1990 AD., Germany, German Democratic Republic, 500th anniversary postal service in Germany commemorative, Berlin mint, 5 Mark, KM 134.
Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR or GDR), 500th anniversary postal service in Germany commemorative, engraver: Bettina Klink von Woyski, Berlin mint, 1990 AD.,
5 Mark (ø 29 mm / 9,61 g), copper-nickel-zinc, 9,60 g. theor. mint weight, mintage 392.720 , axes medal alignment ↑↑ (0°), plain edge with incuse inscription “5 MARK * 5 MARK * 5 MARK * 5 MARK * “,
Obv.: DEUTSCHE DEMOKRATISCHE REPUBLIK / A / 1990 5 MARK , hammer and compass emblem of the German Democratic Republic at center, Berlin mint mark (A) above, date and value below.
Rev.: 500 JAHRE / POSTWESEN , a four-passenger horsedrawn carriage of ca. 1880 AD., legend and hunting horn (the emblem of the mail services) below.
KM 134 .
Year / Mint Mark / Mintage
1990 A 392.720
1990 A 4,200 (proof issue)
Perhaps the first international post of the Middle Ages was the so called “Metzger Post“. The guild of butchers (German: Metzger) organized courier mail services with horses; when the mail arrived they used a horn to announce it and thus created a commonly recognized emblem for postal services. The Metzger Post was established in the twelfth century and survived until 1637, when Thurn und Taxis's monopoly took over.
In 1490 / 1497, on behalf of Emperor Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire, Franz von Taxis established a postal service that replaced the ad-hoc courier for official mail in Germany. A horse relay system was created that shortened the transit time for mail and made its arrival predictable. Thereafter, the house of Thurn und Taxis using the imperial yellow and black livery maintained the postal privilege for many centuries. The Thurn-und-Taxis-Post employed the first horse-drawn mail coaches in Europe since Roman times in 1650, - they started in the town of Kocs giving rise to the term "coach". Thurn und Taxis lost its monopoly when Napoleon granted the Rhine Confederation the right to conduct postal services. The agency continued to operate and even issued some stamps (v.i.) but when Prussia created the North German Confederancy Thurn und Taxis had to sell its privileges in 1867.
More on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_Germany