Heligoland (1867-90) Country Guide
Heligoland is a tiny archipelago in the southeastern corner of the North Sea.
The name Heligoland is generally thought to mean “Holy Land” but others believe it to mean “land of banks, which cover and uncover”. Originally property of the Danish king Valdemar it was inhabited by people who worked the sea and the copper mines on the island. It was also a haven for smugglers until the island turned into a resort for wealthy European clientele.
1814 – Denmark cedes Heligoland to the United Kingdom.
1826 – Heligoland becomes a popular vacation and day spa for wealthy Europeans.
1952 – Great Britain gives Heligoland back to the Germany in return for giving up interests in Zanzibar and it isn’t in very good shape.
During World War I the German Empire turned it into a major naval base complete with 142 guns aimed at the shipping channel.
During World War II the island was liberally bombed to nothingness by the British and the surrounding waters mined. In April of 1945, 1000 RAF aircraft dropped 7000 bombs on the island. Nothing much was left of the thriving town and the island was considered uninhabitable.
To seal the island’s demise the British, from 1945 to 1952, used it as a bombing range and set off one of the single non-nuclear explosions in history literally breaking the island in two.
Today it is a holiday resort and bird sanctuary.
First Stamps Issued: 1867
Currency: 16 schilling = 1 mark (1867); 100 pfennig = 1 mark (1875)
The first stamps of Heligoland were stamps of Hamburg used between 1859 to 1867 before being replaced by their own issues. The stamps, like Heligolands flag, reflect the colors cited in their motto, ” Green is the land, Red is the coast, White is the sand, Those are the colors of Heligoland.
About 20 postage stamps were issued between 1867 and 1890. There were up to eight printings of a single denomination and also a large volume of reprints which are known as the Berlin, Leipzig and Hamburg reprints.
Probably Berlin Reprint
It takes a college degree in stamp collecting (there should be one) of Heligoland to navigate through being able to disinguish between the original issues, reprints and vast number of forgeries that exist. Prices vary wildly based on those determinations.
The best guide for the collector is this website:
https://www.fritzwagner.com/helgoland/robert_pollard_heligoland.html
There are many parameters and descriptors to sort through so be patient and take your time if you plan on collecting stamps of Heligoland. I have checked and double checked the above two stamps multiple times and I am still unsure I got them correct. I could actually have them reversed. I will try again when I grow up.
Helgoländer Eiergrog is made from brown and white rum, eggs, sugar and hot water. It’s, apparently, a rather potent mixture with an interesting story behind it.
In the 18th-century British admiral Edward Vernon ordered his men to drink pints of dark rum on a daily basis to prevent scurvy. The downside of this was they were always drunk. Admiral Vernon issued the order that all rum must be mixed with water, brown sugar and lime. The sailors were not too happy having to drink watered down rum and nicknamed the drink after the Admiral who was affectionately known as “Old Grog”.
The Recipe
You will need 1 room temperature egg yolk, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/3 to 1/2 cup warmed, mild Rum, and hot water.
Separate the egg and place the yolk into a mug. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and whisk until foamy. Slowly whisk in the warmed rum one spoonful at a time to keep the egg from curdling. Top off with hot water and drink up!
The Heligoland museum is a must but make sure you visit the underground Bunkers used in WWII. The main reason the residents (most of them) survived the massive bombings.
I am interested in Heligoland but later after I become more experienced a collector, read and learn more, and learn to properly identify the different printings. Some of the stamps I have seen on ebay are overpriced and reprints and forgeries exist in numerous flavors including genuine stamps with backdated cancels, genuine stamps with forged cancels, reprints with backdated cancels, reprints with forged cancels, and last and least frequent, forged stamps with or without forged cancels.
Again, the website listed above is a great resource.
As a beginner with limited financial resources it is important to me to spend money wisely. People love to offer you items but stamps are such a thing that tiny details matter and it is hard to sometimes determine those details from a small photo on ebay.
Sadly, dealers are out to make money and, as such, do not care about lower cost items, helping beginning collectors with more common material or spending time mentoring starting collectors (unless they have money to spend). There are many specialist and collectors with knowledge who, once in awhile, may send stamps to a retirement home or to the boy scouts in hopes that they may become interested but that is done to make themselves feel good and the chances of any of them becoming interested is small. When beginning collectors look to acquire new material there are a few outlets… ebay and hipstamp being two, but caution is required.
The point is, do your homework. Learn as much as you can. Don’t make impulsive purchasing choices (I just made one on a stamp from Hamburg which I have come to regret… more on that in another post) and deal with people you trust if you can.
Go to the library. Read information available online. Ask questions if you can and then judge the responses you get yourself based on more research. Ignore those who are merely trying to sell you items worth a tenth less of what they are probably worth.