1815 until 1866 – Hamburg was an independent and sovereign state of the German Confederation.
1866 until 1871 – then of the North German Confederation.
1871 until 1918 – then of the German Empire.
1918 until 1933 – then of the Wiemar Republic.
1934 – 1945 – a city-state of Nazi Germany.
1949 – and finally, after a period of post WW2 British Occupation settles comfortably into being a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.

First Stamps Issued: January 1, 1859
Currency: 16 schilling = 1 mark (1859);

There were four separate issues of the stamps of Hamburg. I am going to copy this from wikipedia and then explain why this post is different than usual below.

The first postage stamps of the Hamburg City Post Office were introduced on 1 January 1859. They were rectangular and in the middle was the coat of arms of the city, overlaid with the value number. Below that is the word Postmarke (postage stamp), above it is Hamburg. Value and currency (Schilling) are imprinted as text at the borders. Values of ½, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 Schillinge were issued.

I am not confident that this Hamburg SC#12, 2 1/2. green stamp is authentic either. Strike 1.

In 1864, the supplemental values 1.25 and 2.5 Schillinge with a different frame design were issued. These early issues were already gummed but still imperforated. Nine values, issued in 1864 and 1867 and again with the design of the first issues, had perforations.

In 1866, another two values with a different octagonal frame design were issued; and on 5 May 1867, another one with the design of the first stamps. Hamburg’s stamps were only valid until the end of 1867, since as of 1 January 1868, only the stamps of the North German Postal District were valid.

The Why

As many of you who follow the site may know, I am a beginner and I am writing this as and for other people who are beginners. The reason I am not writing much about Hamburg and it’s stamps is because it is, realistically, a landmine for even seasoned collectors. It is certainly for me, and while I won’t lump others into this statement, I do feel it is hard to distinguish the real from the reprints and forgeries.

The issues have been extensively forged and reprinted and many of the stamps I see being sold are reprints or forgeries and they are very hard to distinguish from the original issues. One must have them in hand to determine the authenticity.

Hamburg stamp dealer, Julius Goldner, the same villain who caused so many problems highlighted in my prior difficulty with the reprints Heligoland issues, also made reprints of the stamps of Hamburg.

This is most likely a reprint of Mi. #8e, Sc. N/L (1) – Dull Violet and, although it does have a vertical separator which the Michel catalog says is the first thing to look for, I do not see a horizontal separator line. The Michel catalog also recommends collecting these imperforate stamps with at least one of the horizontal and one of the vertical margins being equal to or exceeding 1.5 mm which this does. Each of the two 1864 imperforate stamps has plate characteristics that I do not see so I will assume this is a reprint and it could possibly be a Goldner reprint but I am not sure. I am also not sure if the reprints have any value. Strike 2.

There’s a big lack of affordable information out there so I rely on websites (hopefully like this one will become in the future) but even those are sometimes vague. I can’t buy a book that costs between $10 and many hundreds for a single stamp. I will sadly stay away from these for financial reasons.

The go to book is authored by Fernand Serrane, a two volume book in French on forgeries written in 1927 and 1929. It is an excellent reference but in French. I believe I read in the past there was an english translation printed but, as is much philatelic literature, the price is astronomical.

I have included links to both volumes below should you dare to delve into the stamps of Hamburg. If you do, please leave a comment and let me know how you do. As they say in France, bonne chance. I shall not return to Hamburg without advice from an expert or some help and trusted hand-holding.

Au revoir and auf wiedersehen

I will also point you to these links should you choose to dive into collecting stamps of Hamburg or have some you wish to see if real:

1859 Issues
Early 1864 Issues
Issues of 1864-1865
Issues of 1866-1867

Collect model trains? You are going to love Miniatur Wunderland, home to the largest model train installation in the world. It’s 1,100 square meters of mini-wonderfulness complete with models of the Neuschwanstein Castle and the Brandenburg Gate as well as landscapes of Scandinavia, Germany, Austria and the United States.

If you aren’t into miniatures the beaches in Blankenese feature a lot of shipwrecks and Blankenese has a neighborhood with the most stairs in the world so bring your hiking boots.

And if that isn’t enough for you. at one time there were 3000 prostitutes working in the red light district of Hamburg. It was even allowed during the time of Nazi Occupation.

Now the numbers have dwindled and there are only about 300 prostitutes in Hamburg’s infamous Herbertstrasse (red light district). Women are not allowed in unless on a special tour. I wonder if there are any brick and mortar stamp stores there?