Nazi stamps fetch pretty penny at UK auction

Wednesday 28 November 2018

An album featuring a set of rare stamps emblazoned with the Nazi swastika in Jersey during the Occupation have fetched £1,000 after going under the hammer.

The set of four postage stamps went up for sale as part of a whole album of World War Two stamps sold at a Norfolk auction over the weekend.

They were just one lot in a much larger collection put together by an avid philatelist, who recently passed away. The album catalogued a range of postage stamps issued in various countries during the Second World War.

The Jersey stamps depict the head of King George VI, franked with the Nazi emblem as part of their propaganda campaign after soldiers occupied the island in 1940.

Pictured: The British stamps, which have been franked with the Nazi swastika during the Occupation of Jersey in 1940. (Barry L Hawkins)

Jersey stamps featuring three 'leopards' – a design approved by the occupying forces to replace British stamps – also formed part of the collection. Unbeknown to the Nazis, the shield featuring on them was actually the arms of England, which they may have also suppressed with a swastika had they realised.

Having racked up a good deal of interest ahead of their sale, the unique collection was sold on Sunday by auctioneer Barry L Hawkins. 

Speaking of the stamps, his fellow auctioneer and son, Marcus J. Hawkins, told Express that the occupying soldiers were "amazingly quite tolerant" of using the remaining British stamps still in the island during the Occupation, but only if they were franked with the swastika.

Pictured: The design featuring the three leopards.

He explained that these stamps formed a small part of "one man's collection of stamps" and that the collector had started his philatelic hobby when he was still at school.

The late stamp enthusiast’s entire collection, which features stamps from all over the world, had been valued between £16,000 and £25,000.

Mr Hawkins added that the 160 stamp albums created "quite the collection", which the auction house then sold for a total of £18,480.

Lead picture: Barry L Hawkins.