“There is an interesting variant of the OSS Hitler skull stamp that was produced by U.S. agents in Berne. The 45-pfennig propaganda variant depicts Hitler more crude, skull-like and horrific than the regular OSS parody stamp, and the ‘45’ denomination probably indicates the year 1945. The text on the stamp is Futsches Reich. There is what appears to be a hand-written propaganda message in German just below the stamp that says:
New for philatelists!
45 - Third Reich with plate flaws
“The German is oddly written so was probably penned by an American. Specialist Wolfgang Baldus thinks that the OSS might have planned to make people believe that German stamp dealers were offering the ‘45’ stamp. To make it look like a real stamp they drew the perforation and added a black area around the perforation. The German inscription was added to give the impression that the stamp was offered by German dealers.”
From a fascinating article on propaganda and espionage philately. Discovered via Boing Boing.
