Yacht issue

Encyclopedia : Y : YA : YAC : Yacht issue

The Yacht issue was a series of postage stamps, bearing the image of the Kaiser's yacht, Hohenzollern, that were used in all of Germany's colonies (German South West Africa, German New Guinea, Kiatschou, Togo, Samoa, Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands, Caroline Islands, German East Africa and Kamerun) from 1900 until the First World War.

Issues prior to 1905 were unwatermarked, but from that time onwards, the "Lozenges" watermark was used.

Most German colonial stamps were demoninated in German Currency (1 Mark = 100 pfennig). However, German East Africa used its own currency, the Rupie (1 Rupee = 64 Pesa and from 1905 1 Rupie = 100 Heller) and the leased Chinese territory of Kiatschou used the Chinese Dollar ($1 = 100 Cents) from 1905.

Two basic designs of the stamps existed, one for lower values (less than one mark) and a larger one for higher values (one to five marks).

Several German colonies had their stamps overprinted following Allied Oppupation in the First World War. In Kamerun, issues were overprinted C.E.F. (Cameroons expeditionary force) and were surcharged in British currency. Issues of the Marshall Islands, Samoa and German New Guinea were surcharged G.R.I. (Georgius Rex Imperator) and demoninated in British currency. Australian authorities in German New Guinea also surcharged Registration labels from various towns for postal use. Many of these are now exceedingly valuable. Stamps of German East Africa Finally, stamps of Togo were surcharged "TOGO Anglo French Occupation" and "TOGO Occupation france-anglais" by British and French authorities respectively.

The standard reference for the "Yacht issue" is the German Michel Catalogue.

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