamp Day" with illustrations of post office signs from the "good old days" in uninterrupted annual succession. Supported by the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten eV, a large and powerful community of philatelic friends in our country, this year's "Stamp Day" will take place on November 4 (the date will be redefined each year) with ten key events in the federal territory Berlin (West) committed. This event is preceded by the 33rd Bundestag and the 80th Philatelist Day of the Confederation of German Philatelists in Mannheim from October 24 to 28, 1979. At this annual meeting - under the motto "Encounter with Philately - actively participate!" - the Decisions for the philately of tomorrow, for a hobby that has long since become one of the most popular and sensible leisure activities of our time. In keeping with the tradition of bygone years of supporting outstanding international philatelic events in the Federal Republic of Germany with additional stamps, Deutsche Bundespost is issuing the special stamp for "Stamp Day 1979" on the occasion of the 49th Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) in Essen in 1980. with a supplement to the Foundation for the Promotion of Philately and Postal History eV out. The foundation supports philatelic and postal history efforts of all kinds with these additional funds - except the international congress. The post office sign of Altheim, Saar, from the year 1754 is because of its bilingual inscription an important and rare testimony of the postal history in the German-French border area. Altheim belonged originally to the county Zweibrücken, then came by pledge to the rule Bitsch and went with her to Lorraine. There ruled since 1735 as Duke of Lorraine, the refugee Pole King Stanislaus Leszczynski, the father-in-law of King Louis XV. It had been agreed that after his death Lorraine would fall to France. The post office sign proves that even before Leszczynski's death (1766) in Altheim a French post office must have existed. Several times appear on the shield, the Bourbon lilies. In addition, the writing is German on one side »Alhir is the Royal Bost« and on the other side is French »A la Poste Roiale«. The Altheimer post office sign hangs with two claws and eyelets on a pike embedded in the wall, which runs out in a French lily. Perched on a spit, connected by a stick to the spit, is a mail rider leaning back slightly on his horse. The German inscribed side of the shield bears the year 1754. A blowing mail rider leads two other riders in a gallop. On the page marked in French one can see a three-horse uniaxial stage coach, staffed by a blowing Postillion. Both sides of the shield carry the bourbon lily three times each. The artistically most valuable part of the post office sign is the sawed-off vine work. At the top of both sides is a blistering postillion in a contemporary uniform. Both postilions are connected around the shield by ornaments and figures, which are partly based on the shape of the post horn and leak in the two corners and down in the middle in French lilies. This year, the German postmark of the Postheimschild from Altheim will be displayed on the postage stamp special postage stamp. For the next year edition, the presentation of the other page is planned. The original sign is located in the Federal Postal Museum in Frankfurt am Main. (Motivational text: Bundespostmuseum Frankfurt am Main)