1981 West German Postage Stamp Wilhelm Raabe 150th Anniversary Appraisal

1981 West German Postage Stamp - Wilhelm Raabe 150th Anniversary

This item is a 50-Pfennig West German postage stamp featuring the portrait of novelist Wilhelm Raabe, issued in 1981 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birth. The stamp is printed in a monochromatic green and black palette using a detailed intaglio or photogravure process typical of the Deutsche Bundespost era. It is affixed to a fragment of cream-colored envelope or cardstock which has been torn roughly on the left and bottom edges, indicating it was clipped from actual mail. The stamp is canceled with a circular black postmark; though the date is partially obscured, the number '22' is clearly visible. The vertical text on the left of the image design reads 'WILHELM RAABE 1831-1910', and the right edge bears 'Deutsche Bundespost'. Below the stamp on the paper fragment, there is handwriting in blue ink, possibly part of a signature or address line reading 'Carl Schmidt'. The condition shows signs of post-consumer use, specifically the rough tearing of the carrier paper and the heavy ink cancellation across Raabe's facial features. The stamp itself appears to have intact perforations along the visible edges, though the left side is partially obscured by the paper tear. This item represents a common late 20th-century philatelic specimen frequently found in European correspondence collections.