Postage stamps and postal history of the Caroline Islands
Encyclopedia
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
was occasional and dependent on visiting ships; the Spanish authorities issued no postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s or postmark
Postmark
thumb|USS TexasA postmark is a postal marking made on a letter, package, postcard or the like indicating the date and time that the item was delivered into the care of the postal service...
s for the islands.
German control
Germany rapidly set up a postal system once awarded the islands; having received the Carolines on 1 June 1899 as part of the German-Spanish Treaty (1899)German-Spanish Treaty (1899)
The German–Spanish Treaty of 1899 was a treaty between the German Empire and Kingdom of Spain, with the latter selling the remainder of its Pacific Ocean islands to Germany for 25 million pesetas or respectively 17 million Marks.-History:...
, on 12 October German stamps overprint
Overprint
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage stamp or banknote after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail...
ed "Karolinen" were issued. At first the overprint was angled at 48 degrees, then a few months later the angle of the text was changed to 56 degrees. Few examples of these, at either angle, survive today, especially in cancelled condition.
By 1900, Yap
Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
and Ponape
Ponape
Ponape may refer to:*Pohnpei, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia*Ponape , a German sailing ship...
were stops on a regular mail run between German New Guinea
German New Guinea
German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Initially the service was operated by the Reich Mail Steamer Lines, with the help of government subsidies, then in 1902 the Jaluit Company took over.
Yacht stamps
In January 1901, Germany issued its Yacht series with a common design for all of Germany's colonies, featuring the KaiserKaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
's yacht Hohenzollern. The issues for the Carolines featured the inscription "KAROLINEN", all with mark and pfennig denominations. Many unused copies of the low values still exist today, left over after the Japanese occupation, but as one might expect from the short period of German rule and the very small numbers of letter-writers living in the Carolines, genuinely used stamps are uncommon, typically priced 5-20 times higher than unused.
In 1905 the stock of 5pf stamps was destroyed in a typhoon, and 10pf stamps were bisect
Bisect
Bisection is the general activity of dividing something into two equal parts.Bisect may mean:*bisection, in geometry, dividing something into two equal parts* bisection of earthworms to study regeneration...
ed. Another shortage in 1910 resulted in bisects of 20pf stamps, and 3pf stamps surcharge
Overprint
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage stamp or banknote after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail...
d to 5pf.
Japanese occupation
Japan occupied the islands in October 1914, after which Japanese stamps were used until the end of World War II. Germany printed Yacht stamps for the Carolines as late as 1919, on paper with lozenge watermarkWatermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
s, but none were ever used on mail.
Sources
- Rossiter, StuartStuart RossiterPercival "Stuart" Bryce Rossiter was a renowned British philatelist and postal historian who wrote extensively about British postal history and postage stamps of British colonies in Africa and was actively involved in numerous philatelic institutions...
& John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald, 1986. ISBN 0356108627 - Scott catalogueScott catalogueThe Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Co, a subsidiary of Amos Press, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the entire world which its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in six large volumes and is also produced in...