EDITOR .

Robert T . Clarke, 1338 Naples Drive, Dallas, Texas 75232

Vol . 1, no. 6 (whole No. 6)

June, 1975

page 101

From the President ' s Desk

At the time this writing is "in the typewriter," halfway through May, nooffers have been received to continue the circuit . I'm still hoping thatsomeone of our 400 t members will accept the post as circuit directorfor the remainder of 1975 and thereafter.

Also, what young member will take it upon himself to start and maintain ayouth-corner in the "Tell"? The write-up in our May issue (read : With theJuniors) about Tim Wait was quite impressive . If more juniors are asenthused as Tim, then we have it made . All you have to do is get togetherthrough the "Tell ."

The filling of 100 frames at the 1976 Bepex show should be no problem ifwe all will make some time to show our material there . I will open theline of collectors by means of this writing to tell Werner Vogel to reserve3 or 4 frames for me . Who follows?

Those lucky ones who will visit Switzerland and/or Liechtenstein this year,please plot down your impressions and send them to Bob Clarke so that weall can share your adventures over there.

I will end with wishing all of you a good vacation.

I t is our sad duty to report that AHPS member Mrs . Hermine Levy passed awayon the 19th . of April . Our sincere expressions of sympathy go out to her

i

family and friends .

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Date : June, 1975

Table of ContentsPresident's Note 101Welcome New Members 102Marketplace 102Chapter News 102AHPS Long Island Chapter 103

AHPS Awards at POSTEX 103Sales Circuit Report No . 8104Swiss Military Sports Issues 105

Switzerland and the AmericanRevolution Bicentennial 109

Swiss/LiechtensteinCancellations (Part 40) 112

Swiss PTT Booth at INTERPHIL 114Switzerland's Fourth Language 115Pricing Your Stamps Right, Etc 117

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Dato : June, 1975Page 103

Any Interest for an AHPS Chapter on Long Island ? ?Mr . Hal Yaeger, 515 Larch Lane, East Meadow, New York 11554 (my old stompinggrounds for 10 years, 1945-1955 . . .when dinosaurs roamed the area and woods andpotato fields were common . Then someone planted a few "house seeds" ; theysprouted, and before long the fields were covered with houses'.'. Enough of that,

back to the business at hand) has expressed an interest in organizing a newAHPS Chapter on Long Island . Hal has spoken to the acting director of the EastMeadow Public Library, Mr Frederick A . Krahn, also an AHPS member, and a meetingplace should be no problem . There are, at last count, 17 AHPS members who arepotential chapter members . Please contact Hal right away (he's planning to beout of town during July and August) if you have an interest in meeting with otherAMPS members in the area . Try it, you'll like it ::

AHPS Awards at POSTEX, Arlington, TexasFive Swiss exhibits were entered by AHPS members in the Second Annual POSTEX showheld May 2-4, 1975 in Arlington, Texas . Arlington is a suburb between Dallas and

Fort Worth . Two AHPS medals were awarded . Harlan Stone won the Gold with hisshowing of "Switzerland's Sitting Helvetia Issues, 1861-1883", and Earle Plylertook the Silver with "Switzerland ; The Imperforate Issues, 1850-1862" . The three

other exhibits were "Switzerland's Bundesfeier Post Cards", Al Altwegg ; "Internmentin Switzerland, World War Il", Robert C . Ross ; and "Swiss Tete-Beche, Se-Tenantand Interspace Pairs" by yours truly, ye olde Editor . Harlan also won a POSTEXFirst Place, while the other four exhibits took POSTEX Second Place awards inan open competition of 254 frames, 51 exhibits .

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Date : June, 1975Page 104

AHPS Sales Circuit Report No . 8

Manager ; Felix Ganz, Apt .3303, 1130 SouthMichigan Ave., Chicago (IL) 60605

It is a pleasure to report that about on May 12 the sales totals fromthe 197'e-75 season surpassed the sum of $5000 . thus a goal not anticipatedoven in wild dreams has become fact, and before June is gone the totalsmight get close to $6000, or 50% of materials entered.

No new books have been accepted since early May, and returning booksare being accounted for and dispatched to their owners . Of the

140 entered books and envelopes, etc. that circulated in a total of 50 circuits --some twice, but most of them once -- 53 books and 2h circuits so far havebeen retired and terminated, with owners receiving so far over $ 2560 inpay-outs .

PLEASE HEED THE DEADLINE OF JUNE 30, 1975 As THE END OF ALLCIRCUITSFROM THESE QUARTERS, AND RETURN ANY CIRCUIT THAT SHOULD REACH YOUBETWEENJUNE 1'i AND 20 DIRECTLY TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS (thus el im inat ing all namesappearing below yours from receiving; this particular mailing) . Keep anycircuit as few days as possible -- in that way one or two more'participants may have a chance at it.

Pricing seems to continue to be the bone of contention between the"haves" and the "have-nets" . It is true that it may be very worthwhile toutilize the APS or SPA circuits of Swiss materials . In those round-robinsprices still seem to he one third to one half Scott (which currently isless than dealers ' buying prices in Switzerland), and on top of that onecan find unrecognized plate flaws, unrecognized paper varieties,retouched items and rare perforations, etc . while members of AHPS usually know

their stamps : But it must also be noted that of late many swiss dealersadvertise in publications over there that they will sell any issues fromabout 1955 on at 60 to 66" of the 1975 Zumstein (and that means perfectmaterials, mint never hinged or finely canceled) . On the other hand anyearly and specialty materials fetch prices that leave youwondering. sheets usually can be had at a 15 toand norma l use Genev a officialsdays and later usually bring less than 50% o f catalog. But later"dumb' perfins, until three years ago the source of aggravation to99½%of all collectors, now suddenly are "in" and often fetch more than stamps,,of the same design WITHOUT a perfin design!!! Covers -- especially with aSINGLE denomination stamp, Lo show the proper use and rate to a postalhistorian -- are getting; more and more attention, and ,City collectors a-broad ask for covers that went to this country, with a Slug o stamp af-fixed (airmail 90 cts ., for instance) because they are nut found in thecountry of origin. Therefore it may be worth your while NCI Lu tear offthe stamps from all your letters even now.

If you have very specialized collecting interests then it will payto join a Swiss specialty collectors ' organizations airmail collectors(the group responsible for LUPO) ; postal stationery collectors s (Lie se arebusy right now putting together GABRA ' 76) ; cancellation collectors ; col-lectors of blocks of four ; collectors of early letters (thisgroup publishes a very fine periodical); specialists' group (this organization isinterested in plate flac and the life) ; i Lc . All of theseorganizationsare part of the swiss Co llectors' Societies Association (VSP) that pub-lishes the Swiss Philatelic Journal, and all members of all societies re-ceive that journal as part of their membership dues. You will pini i t byit even if your German or French is woefullysubstandard

alti if you are an advanced collector then it will. pay to g eton thelists of a few swiss and Liechtenstein auction firms -- lut unless youare a successful bidder you ' l l b e bounced off the lists very rapidly : :

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Date : June, 1975Page 105

Sports Issues Among the Swiss Military Stamps of World War II

by: Robert C. Ross(EDITOR'S NOTE) This article appeared in the July-August, 1974 issue ofJournal of Sports Philatelists .

It is reprinted here with the kindpermission of the author .)

(Editor's Note #2) Figure 1 did not come out well in May because the screen

blocked up at the reduced size .

It is run again here at 1 :1, and so are Figs.

5-9A . Hope they come out better here . (RTC)

Sixth Championships

The sixth Army championships were held in Fribourg August 27 through 30, 1942.The Field Post issued a special circular cancellation and the Post Office a specialrectangular mark (see figure 5) . Six stamps were also issued in dark green, red,blue, yellow and (imperforate) black (see figure 6), all occurring in a sheet ofsix, both perforated 11 and imperforate . The artist was H . Broillet . Thesestamps were numbered 71 through 76 by Locher.

Locher indicates that the sheets of six have text, but, by implication, in onlyone version . However, the Smithsonian in Washington, D .C . has imperforate sheetswith three different inscriptions, all at the bottom of the sheet.

I . 6 . ARMEEMEISTERSCHAFTEN / FREIBURG

19422 . 6 . CAMPIONATI

MILITARI

/ FRIBORGO

19423 . 6 . CONCURRENZIA MILITARA / FRIBURG

1942

The illustrated sheet has a French inscription : "6es CHAMPIONNATS D'ARMEE /FRIBOURG 1942", and exists both perforated and imperforate . I do not know ifthe German, Italian and Romansh sheets exist perforated.

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Date : June, 1975No . 6

Winter Games,1943

The Army held winter games at Adelboden on February 23 through 28, 1943.Again, a special card was issued and two special cancels were employed by the

Post Office and the Field Post .

(Figures 7 and 8 .) Sixteen different stamps were

issued, all of a similar type and all in green and black, in perforated 11 andimperforate sheets of four . Figure 9 shows the sheet of four containing LocherNos . 77-80 and is on white paper with German text . Locher's Nos . 81-84 occur on

green paper with French text ; Nos . 85-88 occur on blue paper with Italian text

and Locher Nos . 88-92 occur on buff paper with Romansh text .

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Vol . 1

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Date : June, 1975Page 109

Switzerland and the American Revolution Bicentennialby :

Fred R . Lesser

There is no doubt that the authors of the 'Articles ofConfederation and Perpetual Union' as accepted in theContinental Congress and ultimately incorporated in theConstitution for the United States, had studied the historicaland political components of the Swiss Federation (Staatenbund ).At that time ( 1774 - 1787 ), the Swiss Staatenbund was aloose federation of 13 cantons without a central government,a royal dynasty or a religious hierarchy . Three of the 13cantons were 'twin cantons' : Appenzell A.R. and I .R ., BaselStadt and Landschaft, Unterwalden/Nidwalden and /Obwalden.As a government system, the federation concept was unique inEurope.

When the Swiss began to constitutionalize the Federationinto a Confederation in 1848, Switzerland consisted of 25cantons including the 3 'twins'. The final constitution of theSwiss Confederation was adopted in 1874 . There is evidencethat the Constitution for the United States became the subjectof close examination by the Swiss, and in a way the serving ofthe American Constitution as a model for the Swiss Confederationwas like a coming home of the prodigious son.

Two historic events led up to the actual existence ofSwitzerland as a national entity in Europe . The opening ofthe St .Gotthard Pass to traffic in 1230 and the founding ofthe Hanseatic League in Northern Germany in 1241. These eventswere preceded by the signing of the Magna Carta in England in1215 .. The St .Gotthard Pass became the keystone of the Germano-Roman Empire and subsequently, the gateway for communicativeintercourse between the ecclesiastical and political Power ofRome and the Empires of the Hapsburgs and Bourbons on the otherside of the Alps . The Hanseatic League was based on thepolitical and economic autonomy granted to important tradecentres and cities under the protection of their surroundingimperial powers . Luebeck, Hamburg and Bremen were the largestof these Hanseatic cities . With a view to assuring the neutralityof the all-important St .Gotthard Pass, the Emperors took undertheir special protection the people who guarded the access tothe Pass and granted them the same political and economicself-determination . On the death of the Emperor Rudolf Hapsburgin 1291, the inhabitants of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, 3adjacent communities known as the Forest Cantons, formed apolitical association or federation in defense of their mutualprivileges and interests . This union was known as the 'PerpetualPact' . The canton Schwyz gave Switzerland her ultimate name, i .e.Schweiz.

To preserve their independence from outside powers, theSwiss always sided with forces o pposed to the omnipotence ofthe Hapsburgs . The battle of Morgarten in 1315 was the first

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battle waged and won by the Swiss against the Imperial Crown.The legend of William Tell as glorified in the Tellenlied(Song of Tell) written around 1474, had its origin in thatbattle.

Over a period of 5 decades, the federated 3 Forest Cantonsgrew into a federation of 25 . This growth came about partlyas the result of acquisitional expansion by force of arms,partly as the result of a kind of voluntary gravitation ofadjacent and interdependent cities and communities towardmembership in the Federation. It is interesting to observethat there was a lull of 300 years before the number of cantonsincreased from 16 to 25 with the 9 cantons joining theFederation within 12 years after 1803 . Geneva was the lastto join in 1815 . Napoleon had a lot to do with this suddenexpansion ..

The 1874 constitution of the Swiss Confederation isinteresting in many respects for the fact alone that itsconstitutional components can be challenged by all Swisscitizens at all times.

The executive power rests with the Federal Council(Bundesrat) . The 7 people who make up this Council must beelected every 3 years . Its president also bears the titleof President of the Swiss Confederation but his annual electionis in the hands of the Federal Assembly (Bundes Versammlung)and its 2 chambers, the States Council (Staenderat) and theNational Council (Nationalrat) . The legislative powers restwith the Federal Council . Each canton is represented by 2members in the States Council and every 20,000 citizens haveone representative in the National Council . A separate FederalTribunal decides on matters of civil and penal law but, unlikethe US Supreme Court, it cannot rule on the constitutionalityof any federal law.

The ultimate powers rest with the Swiss citizens themselves.The Swiss are often envied for their constitutional rights.Under the Right of Initiative, it only requires 50,000 malecitizens to get together to propose a new law or demand anational referendum to decide upon a revision in the constitution.Such a constitutional modification must also be approved by amajority of cantons . Under the Optional Referendum, 30000 malecitizens can demand that any law passed by the Government besubmitted to a popular vote.

Although John Calvin was born in France ( 1509 ) and usedGeneva as his power base when that city's membership in the SwissFederation was still 300 years off, his teachings were deeplyinterrelated with the spiritual radicalism and anti-catholicismof his Swiss contemporary Ulrich Zwingli, the Governor of Zurich.Zwingli got killed in an armed clash between Zurich and theother cantons ( 1531 ), thus John Calvin overtook his historical

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importance and became the spearhead of the Radical Revolution,the Reformation . Because the teachings of Calvinism affectedwhat is now being called the American Way of Life, or may haveeven initiated it, the arrival of the Calvinist Puritans on theshores of New England offers an interesting, yet indirect linkin a socio-economic sense between the Swiss and the Americanpeople .

John Calvin's teachings incorporated two novel if notrevolutionary concepts . God was all-knowing and the finalauthority over man and his destiny . Industry and thrift wereChristian virtues ..

The first concept was in direct opposition to theauthoritative powers traditionally assumed by popes, emperorsand kings where-ever they ruled . The second concept meant thatdevotion to profit was more to the liking of God than man'spreoccupation with monastic life . Both concepts appealedenormously to the then emerging artisan and merchant classesin Western Europe, classes which became the middle class withits own political and economic ambitions . Although CalvinistPuritans proclaimed humbleness in the face of God's predestinatingpowers over man's fate, they did not object to the attainmentof success in material terms by way of self-fulfilling pursuit ofpower.

The penetration of Calvinist proved particularly effectivein countries where growing sectors of their societies wereengaged in mercantile ventures . Calvinism became institutionalizedin Holland as the Dutch Reformed Church. John Knox a devoutfollower of Calvin formed the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.The extremely industrious Calvinists in Prance became knownas the huguenots . Throughout the reign of Elizabeth I, theCalvinist Puritans in England remained on the passive side.Later, they asserted themselves against the Anglican Church andas opponents to the Church of England became known as Separatists.The English Calvinists eventually lost out in the confrontationwith the Church of England and migrated to Holland (Leyden) wherethe Dutch were reputed to be more tolerant . Within a few years,however, the English Calvinists and their Dutch born descendantsbecame restive and crossed the Atlantic for the New World.

then these English Calvinist Puritans, their Dutchdescendants and their native Dutch co-religionists landed offthe coast of New England, they brou ght with them the teachingsof a man who managed to set up in Geneva a theocracy whichallowed for man's acquisitional passions and which proved aspowerful as that of the ancient Hebrews,.

(Editor's Note :

1 :00 a .m . in the morning is not the best time at all to proofreadarticles, as evidenced by the poor job I did on Fred's article in the May Tell . Allgoofs are on page 94 . Add "(34 x 50 stamps)" after paragraph 1 . Note :, line 3,delete "3" ; and line 5, add "the" 34 . . .

Paragraph 4, line 7, "known" for "know",and line 10-11, delete the sentence after " . . .philatelic market ." Sorry aboutthat, Fred .

(RTC)

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Date : June, 1975

MILITARY ABBREVIATIONS FOUND ON SWISS MILITARY AND FIELDPOSTCANCELLATIONS AND ON SWISS SOLDIERS' ISSUES

(Part 40)by : Felix Ganz

Supplement to the June, 1975 TELL

AHPS

Auction No . 5

Closing Date

- June 30, 1975

Hello!Well, it's getting close to summer again . and with it the temptation

to put aside philately for more active activities . I must admit that on a hot

summer day, given the choice of working with my stamps or going swimming.I've been known to choose the latter . .

However now is the best time of the year to buy stamps Most cataloguesare a year or more out of date, and at least for Swiss material . many prices

are sure to rise .

Sincerely .

Prices Realized, AHPS Auction # 3

(April, 1975 TELL)

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Date : June, 1975Page 113

Vol . 1

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AHPS Applicants Invited to"Man" the Swiss PTT Booth at INTERPHIL, 1976Ernest Kehr, the Swiss Philatelic Agency representative in the United States sent nie

a letter with the following information concerning the participation of the SwissPhilatelic Service Office in the forthcoming INTERPHIL exhibition in 1976 .

If theSwiss PTT decides to take a booth at INTERPHIL, sending a full staff from Switzerlandwould be very costly . Mr . Kehr suggested that perhaps from one to three members ofthe AHPS might be willing to help man (or woman) the booth for the duration of theshow . The show is, I believe, in Philadelphia . Anyone who is interested in doingthis should contact Mr . Kehr as soon as possible, stating what kind of salary theywould expect either on an hourly or daily basis . Contact : Mr . Ernest A . Kehr, Box 1,Richmond Hill, New York 11419 .

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Switzerland's Fourth National Language

by : Harlan F. Stone

Collectors of Swiss stamps are usually familiar with the fact that thecountry has three languages, since all three appear on some of itsstamps . Notable examples of these trilingual issues include the 1854-62 Strubelis (Scott Nos . 14-40), the "symbolic" and "crossbow" setsfor the Swiss National Exposition in Zurich in 1939 (Nos . 247-67), andthe 1942 "salvage" sheet (comprising Nos . 281-3) . These inscriptionsin German, French and Italian reflect the country's official languages.To avoid the cumbersome use of all three, however, the Swiss postal au-thorities have more often used the neutral Latin word "Helvetia" as adiplomatic way to designate the multi-lingual country.

Not so readily known to beginning collectors is the fact that Switzer-land has, not three, but four national languages . Since 1938 thegovernment has also recognized Romansch. But because this is not an officiallanguage, no federal documents (such as announcements of new stamp is-sues) are printed in Romansch . Only the canton of Graubunden, whichcontains most of the Romansch-speaking area, has accorded the languageofficial as well as national status.

Before the conquest of Raetia (generally eastern Switzerland) by theRomans Drusus and Tiberius in 15 B .C ., the language spoken in its moun-tains was ancient Raetian, which had traits common with other languageswith Indo-European roots . The new occupants of Raetia brought a populartype of Latin spoken by the Romans . The mingling of these two languagesresulted in a new kind of provincial Latin called Rheto-Romanic orRheto-Romanisch . But because it never became the official language of acentral state, as ancient French did, it eventually developed into aseries of separate dialects . When the chief regional town of Chur offi-cially switched to German in the 15th century, efforts to unify theRomansch dialects lost further way.

During the 16th century Reformation, however, most of the population inGraubunden became Protestant, and their Romansch language became thelanguage of the pulpit . This circumstance created the need for transla-tions and publication of religious works in Romansch, a development thathelped preserve the language at a time when it might otherwise have diedin the face of the surrounding German . In 1560 Giachem Bifrun, a farmerand notary living in Samedan, translated the New Testament . Two yearslater Duri Champel, a reformed pastor and historian, translated thePsalms in the Romansch dialect of Ladin spoken in the Lower Engadine.Religious textbooks, hymns and prayers followed in the idioms of theGraubunden valleys . The first Romansch translation of the Bible wasprinted at Scuol in the Lower Engadine in 1679, according to John MurrayIII, the Englishman who wrote the classic Murray's Handbook for Travel-lers in Switzerland 1838 . In a passage he devoted to Romansch, he alsowrote,

"A newspaper is printed at Coire (Chur) in the Lingua Romanscha, adialect peculiar to the Grisons (Graubunden) . . . The whole of Romanschliterature may be comprised in about 30 books, mostly religious works,

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including the Bible, liturgy and catechisms . The first grammar anddictionary of the Romansch language was published by a clergyman namedConradi at Zurich in 1820 and 1823 . In 1836 a newspaper called IlGrischun Romansch was printed in the Romansch dialect at Coire ."

Murray also noted that the Lingua Romanscha could be divided into atleast three distinct dialects Ladin spoken in the Lower Engadine andthe vale of Munster (Val Mustair) in the extreme southeast bulge ofSwitzerland ; Romansch in the Upper Engadine, Bregaglia, Oberhalbstein,Schams and neighboring valleys ; and the patois of the Graubunden high-landers to the west in the vale of the Vorder and the Hinter Rhine a-round Disentis.

He used the following translations of the first sentence in the Lord'sPrayer to show the difference between the threes

Our Father who art in heavenPater noster qui es in coelis (Latin)Bab noss qual ca ti eis entschiel (Ladin)Pap nose quel tii est en eel (Romansch)Pap noss quel chi esch in'ls eels (patois)

Murray also marveled over the peculiar, intricate intermixture of lan-guage and religion, writing, "There are scarcely two adjoining parishes,or even hamlets, speaking the same tongue and professing the same faith.Thus at Coire, German is the prevailing language, and Protestant thereligion of the majority . At Ems, the first village on the road,Romansch is spoken . Tamins and Reichenau are Catholic and German . Bonaduz,divided from them only by the Rhine, is reformed and speaks Romansch.Rhoetzuns and Katsiz (Cazis) are two Romish villages, but in the firstthe language is German, in the second Romansch . The inhabitants ofHeinzenberg (Valley) are Protestant and German . At Thusis they are re-formed and German, at Zillis and Schams (Valley) reformed and Romansch ."

All this within only 15 or 20 miles ofChur!

Only in the second half of the 19th century did scholars concern them-selves with the survival of Romansch . Linguists, scientists and liter-ary historians all contributed research and teaching to revive the lan-guage . These scholarly efforts showed that Romansch was intimately con-nected with the traditions and ancestral customs of the people . Infact, it had become the very expression of customs they had maintainedwith staunch independence as members of the Swiss Confederation . Thishistorical importance of the language led the federal government tohold a national referendum on Feb . 20, 1938, on the question of ac-cepting Romansch as the fourth national language . The favorable votewas 575,000 to 52,000

Following the referendum, the cantonal government in Graubunden rea-dopted the ancient and melodious names for a number of the area's townsand villages . Thus Disentis became Muster, Samaden changed to Sameden,Schuls was renamed Scuol, and St . Moritz officially adopted San Murez-zan . On current Swiss maps the old and new names for many, if not all,of these places appear together . (to be continued)

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Pricing Your Stamps Right (and Prices Others Charge)

I have been asked to give an opinion on prices of swiss material, in-side and out of the circuits . AHPS members write in and ask ; is that toolittle ; is that too much ; is that worth that much on cover, etc.

Being neither King Solomon, nor the Association of Philatelic Tradersof Switzerland, nor Linn's "Stamp Trends" columnist, I can, at best, replyto those inquirers that whatever follows is no more than a personal

opinion based on careful observing of auction results, advertised sales prices,takes from our own society ' s sales circuits, and occasional opportunitiesat insider information on things to happen.

As sales manager of AHPS I have seen, this past season, over 125 sub-mitted sales books, envelopes, and the like . Prices asked have ranged fromthe ridiculously high (with subsequent low sales) to the moderately lowas well as to the realistic . CONDITION is the absolute key word for anyitem about to he sold . Of course there is always the occasional "

I-must-have-this-at-any-price" buyer who may occasionally (and knowingly) over-splurge on something that has eluded him for x plus z years simplybecausehis frustrations of seeing that empty spot in his album have reached theboiling point . But generally a collector is more interested in getting areal bargain in form of a misdescribed and thus underpriced item the ex-istence of which still occurs and the finding of which produces a phila-telic climax:

If a collector adds to his collection "regular" stamps, he desires inthe main unhinged or VERY lightly hinged mint stamps, gently but legiblycanceled used stamps, unfrayed, un-dogeared, COMPLETE letters or cards,and -- wherever possible -- neatly and centrally canceled blocks of four.For a seller trying to peddle unused stamps on the back of which there arewide assortments of various hinges (some of Chem often attempting to hidethin spots), or that have more than a quarter of their backs' surface cov-ered by one or several hinges, is a hopeless undertaking unless such itemsare offered as what they are . . .and priced accordingly 25 to 50%. cheaperthan a real, unhinged mint stamp . It would be nice to accept, for all deal-ings within AHPS, the standard that the sign ** means truly mint unhinged,the sign

means unused, with gum but with hin g e, and the sign ( e ) for un-used without gum. For mint unhinged about 30% of Zumstein ought to be char-g ed (divide price in francs by 3 ) ; for all hinged unused stamps exceptthose with a tiny (1/16 of an inch ; no more) first hinge no more than 50-60% of Zumstein should be charged, and for () items, except perhaps Baseldoves and the like, even less must be charged . Yours truly hinges hisstamps for mounting (1 do not believe in stock books nor in plastic mountsmany of which can permanently discolor and damage stamps -- no air, chem-ical changes, etc . --) ; but a prefolded hing e is cut, at the narrow side,to that: 1/16th inch width, then wetted carefully, attached to the stamp ' shack high up near the top margin, and then carefully mounted, to avoid ex-cess moisture from sticking the stamp hopelessly onto the page forever.

then it comes to used stamps any stamp offered for sale SL . T be liceof any hinges on the back . In soaking stamps off paper it should be remem- bered that our regular tap water usually contains so many chemicals that

an early issue stamp might emerge from its bath as a colorchangeling. Forsoaking "Strubeli " stamps (silk thread issues) a long bath in pure,

distilled and definitely unchlorinated, unfluorized water is a MUST -- elseyou may sec your valuable stamps deteriorate before your unbelieving eyes.

Again, as concerns used stamps, NO collector of Swiss material wantsstamps marred by machine slogans (machine CROWNS, circular, are perfectly

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Date : June, 1975Page 118

acceptable, though), by smeary date strikes, by cutting circular or oth-er marks, or by roller cancels -- UNLESS a collector is a cancellationcollector ; but then he wants his specimens on complete cover or cut-out:

There are some collectors who prefer "full-face" cancels, sort ofbulls-eyes on which the complete date and most of the town name can beread ; and there are those who are aficionados of the "quarter-cancel",the strike that is definitely there but which does not deface the stamppicture . Block-of-four collectors are the logical step beyond the usedsingles, quarter-cancel collector : they want their blocks to feature butONE, centrally applied, neat and legible date strike.

As to pricing of used stamps that are absolutely free of defects(all perfs present, no thins, no rubbed surface from a cancellation, nocuts from a cancellation, no rubbed back from oversoaking, no discolor-ing) I suggest again to use Zumstein as a oasis and to allow a 15 to 20%discount from his prices for truly excellent material (don ' t forget thatZumstein himself offers a discount on their prices if you buy above acertain amount :) . If you want to dispose of heavily canceled material,or machine and roller canceled stamps, then you must offer them at 50%or more off the catalog price . As concerns off-centeredstamps, collectors in Switzerland have never paid much attention to that type of condi-tion (strange perhaps to a US collector : :), and even the recently descri-bed and wonderfully illustrated Silva book on Swiss stamps containsillustrations of a few real off-center items, modern ones included:

To use Linn ' s "Stamp Trends " as a basis for pricing Swiss stamps isabsolutely inane . Whoever, for instance, will sell a NABA sheet for $225(as suggested in the last Swiss price trends list in Linns in January,1975)? Yours truly will be delighted to buy ten of these at that price,and selling them to dealers in Switzerland at a $75 to $100 markup over-night To use Scott ' s as a guide to Swiss prices is also to bediscouraged . Scott ' s is usually two years behind actual price trends --both up or down . And Scott does not list many things that Swiss collect-ors amass : from interspace pairs to used blocks of four, etc.

Finally it should be said that ALL catalog prices for stamps fromabout 1963 on are unrealistic . Of most of these issues there exists anenormous glut on the market, and many collectors are happy to resell tenyear old hoarded sheets at face, or slightly below . So please take thatinto account as well.

If you have the time to hunt for flaws (printing mistakes, etc .)among your duplicates, then you will hit paydirt (if that is what youwant) . Anything from the Courvoisier ghost flaws to color or white spotsin a stamp's design, to actual misregistrations or plate faults is nowavidly collected by an ever growing number of Swiss collectors . Themissing spoke on the 5 cts . train set of 1947, the missing wire on the20cts . of the same set, the "spider on the hammer" of the 1941 Bernstamp, the "missing river" on all seated Helvetias (1910-40), and what-ever else is listed (and sometimes unlisted) in the Zumstein Specializ-ed can bring ten to thirty-fold prices above those of a normal stamp ofthe same design . And if you go in for double impressions or doubletransfers and the like, then you will suddenly find eager buyers IF such itemsshow up in your duplicates . Start with your holdings of "Cross and Cy-pher" issues and check how many you have with truly broken, extended, orinterrupted frame lines . You may be the recipient of an unexpected bo-nanza right there (your going blind notwithstanding) . And the StandingHelvetia plate flaws and retouches : that ' s another chapter where pains-taking viewing of each stamp may suddenly produce desirable rarities.

In short : be alert ; but also be realistic when pricing your dupli-cates . Then you will realize even more HOW much fun-(and occ a sional pro-fit) stamp collecting can be .

(Felix Ganz

Vol . 1

No .

6

Date : June, 1975 Page 119

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No . 6

Date : June, 1975

Vol . 1

No . 6

Date : June, 1975Page 121

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No .

6Page 123

Date : June, 1975