SWITZERLAND Overview

Schweiz - Suisse - Svizzera - Zwitzerland

Return To Catalogue - Switzerland issues from 1850-1853 - Issues form 1854-1881 - Issues from 1882-1906 - Issues from 1907-1920
- Cantonal issues: Basel - Geneva - Neuchatel - Vaud - Winterthur - Zurich -
Fiscal Stamps - Miscellaneous; railway, due, Campione etc. - Cancels on first federal issues - Fournier forgeries - Pro Juventute (Chilrens welfare stamps) - Hotel Labels

Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
contact me if you want to purchase them: evert@klaseboer.com.

The stamps of Switzerland often bear the name 'Helvetia'.

Cantonal Issues

Several Cantons (provinces) issued their own stamps before the government issue of 1850:

Basel 'Dove' and Geneva issues

'POSTE LOCALE': Neuchatel and Vaud Cantonal issues

Winterthur 'Ortspost Poste Locale' and Zurich Cantonal issues

Number of cantonal stamps issued:

Canton	Value	Number of stamps issued	Remarks
Basel	2 1/2 r	41480	8000 proofs in green colour were also printed
Geneva	Double Geneva	60000	About 6000 were used as pairs
	Small eagle	120000
	Large eagle, light green	100000
	Large eagle, dark green	50000
	Envelope	10000	Unknown how many were cut and used as 'stamps'
Neuchatel	5 c	About 25000
Vaud	4 c	10000
	5 c	100000
Winterthur	2 1/2 r	About 40000 to 50000
Zurich	4 r	Total about 30000
		About 10000	Horizontal background lines
		About 20000	Vertical background lines
		120	Reprint
	6 r	Total about 165000
		About 85000	Horizontal background lines
		About 80000	Vertical background lines
		400	Reprint

Source: http://www.swissphila.ch/kantonal.html.

1850 Federal issues

'ORTSPOST', 'POSTE LOCALE', Rayon I, II and III, all in similar designs

Issues from 1850-1853
Types of the 1850 Poste Locale and Ortspost issue
Types of the 1850 Rayon I issue
Types of the 1850 issue Rayon II and III
Forgeries of the 1850 issue, part 1
Forgeries of the 1850 issue, part 2
Cancels on first federal issues

Later Issues

Switzerland issues from 1854-1881

1854 Sitting Helvetia (so-called Strubel issue) and 1862 Sitting Helvetia

Switzerland issues from 1882-1906

1882 'Numeral issue' and 1882 'Standing Helvetia'

Switzerland issues from 1907-1920

1907 Helvetia issue

1909 Tell's son and 1914 Tell issues

Miscellaneous

Switzerland Fiscal Stamps:

Example: fiscal stamp of Basel

Switzerland Hotel Post:

Example' RIGI KALTBAD'

Switzerland Pro Juventute:

Example of 1918

Switzerland Miscellanous, other:

Forgeries

The stamps of Switzerland and especially the cantonal issues are plagued with forgeries. J.F.Barrett writes in 'Forgeries, facsimiles and fakes.... what can be done?' in Tell, vol.2 No.10 (1976) page 197:
'To give you an idea what we, the buyers, are faced with (known types of forgeries in parenthesis): the Basle Dove (17), Double Geneva (15), Single Genevas including the envelope (34), Vaud (17), Neuenburg (Neuchatel) (9), Winterthur (7), Zurich 4 (14), Zurich 6 (20), Ortspost and Poste Locale (more than 3) and Rayons 1-3 (at least 10).'
In this catalogue, many more forgeries than stated above are shown for each of these areas. Some of the information on forgeries available in this catalogue can be found at:

Basel forgeries
Geneva forgeries, part 1
Geneva forgeries, part 2
Vaud forgeries
Zurich forgeries, part 1
Zurich forgeries, part 2
Forgeries of the 1850 issue of Switzerland, part 1
Forgeries of the 1850 issue of Switzerland, part 2
Forgeries of the 1850 issue, part 3 (Sperati)
Forgeries of the 1850 issue, part 4 (Fournier)
Switzerland Fournier forgeries
Switzerland Fournier forged cancels

The most dangerous forgeries are probably those of the forger Sperati. Between 1942 and 1953 he made 58 different forgeries of Switzerland and the Cantonal issues.

Catalogues etc.

The most famous catalogue of Switzerland is the Zumstein catalogue (in German).