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The Germans have conducted the posts in Belgium with a view to the requirements of their own countrymen in the temporarily conquered land, and incidentally to make profit out of the Belgians and out of philatelists. There will no doubt be many interesting curiosities in the postmark line arising from the Germanisation of the names on the cancelling cachets, such as Lowen (Louvain), Lüttich (Liège), Kales (Ostend), etc. But the chief philatelic interest attaches to the issue of special stamps, or rather the ordinary German stamps, overprinted in Gothic type "Belgien", and with the currency surcharged in centimes (Fig. 209). Of these there are four
denominations, 3 centimes on 3 pfennig brown, 5 centimes on 5 pfennig green, 10 centimes on 10 pfennig red, and 25 centimes on 20 pfennig blue.
The Belgian Government authorised the preparation of stamps for collecting funds for the Red Cross, and these made their appearance on October 3, 1914. There are two sets of three values—5, 10 and 20 centimes. The set in the smaller size portrays King Albert (Figs. 210, 211), and the larger size stamps bear a picture of a monument commemorating the Belgian War of Independence, 1830 (Figs. 212, 213).
210 211