American Philatelic Society Affiliate No

American Philatelic Society Affiliate No . 52

EDITOR : Robert C . Ross, 28 Kenmore Place, Glen Rock, New Jersey 07452

SEPTEMBER 1977 v. 3, no . 8, wh . no . 30, p. 165

AUGUST DEFINITIVES AND COMMEMORATIVES FROM SWITZERLAND

Three special stamps went on advance sale on August 22, 1977 by the Swiss PTT, and were valid for postage from August 25 . The 20c was designed by Roland Hirter, Bern, and shows a factory building and worker in helmet . It commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first Federal factories act, designed to protect and ensure the welfare of labor. The 40c was designed by Werner Mühlemann, Bern, and shows a cultural monument sign on an Ionic column . This official sign appears on Swiss religious, artistic and historical monuments deemed worthy of preservation by the government. The 80c was designed by Heinz Bürgin, Basil and shows a sign post with an emblem of the association and a butterfly . The stamp honors the Swiss Association for Footpaths, which pro- motes walking by opening and marking footpaths . About 45,000 kilometers have been marked by many volunteers. The stamps are all multicolor, 36 x 26 mm ., and were printed by rotogravure by Courvoisier, SA, La Chaux-de-Fonds . Paper is white luminous without fibers . The stamps were printed in 2 sheets (A,B) of 50 stamps each . As usual, special envelopes and first day cancels were issued. * * * * The Swiss PTT issued a set of nine definitives honoring various Swiss folk customs . They were designed by Solange Moser, Muri, Bern . The steel engravings were prepared by Heinrich' heusser, Oberäger ; (40, 70, 90c), and by Pierre Schopfer, La Chaux (Cossonay) (5, 10, 20, 35, 50, 80c). All stamps are 29 x 24 mm ., and were printed by rotary line engraving by the PTT Stamp Printing Works, Bern . Paper is white luminous without colored fibers . Printed on form cylinders carrying 4 sheets (1-4) of 50 stamps each. Colors are blue green (5c), red (10c), orange-red (20c), olive (35c), brown-red (40c), brown (50c), violet (70c), blue (80c), and dark brown (90c). Designers and the customs are described in a six page flier issued by the PTT . PTT 182 .06 No . 24a VI 77) . The text appeared in the July/August issue of Tell .

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Date Sept ., 1977

Tell is the official journal of the American Helvetia Philatelic Society, and is published 11 times a year . Subscription included in the dues of the Society is $5 .00 per year in the U .S. and $7 .00 overseas . Articles on Swiss and Liechtenstein philately are always welcome, and advertising rates are available from the editor, Robert C . Ross, 28 Kenmore Place, Glen Rock, New Jersey 07452.

Other useful addresses include: Felix Ganz, President, Apartment 3303, 1130 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60606. Harlan Stone, Vice President, Apartment 21, 174 Summit Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901. Robert Ziegler, Secretary, 1102 E . Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801. Donn Lueck, Regional Director, 6238 North 38th Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85019 . (PLEASE send Donn articles for the special Linn's issue next December ; 4 to 5 pages long .) Gerald Diamond, Auctioneer, 60 Birch Lane, Pearl River, NY 10965. Mario Wiedenmeier, Sales circuits, 12 Lyncrest, Galveston, TX 77550.

Bibliographic Note: The May and June 1977 issues of Tell contain the incorrect whole numbers . They should be numbered 27 and 28, not 26 and 27.

A H PS T R E A S U R E R ' S R E P 0 R T

Vol . 3 No . 8 Page 167

Date Sept ., 1977

Postal Uses of Switzerland's Federal Imperforate Stamps

By Harlan F . Stone Swiss postal history (distinct from earlier cantonal postal activities) dates from Sept . 12, 1848, when the Confederation of cantons adopted a Federal Constitution, declaring that a Federal Postal Department had the right to control postal services within the country . The purpose of this article is to outline federal postal devel- opments to 1862, when Switzerland abolished distance zones as the basis for postal rates and established a uniform charge for mail delivery throughout the 22 cantons. Under its new power to control the posts, the Federal Post- al Department took charge of all cantonal and private services on Jan. 1, 1849, but still faced the task of organizing a federal system . On June 8 the Federal Assembly decreed new postal rates based on four rayons (zones) and a scale of weights, to become effective Oct . 1 . It also announced its right to authorize local posts in populous centers. (As a result, Geneva issued its three transition stamps known as the "Vaud" 4 and 5 and the "Neuchatel," and Zurich issued its "Winterthur " stamp during late 1849 and 1850 .) Included in the new postage rates was a special half rate of 2i rappen for local prepaid mail up to 2 loths (1 ounce) in larger cit- ies . On April 5, 1850, the Federal Assembly selected 36 towns for this service because of their large amounts of mail, and authorized district postal authorities to introduce the use of. federal stamps there for postage prepayment. However, no one was able to use stamps until, apparently, late September, when the Federal Postal Department finally distributed copies of the "Poste Locale" and "Orts-Post" stamps . According to a recent review of covers bearing these local stamps, the earliest known use occurred in Solothurn on Oct . 5 . Although the French and German versions of these stamps were designed for postal use in different parts of the country, no one really observed this distinction. The regular rate for short-distance mail was 5 rappen for letters going up to 30 miles, the distance in the 1st of the four new rayons . The 2nd through 4th rayons equaled distances of 30-75, 75-120 and more than 120 miles respectively, and required postage of 10, 15 and 20 rappen . These basic rates applied to letters 'weighing no more than i loth (¼ ounce) . Heavier letters and special types of mail, such as registered and parcel, were subject to proportionately higher rates. To provide stamps for these rayon charges, the Federal Postal Department finally issued the tri-colored Rayon I and Rayon II stamps on Oct . 1, 1850, for use throughout the country . From that same date, postal patrons who wanted to prepay their letters had to use these stamps . To cut printing costs, the department issued the bi-colored Rayon I stamp the next year . Although the exact date is unknown, it is thought to have been March 30, 1851 . A similar bi-colored Rayon II stamp never progressed beyond the specimen stage .

Page 168 Vol . 3 No . 8 Date Sept ., 1977

Before the Federal Postal Department could issue a Rayon III stamp, the Federal Assembly decided to adopt French currency for use throughout the country, and new postal rates, beginning Jan . 1, 1852 . Late in 1851 the department set about to prepare for the switch . After Dec . 24, it stopped selling the Rayon I and II stamps for rappen, called in all supplies from local post offices to con- duct a nationwide accounting, and returned the stamps for sale for centimes beginning Jan . 1 . For the seven-day period of Dec . 25-31. the post offices sold no stamps . If a letter writer had not previously purchased stamps, he had to use cash to prepay his mail . A stampless cover from this period handstamped "franco" or marked paid in some other fashion is a postal history cover of importance. When stamp sales resumed on Jan . 1, 1852, three new rayons also came into effect for mail going 0-6, 6-30 and more than 30 miles. The basic postage for these distances became 5, 10 and 15 centimes. That same day, the postal department issued the two bi-colored Rayon III stamps with small figures of denomination, 15 rappen and 15 centime . As in the case of the local post stamps, these were designed for use in the different linguistic sections of the country, but both were used generally throughout the country. The postal department issued these stamps as provisionals because of unexpected delays in the delivery of a completely new series, the imperforate Sitting Helvetia stamps knowns as the Strubels. Still further delay led to the printing of a third version of the Rayon III, this one with a larger figure of value and only in rappen (by then synonymous with centime) . It was distributed sometime in April. Back in early 1851 the postal department, lacking necessary equipment and desired paper, had asked the Bavarian Mint in Munich to prepare the new issue to replace the Rayon stamps . From July of 1852 to September of 1853 the J .G . Weiss University Printing Works in Munich printed the first Strubels on silk thread (Dickinson) paper from the Baron von Beck Mill in Pasing near Munich, under supervision of the Bavarian Postal Department . The Swiss Postal Department issued the first four Strubels (classified as the 1st Munich printing) on Sept. 15, 1854 .

On Oct . 1, the local and rayon stamps became invalid . That same day, the postal department made it obligatory to prepay postage, and to use the new stamps to do so, not only on domestic mail, but foreign letters as well . However, this regulation was often ignored, as numerous stampless covers for years afterwards show. Sometime during October of 1854 the Swiss Federal Mint in Bern took over the Strubel printings, using "Munich" paper . Not until late in 1856 was a Swiss paper mill, the Sihl Mill near Zurich, able to supply silk thread paper for some of the stamps . From 1858 to 1862, all the paper used for the Strubels came from this "Zurich " source. The complicated and still disputed details of the production and issuing of the two Munich and six Bern printings of the Strubels are outside the scope of this article, since they generally do not re- flect Swiss postal history during this period, with one major exception involving the 2 rappen gray Strubel, issued on July 1, 1862, Page 169 Vol . 3 No . 8

Date Sept ., 1977

New postage rates, effective that day, abolished the three rayons as the basis for charges and established 10 rappen as the internal rate for a letter up to 10 grams (about 1/3 ounce) going any distance within Switzerland . A reduced local rate required only 5 rappen for a similar letter going only six miles or less . Lower printed matter rates called for only 2 rappen for printed matter up to 15 grams (about i ounce) . To meet this new rate, the postal department issued the 2 rappen Strubel as a temporary stamp on the same day, for use until a previously planned 2 centime stamp appeared as part of the delayed perforated Sitting Helvetia issue. Also on July 1, a new postal convention with Italy came in- to effect with a rate of 3 centimes (rappen) for printed matter des- tined for that country . Until Oct . 1, when the postal department finally issued the new series, which also included a 3 centime stamp, it permitted bisects of the 2 rappen Strubel to make up the 3 centime rate . This was the only federally authorized bisect in Swiss postal history . The Strubels were valid for use until July 31, 1863, ten months after the first perforated stamps came into circulation. The chief information source for this article is "The Post- age Stamps of Switzerland 1843-1862" by Mirabaud and Reuterskiold, a- vailable in a 1975 English reprint from Quarterman Publications, Inc ., 5 South Union St ., Lawrence, Mass . 01843, for $35 . Other sources include the 1910 Zumstein "Handbook of the Postage Stamps of Switzerland" in English, and several articles by George W . Caldwell, a long-time Helvetia member and prolific philatelic writer.

Two Orts-Post and one Rayon II used on April 5, 1850, cover from Chur to Kreuz- lingen to make up 3rd rayon postage of 15 rappen for letter going 75-120 miles .

One tri-colored Rayon I used on July 19, 1851, cover from Chaux-de-Fonds to Motier to make up 1st rayon postage of 5 rappen for letter going 0-30 miles .

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Date Sept ., 1977

One Rayon II used on May 15, 1851, cover from Basel to Solo- thurn to make up 2nd rayon postage of 10 rappen for letter going 30-75 miles .

Two bi-colored Rayon I's used on May 9, 1853, cover from Bern to Wim- mis to make up 2nd rayon postage of 10 rappen for letter going 6-30 miles.

One large rappen Rayon III used on July 17, 1853,from cover Zurich to Bern to make up 3rd rayon postage of 15 rappen for letter going over 30 miles . Vol . 3 No . 8 Page 171 Date Sept., 1977

One 5 rappen Strubel (2nd Bern printing) used on Dec . 10, 18- 55, cover from Batter- kinden to Fraubrunnen to make up 1st rayon postage of 5 rappen for letter going o-6 miles .

One 10 rappen Strubel (Bern 6th printing) used on Sept. 12, 1862, cover from Winterthur to Pfyn to make up 10 rp . domestic rate for letter going any distance within Switzer- land.

One 2 rappen Strubel (6th Bern printing) used on Aug. 24, 1862, cover from Solothurn to Lenzburg to make up 2 rappen domestic rate for printed matter .

Page 172 Vol . 3 No . 8 Date Sept ., 1977

CATALOGUES and HANDBOOKS on SWISS PHILATELIC MATTERS, recently published, Interested parties might wish to avail themselves of the following items, Karl Gebert, pie Poststempeldes Bezirkes Ober- und Unter-Toggenburg, 1977. available from the author, Kappelerstrasse 27, 9642 Ebnat-Kappel (Switz.) About $3 .--The collecting of "Heimatsammlungen" or quasi-topical col- lections that concentrate on a certain geographic unit, such as a valley, a Canton, a district, a city, or the like, has become very popular in Switzerland among all those composers who rebel against the price increases that have occurred for all earlier stamps, and the like . As a result lesser collection fields are attempted, and material usually is available until a catalogue is published . Then the material disappears: Or it returns, at triple or tenfold prices : -- Anyway, Mr. Gebert is knownstation as the author of the original listing of parcel acceptance cancels of Switzerland (about 1960) and for the work on the cancellations of the Grisons (Graubünden) which is discussed below . -- In the 23 loose-leaf pages concerning the cancellations of the towns in the two Toggenburg districts of St . Gall Canton Gebert lists and depicts, lifesize, all cancellations from the thlrty-three post offices or depots that at one time existed (or still exist) between about 1835 and today. The most recent cancels are not all shown, but listed . Nothing is priced -- a blessing : but anyone attempting to know what existed will be in for a few surprises . Ever heard Of the depots of FURTH and STAFEL in that region? Yours truly had not until now : In German language only. Karl Gebert, Die Poststempel des Kantons Graubünden . 1850 - 1965, 1977. Same address as above . Second (or third) edition of this study . Gebert reduced the size of the previous edition considerably, but just as much information is contained . No more prices are given, however . Fourteen large pages of text treat every town in the Grisons Canton and list chro- nologically all that town's cancellations, from straightlines to those of 1965 -- with the exception of the largest places, Chur, Davos, and St .Moritz (a sad omission, in this reviewer's opinion) . Gebert begins his listings with a typology of 48 different cancellation types, including temporary, publicity, and P .P . cancellations . In the index the numbers of the types are shown after each town's listing, and differences in the spelling are also given . There are close to 400 different places in the Grisons Canton that at one time or another had postal facilities : And many of them belonged to the offices with the smallest flow of mail. Appendices discuss railway cancellations, Special cancellations, parcel post acceptance cancellations and internal straightlines . Current "zip" number type cancels are not treated, but merely mentioned as existing. Price about $4 . A very carefully compiled and useful work . In German. Georg Vogel, Anzeigen-Postkarten der Schweiz . The author who can be addressed at Auenweg 17, 7141 Schwieberdingen . Germany, showed a marvellously organized and most representative collection of these cards that most collectors refer to as "Suchard Cards" at GABRA 1976 . Actually there were other firms in existence (Wander, Sunlight, etc .) that imprinted postal cards with their firm's advertising and then sold the cards at a rebate to the general public ; but Suchard was the most prolific producer of such cards, and Mr . Vogel lists about 900 different types and sub- types, as far as different recipes, different colors, different position of the advertisement(s) on the cards, and different pictures are con- cerned . (No wonder nobody dared tackle that complicated subject until now : :) All cards known to have firm-imprinted are listed as well, and anyone desirous of knowing what exists should avail himself of such a copy . No price is given since this article still is a manuscript to which other chapters are to be added ; but Mr . Vogel apparently is willing to xerox the manuscript, for a charge, for interested parties. F.Ganz . 173 Page Vol . 3 'NO . 8 Date Sept ., 1977

The POSTAL MARKINGS and CANCELLATIONS of-SWITZERLAND and LIECHTENSTEIN ;,Part 61. Felix Ganz RAILWAY STATION' DATE STRIKES ON POSTAL MATTER ; PART I

In the recent instalment on posting marks used in conjunction with RPO cds, a few station mailbox markings and railway station marks were illustrated (Figs. 18-20) which unlike most straightlines shown in that same instalment, quite certainly were NOT affixed by a clerk in an RPO, but rather by someone at the respective railroad station BEFORE the mail was posted on the train ." ;"' Such station markings may be found on Swiss mail as far back as the late 1860s; but in most instances the cancellations (which normally were utilized to cancel certain classes of tickets and of freight letters . . . .and later Swiss railway stamps on freight letters accompanying parcels, etc .) were used to serve as posting marks, as "corner cards," or as identifications on underpaid letters, and the like . Figs .1 and 2 are examples of such uses. Fig .1 is a card from a clerk at Entlebuch station to his parents and is not much more than a return ad- dressthe RPO; but it saved clerk one bit of work: Fig .2 depicts an underpaid postal card of 1887 which apparently received a Mal- ters station, dated marking in preference to an RPO straightline, to ascer- tain WHERE the item had been deposited (in the station mailbox probably). Normal use of railway station date strikes (railway-issued and non-postal) is shown in Figs . 3 and 4,_ one being the reproduction of an SBB (federal railways) freight letter, the other being a "collective bill" for accumulated charges from small parcels that were mailed without stamps . While these freight letter and similar uses of train station cancellations are indeed interesting items, they are unrelated to the current observations which try to deal with postal use of these very same markings. The .history of the use of train station date markings (and occasionally dateless ones, too) on mail does not really start until 1922 . According to Paul Jenzer ' s article of July through September, 1944, in the Berner Briefmarken- zeitung, their use was a result of attempted economies in personnel and services in the Swiss federation ' s two largest national(ized) enterprises: railways and postal services . Cooperation and elimination of duplication were sought, and a directive of 1922 (No .5) regulated the responsibility in regard

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to postal services at railway stations (emptying of letter boxes) and on trains-without RPOs (posting of all mail from station mailboxes, after cancellation by. station personnel, in special bags or pouches, onto such trains, by using the trainman riding in the general freight car as deputy postman responsible for delivering all pouches to the postal facility in the station where the respective train terminated .) .The initial direct- ives, originally only applying to federal railwaystations, were refined by a set of. regulations of No- vember of 1922, and amended by edicts of July 1, 1928, known as28 ,Regulations B and to be followed byall personnel at federal stations where train personnel was charged with mail duties. Soon, major private lines also intro- duced the same res- ponsibilities for their station personnel, and nowadays almost anything that moves may (or often may mail,not, dependingparticularly on the line) assist in speeding up the AFTER the last train with an RPO has passed, or on weekends when almost no- RPOs circulate . Thus a collector not only can attempt to find mail cancel- ed by the almost 900 federal railway stations (old numbering : AADORF = No .1; ZWINGEN = No .895 ; new numbering depending on rail lines ' geographic location) but must expect to find at least as many private rail lines' station markings . Unfortunately, the legitimate, truly postal train station marking are further augmented by station markings, on stamps, from (legitimately applied) ship stations on Swiss lakes and a few automobile line terminals, such as ADELBODEN, and also by illegitimately, but not necessarily illegally applied station marks on postage stamps and tied to covers (usually unaddressed) thanks to the cooperation of some employee of some aerial tramway, cable car, streetcar, or freight-only lines, if not from ski lifts and the like -- all of which possess station canceling devices for railway business. Thus : beware of unaddressed covers ; they are favor items (but anyone can put an address on them and anyone can cut out such a favor cancellation from its cover and claim authenticity . Tough :) Since the Swiss PTT possesses a monopoly on mail rates and movement, even railway-internal mail, transported from one depot or station to the next, MUST bear a postage stamp ; and these often dateless, internal train can- ' cellations form a subchapter in the wide field of railway markings on mail. While train station cancellations on postal items (ONLY unregistered matter is accepted, but special delivery is frequently found) officially were sanc- tioned only in the 1920s, such marks do occur on mail as far back as these station marks existed . Although against regulations, the markings usually Vol . 3 No . 8 Page17

Date Sept ., 1977 Page 176 Vol . 3 No . 8

Date Sept ., 1977 Dear Members, As you can see by the prices realized, each auction is drawing more bidders and higher prices as each month goes by . This is obviously due to the better and more interesting material being offered to those who specialize in specific areas of Swiss collecting. Since the 1978 Zumstein will be out while this Auction #23 is in progress, please adjust your bids accordingly as the values given will be from the old catalog. Best of luck to all in the September Auction #23 . The closing date will be October 25, 1977. For this auction 1 Sfr = 41 .5g U .S .

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Date Sept ., 1977

Forged Refugee Officials by ROBERT G . ZEIGLER

Collectors of Swiss stamps should be aware that a fairly dangerous forgery exists of the overprints issued in 1950 for the International Refugee Organization (Scott /16-01 to 6-08, Zumstein D . VIII, 1-8) . While a practiced eye can easily detect this forgery, the danger for collectors lies in its extreme prevalence . Of all the Refugee stamps and sets which I have seen over the past four years or so, at least half have been forged. If any used sets are considered, the percentage is much higher because the forgery usually occurs on used stamps.

Only 24,000 genuine complete sets of the Refugee issue were printed . Despite the fact that virtually all of these probably ended up in the hands of collectors, this relatively low printing figure plus the topical appeal of the issue make the set a good candidatefor investment, especially if the forgeries are removed from the market.

If your set or single of the Refugee issue turns out to be a forgery, please don't blame the author of this article . However, you may be justified in expressing some wrath toward Scott Publications, Inc . The illustration or "cut" for the Refugee overprint, as currently listed in the Scott catalog, is unmistakably taken from a forgery : This is how I, who began as many others did by collecting Swiss according to Scott, some years ago ended up buying a complete set of forged Refugee overprints . I had never seen a set before, genuine or otherwise, and the overprints on the set I bought certainly corresponded to the Scottexactly!! illustration

Forged vs . Genuine : How to Tell the Difference 1) Details of lettering . There are three clear plages where the forged overprint differs from the genuine . The most obvious is the "S" of "RÉFUGIÉS" . On the original it is rounded, but on the forgery it is flattened at the right, especially on the bottom loop of the letter . This characteristic is the simplest single way to distinguish the forgery. A second point is that in the forgery, the base of the "S" of "ORGANISATION" is perceptibly lower than the base of the "I" to its left, whereas in the genuine the two letters are virtually even at their bases . A third point of comparison is the top (crossbar) of the "T" in "INTERNATIONALE"; on the forgery it is irregularly rounded, while on the genuine it is straight . 2) Different size settings . A basic fact, not mentioned in most catalogs, is that two different type settings were used on the Refugee overprints : a wide one for the hori- zontal-format low values, and a narrower one for the vertical-format higher values from the Historical Designs issue, the 80c ., 1 fr ., and 2 fr . On the wide setting, the word INTERNATIONALE measures 21 mm.; on narrow settings for the vertical-format stamps, the same word measures 17 mm . The Refugee forgery corresponds to the wide setting . Because the forger did not bother to copy the narrow setting, but applied the same fake overprint to all values, the overprint as forged on the vertical-format 80 c ., 1 fr ., and 2 fr . values overflowed the frame lines and spilled into the margins . (See illustration .) 3) Shiny ink . Genuines were printed in a dull black matte-finish ink which reflects little if any light . In all examples of this forgery which I have seen, the ink is much shinier ; when the stamp is tilted and held so that a strong light bounces off its face, the black ink reflects the light . This procedure may also be used to determine whether the overprint is on top of the cancel ; in most of the examples where the forgery is found on used stamps, this is indeed the case .

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Date Sept ., 1977

4) Clarity . The forgery appears slightly less sharp than the genuine, even to the naked eye . This is caused by numerous slight irregularities in the letters that are apparent under magnification. 5) Cancellations . Genuine used Refugee stamps are almost always CTO corner- cancelled GENEVE 14 PALAIS WILSON . Refugee stamps used on cover are exceedingly unusual, as the stamps were in use only from February 1, 1950 to May 31, 1952 -- a period of two years and four months . Any cancel dated before or after this period implies a fake.

Apparently the forgery was first produced soon after the release of the genuine stamps, since the Scott catalog of 1951 already contained an illustration from the forgery . However, cancels on other forgeries range through the 50's to 1961 . Anyone with other information regarding the possible source of this forgery is urged to contact the author at 1102 E . Pennsylvania Ave ., Urbana, Ill . 61801 Over the next year or so I would like to write a pamphlet concerning detection of all Swiss overprinted official forgeries . Any offers of reference material, assistance, or possible collaboration would be gratefully appreciated.

(In the illustrations below, an "F" denotes forgery, a "G " denotes genuine)

THE QUESTION BOX The question for this month regards the layout of the Zumstein Catalog . To he more specific, why does the catalog list the 1936 Landscape issue three times, first as 201-209, then as 201y-209y, and finally as 201z-209z? Are there really three issues or only two?

There are only two varieties of this issue, 201y-209y on smooth white paper and 201z- 209z on grilled white paper . The catalog is designed to be used by specialists and non-specialists alike . Thus for many issues Zumstein provides two listings . The first is for the non-specialist who only wants one of each stamp without regard to varieties . This is followed by listings of varieties . Note for example the Strubel listing on page 7 of the 1977 catalog . The first list shows only 21-27 for the collector who only wants one of each value . This is followed by all of the special lists . The entire catalog follows this procedure. Send your questions to : Chuck LaBlonde, 3815 S . Midsummer Lane, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80917. Vol . 3 No . 8 Page 179

Date Sept ., 1977

ON THE EDITOR'S DESK

"Album Weeds -- How to Detect Forged Stamps " , by Rev . R .B . Earee, 3rd Edition, 1906, has reprinted in eight volumes by SPA, SPA Sales Division, Box SPA, Lemont, PA 16851 . $5 .50 per volume ; $44 for the set . Volume VII covers Switzerland . (John Steinberg)

"I notice reference is made in the Postal Rate article in July/August Tell to Geneva currency being linked to that of France but no mention made of 'Batzen' mainly used in Basle . Mr. Moore in his article 'Batz in the Belfry', HNL July 1962 says the Basle Batz was equivalent to 10 Rp or 14 .3 c . (Geneva) . The Swiss Franc of 10 Batzen or 100 Rp . was used in Cantons Aargau, Bern, Fribourg, Solothurn, Vaud & Valais in addition to central Cantons and = 1 .43 Geneve Fr . Reference to Batzen are to be found on early 'Nachnahme' Cards etc . even up to 1868, well after the unification of the currency, and so should not be overlooked ." (Mrs . E .J. Rawnsley)(Can any of our postal historians write a suitable footnote to the article?)

"Could you consider one suggestion for a future article in Tell? I dabble in postmarks, and though my collection will never be of exhibition standard, I do find that others of my friends and in the club are interested in looking at some of my stuff . So I try and do a little elementary write-up . But I find it tough in translating some of the wordings and abbreviations on the cancels and slogans. "With French I can make a fair translation, with Italian a reasonable close equal . But Swiss German is a problem . Despite the assistance of my wife who knows a little, several German- English dictionaries, and even the help of a German born Canadian at the office, some words seem to defy literal translation . So could maybe Felix Ganz or someone pick out the more common words used, their abbreviations, etc . and do a first class job for me . Then my status as a man of the world will grow in local circles ." (Ken Barlow)

"Fabulous Courvoisier" by S .S . Kahn is a press agentry type history of this major Swiss printing firm . The Swiss PTT both established security procedures and also ensures that they are enforced by government security agencies . Many photographs . "The American Philatelist", June, 1977, pgs . 441-450.

Linn's recently published an interesting overview of Campione d'Italia, the Italian enclave on the Swiss side of Lake Lugano . The agreement between The Royal Government of Italy and the PTT over Campione stamps is described . $ .10 and SASE from editor.

Postal box numbers are not sacrosanct in Switzerland according to a note by Michael Rutherford . "Usually these are not recommended by the PTT, as boxes are arran ged with small ones at the top, large at the bottom, according to customer ' s need . Then they are organized alphabetically (accessible by PTT from the rear) . A wrong box number is thus eliminated, and PTT can arrange as they wish . The PTT takes no responsibility for incorrect numbers. Thus, "Postfach" is sufficient in an address, without any number ."

AHPS member Fred Lesser has published a survey of several important Swiss rarities : the vertical, imperforate Double Geneva ; other Double Genevas ; tete beche Numerals ; and the 24 vertically perforated 20c UPU issue . (Linn's Stamp News, 8/18/-7, p .54) . ($ .20 and SASE from the editor)

The July 11 European issue of "Time" has an interesting article on the Swiss banking scandal. "God, after all, created Switzerland for one purpose -- to be the clearing house of the world . " $ .50 and SASE from editor .

Page 180 Vol . 3 No . _ 8

Date Sept ., 1977

"A 16-page, full color brochure entitled, Switzerland . . .Seen Through Her Stamps, is being offered without cost by the Swiss Postal Administration to libraries and collectors of America . It tells the entire story of the small nation since its independence in 1821 as reflected by postage stamps . The English text succinctly explains the various aspects of civilization encompassing everything from history, geography, culture, customs, costumes, agriculture, art, economy and tourism to communications, while stamp reproductions provide the . illustrations. "For a free copy enclose an addressed, stamped #10 envelope to Stamp News Bureau, Box 1, Richmond Hill, NY 11419 . (E .A. Kehr) "Through the cooperation of the Swiss Philatelic Service Office and Swissair, the latter's passengers now receive folders containing blocks of four of the country's dramatic, multicolor ' Landscapes ' set of 1973, not only as a souvenir of their flight but a preview of some of the spectacular Alpine scenery they will enjoy when they reach their destination. Included is English text that describes the stamps and gives a short biography of the artist, Hugo Wetli, of Bern . Also included is a card inviting recipients to start collecting Swiss stamps and obtaining current and future issues directly from the Philatelic Service office . This unusual promotion is but another example of encouraging the collection of stamps by the Swiss airline . For years, it has been sponsoring a philatelic club for employees and staff members, which, among other activities, publishes important aerophilatelic catalogues and sends displays to numerous national and international stamp exhibitions . " (E .A. Kehr) "Lesson in Lilliput -- There ' s good news in Liechtenstein . According to last month ' s economic report from the 62-square-mile principality (pop . 23,700), the number of unemployed dropped in 1976 from 58 to 17 . Those partially employed fell from 139 to one. The gross national product totaled $264 million . This divides out to a per-capita in- come of $10,560, compared with $9,960 for Switzerland - and therein lies a lesson for fiscal planners everywhere . Switzerland looks after Liechtenstein ' s defense and foreign affairs ." ("Money" May, 1977) May 1977 HNL (No . 5, 31st year) features The French Manuscript Rate Marks by John C. West . The forms are illustrated and compared with British marks . Presumably these marks appear on stampless covers from French Switzerland and would make a supplement to Chuck La Blonde's series on Geneva. GAG . Ritchie continues " Some Notes " on 'Nachnahme ' from the April issue, illustrat - ing 8 types . MC Ditto's series on WWII Swiss 1 UK mail (Part XXIV) lists 22 1943 and 1944 covers. Michael Rutherford notes that the PTT broke even in 1976 for the first time since 1971 . Letters were down 1 .6% and packages down 1 .9%, but the increased rates brought in the cash . He notes that the Mittlelholzer commemorative flight carried nearly 600,000 covers (over three tons) at Fr.3- each. (The original flight carried 400, and the flight 20 years ago 12,000 .) AHPS member Karl Sharp leads off in the June 1977 issue of "HNL" with his "Multi- lingual Inscriptions on Swiss Postage Stamps . " This article was also featured in Linn ' s special Swiss issue of December 1976 .. G .G . Ritchie concludes his series on Nachnahme, illustrating two privately printed envelopes . L .M .C . Dutton ' s series on WWII Swiss/UK mail (Part XXV) covers the February 1943-December 1944 period . It focuses on streaks of chemicals applied by German and British censors to detect secret writing, and on various numbers applied by German censors. Michael Rutherford reports that Swiss postmarks with five "7s" were possible if posted at 7 a .m . or p .m ., on July 7, 1977 . (Swiss picture postcards made a great splash of this around 1910 : "9 .10 .11", "10 .10 .10 .", "11 .11 .11", etc ., but in those days the month was normally a Roman numeral in Swiss cancels. Phila-Verag, 9490 Vaduz has announced a special edition of Liechtensteiner Briefmarken Katalog und Handbuch containing all L ' stein stamps 1912-77 and all special articles appearing in earlier annuals . The printing is limited .

Vol . 3 'No . 8 Page 181 Date Sept ., 1977

'SCHLUESSELWERTE' - by Fred R . Lesser

The literal translation of 'Schluesselwert ' is key value . In the German philatelic language it also denotes 'cornerstone ' , i .e . a stamp which, due to its rarity for one reason or another, makes it difficult for the stamp collector to complete a given set of stamps.

The BERNER BRIEFMARKENZEITUNG, a monthly magazine published by Zumstein & Co ., Bern, runs a column under the enticing heading : 'Es Duerfte Sie Interessieren . . . ' THIS SHOULD INTEREST YOU . ..

In its January 1977 issue and in the aforementioned column reference was made to the 25 Cts value in the 1973 ' Landscapes ' set in its regularly used condition . The 25 Cts is one of the 5 stamps designed by H . Wetli . Because this stamp has so far met with very limited use for postage rate reasons, its existence in a used condition is likely to make it into a 'Schluesselwert'.

Another typical ' Schluesselwert ' is the orange 70 Cts in the 1960 'Historical Motives & Architectural Monuments' series of 18 definitives . Although nearly 11 1/2 million of this stamp were printed and issued, its relative high catalogue price is difficult to understand . In 1964, the Swiss Postal Administration-issued another 70 Cts stamp in its ' Architectural Monuments ' series, this time in a brown colour and depicting a different building from that shown on the 1960 orange value . Although no issuance figures of the brown 70 Cts have yet been published, it was probably also printed in several millions . With both values issued without any restricted validity, it is difficult to speculate on the reason why one stamp should have attained the much higher catalogue assessment . In this sense, the 1960 orange 70 Cts has also become a ' Schluesselwert'.

The 1960, 1964 and 1973 series of definitives were all printed by the Mint in Bern. The issuance of such long series usually requires lengthy lead-times . The design of such stamps is usually subject to public competitions . Therefore, in order to allow for likely postage rate changes, the PTT includes values the use of which may ultimately be 'left behind' . From a useage point of view, a 'Schluesselwert ' is thus born.

During the past few years, the PTT embarked upon the issuance of sets with one value in multiples of 2 . Specially with regard to definitives, a postage stamp should represent a genuine postage paid receipt need . The issuance of multiples of the same value in one set or within relatively short periods of time and unrestricted validities establishes a questionable tradition and may prove self-defeating in a philatelic sense. However, it may prove good business for the Postal Administration . Where do we go from here? No likely 'Schluesselwerte' under these circumstances!

These cancels were used March 1 - June 12 in connection with a travel- ling exhibit put on by the National Tourist Office and Swiss Railroads. The exhibit visited 70 Swiss places .