five values could satisfy the postal tariffs for all distance and weight needs of the time. At that time (1863), only 12,468 people lived in the whole postal region. The imperforated definitive stamps were printed when required and were valid until 31 December 1867. The stamps are square in shape. Besides the value, the country's name and the term "Postmarke", the centre of each stamp depicted one half of the coat of arms of each of Hamburg and Lübeck. The Bergedorf stamp series is often referred to as a "growing series" because each value is a little bit larger than its predecessor. Thus, the 4 Schilling value looks twice as large as the ½ Schilling value. Together with the different paper colours of the values, the sizing helped to distinguish between the various stamps. Unification with Hamburg Effective 1 January 1868, the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg bought Lübeck's share in the Bi-Urban Condominium which passed completely into the former's ownership. On this date, the joint entry into the North German Confederation (the predecessor of the 1871 German Empire) took place. Since that time, the postal history of Bergedorf shares that of the North German Confederation. Bergedorf's five stamps were only valid until that day. References Sources Karl Knauer: Bergedorfer Postgeschichte. 330 pages, 1961 Bergedorf 19th century in Hamburg History of Lübeck Bergedorf Bergedorf Bergedorf Bergedorf