It’s not often I purchase stamps these days. My lifetime’s accumulation now needs order and care. Last week, however, I received a collection of Berlin stamps I had ordered. (The habit of accumulation seems to persist!) Being interested in German stamps, the description of the collection seemed as if it would complement the rather sparse Berlin representation in my German album.
As I began to transfer stamps from the pages of the purchased lot to my own album (above) I was reminded that our collections are held by us in trust. Much of what I treasure passed through many hands before coming to me just as the Berlin collection had. And our collections will likely pass out of our possession at some point. As temporary custodian I want to care for these philatelic collectibles as best I can.
Berlin’s postage stamp history was brief but interesting. With Soviet occupation, Berlin was divided into West and East. In 1945, the Soviets issued the first occupation stamps for Berlin (above) featuring the “Berlin Bear.” They were valid in Berlin and Brandenburg. 
In 1948, West Berlin began issuing stamps by overprinting “BERLIN” on the stamps of West Germany (left). Later Berlin stamps were labeled Deutsche Bundespost Berlin (DBB). West Berlin stamps were often similar to West German stamps as illustrated by the side-by-side stamps (left) honoring
Heinrich Lübke (1894-1972) (DB on left / DBB on right) and could be used in both places. Lübke was President of West Germany from 1959-1969. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, the DBB became part of the Deutsche Bundespost. The last stamps issued by the DBB, two sets of three, were released on September 27, 1990. The 60pf Adolph Diesterweg (1790-1866), Educator stamp (below left) was from the regular issue set and the 60+30pf Railway Mail Car stamp (below right) was from the semi-postal set. After 1990, German stamps include the name “Deutschland” and were valid throughout the country.
