This Bavarian 10 Mark green definitive stamp features the portrait of King Ludwig III encircled by a laurel wreath. After the fall of the Bavarian monarchy in 1918 and the proclamation of the Free State of Bavaria, existing stocks were overprinted with “Freistaat Bayern” in bold Gothic script. Issued in 1919, this transitional issue symbolizes the political shift from monarchy to republic. The overprinted series is highly collectible, as it marks the end of Bavaria’s independent stamp production before integration into the German Reich postal system.