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The Collectors of Baltic Philately in Central Europe
Emerged from: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Estland e.V. + Forschungsgemeinschaft Lettland + Forschungsgemeinschaft Litauen e.V. + Nederlandse Filatelistengroep "Het Baltische Gebied"
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55. monthly video chat
Current events discussed included the stamp fair in Ulm and the publication of volumes 3 to 5 of Friedrich Wilhelm's work on the postal service for displaced persons.
Thomas Löbbering presented two unusual items from Lithuania with receipts resembling cash register slips instead of the usual cancellations or handwritten notes (see illustrations). Martin Bechstedt confirmed the existence of similar items from Estonia and classified them as an interesting provisional measure taken by the postal service..
Various stamps and postal items were displayed and discussed, including a document from Kuressaare with rare local postage and postmark, a 5-pfennig stamp that had already been sold out on the day of issue, and many more. A postcard from a Freikorps lieutenant to the Swedish army depicting prisoners from the battles on the Volga, from Michael Wienecke's collection, led to lengthy debates.
Vitaly Geyfman announced that the Lithuanian Philatelic Society will be hosting an online exhibition, "Lithpex 2026" in early 2026. Anyone interested in participating should contact Audrius Brazeikis, President of the LPS .
Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltic philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET more technical information on this here).
Next date: December 6, 2025
Special theme: none so far
(Santa Claus costumes are permitted, but not mandatory.!)
Join the Zoom meeting with:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85338222428?pwd=WGpZRXJTZVpnSnB6eHg4Ukx2aFVHdz09
Ulm was almost normal
Ulm has now taken place for the fourth time since 2022 – what has changed? There is still no mix of dealers and Working Groups (which works well in Munich). Competitive exhibitions and ArGe stands in Hall 2, postal companies, auction houses and dealers in Hall 1, everything as usual. The BDPh event with the Working Groups showed that the caterer can also offer neat and tasty food, while in the foyer, as in previous years, there were overpriced dishes of snack bar quality. Tables and chairs to rest on were also only available in the foyer, which meant that some people had to eat standing up because there was not enough space for everyone. The fact that the setting was different from previous years, with no magnetic strips for the ArGen posters, was not communicated in advance either – as a result, the pictures of our ArGe stand are so unsightly due to the collapsed posters that we are not even showing them.
However, the time could be used to send some postcards with customised stamps to active members of the ArGe, which we had issued to mark the 10th anniversary of the ArGe Baltikum 2025.
The meeting between the BDPh board and the ArGen groups resulted in a three-hour discussion and some information, in addition to an increase in subsidies. You can read about it in the minutes linked below. My conclusion: as a Working Group, you should focus on your own abilities and consider how you can interest collectors in your own topic and motivate them to participate. Hoping that the BDPh will offer you serious support in this endeavour is not enough.
And what will we do next year? We will probably book a stand again and man it, even though the number of people who ask questions to ArGe Baltikum is decreasing every year. We'll see...
54. monthly video chat
This time, Michael Wienecke showed us some unusual destinations from Estonia.
Here is a letter dated March 7, 1924 from Tartu to Kinsen in Korea. We cannot say whether the blue handwritten text is a repetition of the address or something else. The sender used the abbreviation C.A. for his name and N.M.K.U. for the institution where he worked: the Korean National Museum. Since the Estonian National Museum is also located in Tartu, it is conceivable that the sender was in Tartu for a temporary project or study visit.
The correct postage for a long-distance letter in the first weight category sent abroad between January 1, 1924 and January 1, 1925 was 15 marka. The stamps on the cover show 14.50 marka. Looking more closely at the envelope, the missing parts left of the orange ½-marka stamp and the adhesive residue on the envelope indicate that another stamp (worth ½ marka) was probably affixed here but has fallen off.
An unusual destination from Estonia: Korea
Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltic philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET more technical information on this here).
Next date: November 1, 2025
Special theme: none so far
This email address is being protected from spambots. JavaScript must be activated in order for it to be displayed.Join the Zoom meeting with:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85338222428?pwd=WGpZRXJTZVpnSnB6eHg4Ukx2aFVHdz09
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baltikum e.V.
(Working Group Baltic States)
in the BDPh e.V. (Association of German Philatelists)
Philately of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
Association register entry VR 3542 at Siegburg local court
Latest News
- 55. monthly video chat November 1, 2025
- Ulm was almost normal October 23–25, 2025
- 54. monthly video chat October 6, 2025
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Torsten Berndt, Chairman
+49 (0)89 82079480
Bahnhofplatz 2,
D-82110 Germering
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