The letter with the rare stamps was sent from Heligoland to Dresden in 1872 Photo: —-/dpa
By Oliver Ohmann
A letter from Helgoland is awesome – and that’s why it’s going under the hammer today. It all started with a Berlin pharmacist…
In 1867 the pharmacist Dr. Robert Pilgers from Berlin to the island of Helgoland. A little later he was allowed to open a pharmacy with the permission of the British government – the island was only ceded to Germany in 1890.
Also auctioned: Misprint of the first 2-Schilling stamp from Lübeck (1859). Starting price: 40,000 euros Photo: —-/dpa
Busy as Pilgers was, he immediately opened a hotel (“Krüss”) and also took over the post office on Helgoland. 151 years ago, a letter made its way to Dresden from the small island post office. “It is franked with 2 shillings in mixed franking, absolutely unique in this form,” says Aaron Baur from the Köhler auction house in Wiesbaden.
The back of the Heligoland letter with the advertising of the Berlin pharmacist’s postal agency Photo: Heinrich Koehler auction house
In plain language: There are different stamps from 1872 with different values on them. The starting price at the auction is 8,000 euros, according to the auction house.
The letter originally comes from the stamp collection of former Tengelmann boss Erivan Haub (1932-2018). He was considered one of the richest Germans.