NOS. 76/77/78 1979

fl message from theChairman of London 1980

In recent years the trend has been for international stamp exhibitionsto become bigger and bigger, undoubtedly producing many headachesfor the organisers and meaning that visitors have no hope of seeing allthat is offered even if every moment of every opening day of theexhibition were spent in looking round.

LONDON 1980 will certainly not be the biggest international stampexhibition of recent years - but we intend it to be the best.

The first floor and an adjoining smaller hall of London's Earls Courthave been booked and into the available space will go about 4,500frames of stamps and 250 trade stands - plenty to satisfy even the mostfastidious visitor.

For many months now a team of dedicated enthusiasts has been busymaking the preparations for what is to be an outstanding exhibition.Many visitors perhaps do not realise the hours of work andpreparation which are needed to ensure a success. Most of the work isconducted on a purely voluntary basis by collectors and dealers alike,anxious that their efforts should produce an exhibition which will notonly be liked by established collectors but also appeal to those on thefringe of our hobby. Apart from a magnificent exhibition there will be afull programme of social events of appeal to collector andnon-collector alike. Even if you are not involved in the organisation ofLONDON 1980, you can still play your part, by submitting acompetitive entry, by joining the LONDON 1980 Club or far moreimportantly by making a note of the dates now - 6 to 14 May 1980 -and ensuring that you make a point of visiting LONDON 1980.

George South

SWISS ''GUARDED TRAIN' MAIL

By WING COMMANDER R.F.BULSTRODE, O.B.E.

After the end of the first World War transportand distribution of goods in central andeastern Europe were chaotic. Most areas hadacute shortages of some essential commoditiesand simultaneously a glut of other goods.But the railways were almost powerless tokeep the necessary transport moving, as well-armed gangs of bandits were holding up goodstrains and leaving them rifled and badlydamaged, particularly near the new frontiersof countries which had not yet developed theauthority or power to cope with the problem.

Switzerland was hard hit by this situation asit was faced with two tasks: to restore itsinternational trade which had been.devastatedby the war and to repatriate its citizens whohad been isolated in other countries and werestill unable to return. The soloution wasfound by providing armed Swiss Army Escortsfor trains from Switzerland to Austria,Czecho-Slavakia, Poland, Hungary, Yugoslaviaand Romania and back. The Swiss forces,having been neutral, were acceptable in allthe countries in which they travelled. Beingwell trained, well armed, including anti-aircraft weapons depressed to deal with groundtargets, and being volunteers and not "Warweary" they rapidly earned the respect of thebandits. Only one Swiss-guarded train wasattacked, the attempt was noisily repulsed

without the Swiss firing a lethal shot, and noloss ever occurred from any of the Swiss Armytrains. The Swiss Escorts travelled in con-siderable discomfort as the Federal Railways,fearing the loss of their rolling stock,provided the oldest they had got. In wetweather the troops had to take refuge undertarpaulins and umbrellas in their closedfreight trucks:

The philatelic interest of these voyages, someof which took months to complete, centres onthe envelopes and postcards sent back to Swit-zerland by crew members, both to official andprivate addressees. Such items should alwayshave been franked with the postage stamps ofthe country in which they were posted, regard-less of any special "train stamps" which mayhave been issued during the particular trip.But odd things sometimes happened, as we shallsee later.

The route normally followed by the Poland trains(Polenzug) was from Buchs (St. Gallen) on theSwiss-Austrian border via Innsbruck-Salzburg-Linz-Vienna-Tschenstochau-Lodz to Warsaw. TheRomania trains followed the same route toVienna, thence Raab-Budapest-Grosswardein-Klausenburg-Tovis-Schaessburg-Kronstadt-Ploesti

to Bukarest.

EARLY NAMES LATER NAMES LOCATION

PRERAU PREROV 160Kms NNE OF VIENNATSCHENSTOCHAU CZESTOCHOWA 110Kms S OF LODZLODZ 110Kms SW OF WARSAWRAAB GYOR 110Kms SW OF BUDAPESTGROSSWARDEIN NAGYVARAD, ORADEA MARE, 55Kms SSE OF BÉCKÉSCABAKLAUSENBURG KOLOZSVAR, CLUJ 260Kms NW OF PLOESTITOVIS TEUIS 80Kms S OF CLUJSCHAESSBURG SIGHISOARA 90Kms NW OF BRASOVKRONSTADT ORASUL STALIN, BRASOV 85Kms NNW OF PLOESTIPLOESTI 60Kms N OF BUKAREST

BISCHOFSHOFEN 44Kms SE OF SALZBURGZEMUN SEMLIN ACROSS RIVER FROM BELGRADEBROD BOSNIAN BROD 210Kms WNW OF BELGRADEPURKERSDORF 14Kms W OF CENTRAL VIENNAZAGREB 190Kms WNW OF BRODSZABADKA SUBOTICA 170Kms SSE OF BUDAPESTKIRALIHIDA BRUCK ESE OF VIENNA, NOW AUSTRIASZOLNOK 90Kms ESE OF BUDAPESTBÉCKÉSCABA 180Kms SE OF BUDAPESTORSOVA 170Kms E OF BELGRADETEMESVAR TIMISOARA 120Kms NNE OF BELGRADEMARCHEGG 35Kms E OF VIENNA

Now for the first complication. Manyof these names, and names of placesfrom which correspondence was posteden-route, have changed once, twice oreven thrice since 1919. These changesare due to political and linguisticreasons as frontiers and governmentaltered. To help follow the story onmodern maps we give a list showing thechoice of names which may be met andthe location of less well known places.

The second complication is the peculiarmixture of franking, cancellation, andregistration label to be found on asingle item. Romanian franking withHungarian cancellation, and Romanianfranking with Hungarian registrationlabels, are accounted for by the factthat for a time the Romanians were occupyingpart of Hungary and provided their own stompsbut evidently used Hungarian postal staff andequipment. The Romanians do not appear tohave had registration labels in their owncountry, and their cancellations are usuallyblurred, often illegible. Hungarian cancel-lations are, by contrast generally beautifullyclear. A card bearing a Hungarian stamp witha Bern c.d.s. is probably due to it not beingcancelled in Subotica (Yugoslavia) where itwas posted and the Swiss official using hisnormal "chop" instead of the correct double-circle dumb "killer", which was properly usedin other cases with Romanian and Austrianfranking. A cover from the 25th Romania train,originating apparently in Vienna, bears onlySwiss stamps (total 30c.) and a Bern registra-tion label and Bern Bundeshaus cancellation;was this carried by the Escort Commander tooblige the official of the Swiss Embassy,Vienna, and then posted in Bern? Certainlypostal regulations were broken:

The third complication is how to recogniseGuarded Train correspondence. The wording,style, size and colour of handstamps used kept

on changing. The only train to use a greenink-pad seems to be the 5th Poland train, witha straight line "Escorte commerciale Suisse"and a Swiss Cross at each end, 6cms long;the Escort Commander's "chop" had "leCommandant" immediately below the main inscrip-tion. The most "popular" chop, used on manytrains, bore "Escorte Commerciale MilitaireSuisse" in two lines surmounted by the SwissCross in rays, length 6.1cms, in mauve or blue.Late in its life one of this type was modifiedby the excision of the word "MILITAIRE",leaving a lop-sided effect. Another type had,in one line, a star containing the Swiss Crossat each end and "Schweiz Militärische Handels-Escorte" ; sometimes the "Rumänienzug" trainnumber was added below. The 5th Romania trainmade up two straight line "chops", one inGerman and one in French, giving the trainnumber. The least common seems to be an oval4.7cms long, bearing "SchweizerischeHandelseskorte" in the outer oval and theSwiss Cross in rays in the centre.

The 10th Romania train had a "chop" with"Schweizerische Handelseskorten" 7.1cms longabove "Rumänienzug No.10" and surmounted by a

plain shield bearing the Swiss Cross,all in red.

A smaller "chop" was introduced,apparently late in 1920, 4.6cms long,reading "Schweizer Warentransport"below the Swiss Cross in rays, usuallyin blue. A French language versionalso exists - "Transport de CommerceSuisse", of the same size. Another onelooking as if made up of moveable type,reads "Schweizer Handelsescorte" 6.4cmslong as the top line and "RumänienzugNo. " below, leaving space for themanuscript insertion of the trainnumber, used on Romania Train No.22.Another "chop", also of moveable type,reads "Transport Nr.25" 6.3cms long,

with marks below thefigures suggesting theywere shifted for use orother trains.

Many trains seem to have had no rubber stampand relied on manuscript notes on covers toidentify their sendings. Private postcardscan sometimes be identified by the messageswritten anthem - the ones on the returnjourney usually being the most enthusiastic!

The fourth complication is to work out whattrains went where, their approximate triptimings, names of Escort Commanders, and anyother details. Three trains issued special"Train Stamps", of no franking value; thesewere No.5 Poland Train, Escort CommanderCapt.Fred Bieri, stamps printed at Warsaw;No.10 Romania Train, same Escort Commander ;

printed at Bukarest; and No.12 Romania Train,Escort Commander Oberleutnant Robert Bieri(not related to Capt. F. Bieri) printed inBukarest. These are the sole trains whosecorrespondence, on the return journey only,may be identified by special "Stickers".

Official records in Switzerland, to help uswith these trains, are almost completelylacking. The surviving Military records areof no help to us, and the chance of anythinguseful being available in the Federal CivilArchives or the Federal Railways records areextremely slim. My main sources of inform-ation have been the late Major Fred Bieri,the Capt. Bieri of the trains, whose friendlyand knowledgeable help was quite invaluable,and the few collections I have been able tolocate and examine. A Hungarian friend whowas living in the "right" area at the timegave valuable aid in place identification andeven caused my own collection to become moresurprising!

Of the three Train stamps, No. 5 Poland trainissued plain type-set stamps in red on yellowpaper reading "5 POLENZUG WARSAWA JULI 1919"and the 'Swiss Cross' - but it was in red! Thesewere printed in Warsaw late in July 1919, andones used on cover" without any notionalfranking were cancelled at Warsaw "by favour"and cannot have been carried by the postalservice; Fred Bieri admitted to me that some-one in the train crew had been "naughty" inthis respect. The 10th and 12th Romaniatrains both had stamps lithographed at Bukarestby Carol Göbl-Rasidescu. Both are two-coloured,the first in red and green reads "RumänenzugNo.10 Bukarest Dez 1919" and the second "12Rumänenzug Nov.1919 - Febr.1920 Bukarest", inred and grey; this train stayed so long atBukarest that many of the stamps bear manuscriptoverprints of later months! The addressingof official letters from the trains to Bernvaries considerably but is usually straightfor-ward, only the letters "WRT" which sometimesoccur causing a puzzle; they stand for "Warenand Rüchwanderer Transport", showing that thetrains were being used for transport of goodsand repatriated Swiss Citizens.For the earlier journeys, which bristled withunforeseen problems, the Escort Commanders wereSwiss Army Captains. As the organisation becamesmoother, First Lieutenants (Oberleutnant) wereentrusted with the task, and finally Lieuten-ants took over. In parallel with the military,civilian guards were also operating, sometimesin charge of one truck only. These men werenot always very successful, lacking either thecash or the initiative to "lubricate" thesystem with adequate donations to (sometimes)highly acquisitive Balkan authorities; therecord was probably held by a civilian whosetrain remained stationary at Kronstadt forover four months!

TRAIN NO. ESCORT COMMANDER DATES OUT AND 1ST 6 LAST KNOWNBACK TO BUCHS DATES EN ROUTE

5 POLAND Capt. F. Bieri 22.7.1919 - 19.8.19195 ROMANIA ? 14.8.19, 12.9.198 " Capt. Holzach9 " Capt.Gaffner10 " Capt.F.Bieri 26.10.1919-11.1.192011 " Capt.Holzach12 " Oblt. R. Bieri Sept.1919-April 1920!13 " Oblt.Charles Dubois17 " Oblt.Kehr18 " Lt.A.A.Haas20 " Lt. Bucher 18.11.20, 29.11.20

21 " ? 24.11.20, 2.12.20

22 " Lt.A.A.Haas 22.12.20, 26.1.2125 " ? (Mail posted in Bern 10.3.21)

27 " A.Kellenberger 19.6.21

30 " A.Kellenberger 12.9.21

33 " A. Kellenberger

The E&F thin paperBy H.L. KATCHER

Many collectors (and some experts!) experiencedifficulty in identifying with absolute cer-tainty this rare group of stamps (issued in1856/57) which has been the subject of protrac-ted arguments for decades. The writer hopesthat the following will help to clear away someof the "fog" and establish standards forfuture use.BRIEF HISTORY: The E and F stamps were printedin Bern on mixed quality sheets of paper,rejected by the original Munich printers fornot meeting their standards. They were sent toBern in 1854. Contrary to today's way of life,nothing was wasted, and Bern frugally storedthis supply of handmade paper. Two to threeyears later they were used. Whether this wasdue to a delayed delivery from the Sihl paperfactory (Zurich) or as an economy measure, can-not now be ascertained. No documentaryevidence exists to support either assumption.The fact is, the sheets were used and being ofconsiderably varied thicknesses, have causedcollectors a great deal of fascination andpoints of argument ever since.

PRODUCTION: The thinner sheets in the batch ofpaper could not take proper embossing and thenormal strong colours. We must presume thatin order to get acceptable results the printinginks were purposely "watered down" (colloquial-ly, not chemically speaking) to avoidpenetration of the paper. The visible proof ofthis is that even stamps on the thicker sheetsin the batch are printed in the same dull matt(greyish) shades. One thing is certain; noneof this was planned and one thing simply led toanother. As already mentioned, the thicknessof these rejected sheets varied considerablyand we have encountered extreme values fromabout 0.035 to 0.07 m/m - a difference of about100%!Stamps printed on the thicker sheets are mostlyallocated to the B, C and D groups, dependingon colour of silk threads. Which brings us tothe crux of the matter: The E and F stamps,although by virtue of their shades from aseparate printing, are not classified as E andF because of the printing BUT BECAUSE OF THETHINNESS OF THEIR PAPER. The distinctiveshades only serve as a guide to finding apotentially thin-paper stamp.

PERMISSIBLE PAPER THICKNESS AND MEASURINGMETHODS: Before we set down figures which willdivide the E and F stamps from their more com-mon B, C and D counterparts, we must decide ona tool of precision and it is extremely impor-tant to strictly follow prescribed standards to

STRUBE LSarrive at correct and acceptable results.Manually adjustable gauges must be rejected asmost of them depend on the strength of "turn"the hand applies. It is feasible that twopeople measuring the same stamp and using thesame gauge could get different results. Whatis needed is a constant spring pressure,independent of the operator's physical strength.We illustrate below the gauge which, for phila-telic purposes, has given the best and mostconsistent results. The gauge comes equippedwith exchangeable terminals and the user hasthe choice of three different applications:

1. Using the two flat ends.2. Using domed end at top striking

against flat end at bottom.3. Using the two domed ends.

While the choice of these three methods isoptional, each will produce different resultsand to compensate, the following strict ruleMUST apply: For method 1) the permissibleresult is up to 0.06 m/m. For method 2)0.05 m/m. For method 3) 0.045 m/m.

STANDINGHELVETIATHE LARGE PLATE FLAWS OF THE 50C.

are listed in the catalogue under 74E/Pf.3.Below are the plate defects, arranged in pairsas on the printing plate. Generally they arevery sharply defined on 70A, 70C and 70D, butsomewhat less clear on 74D and 74E.

It is known that the first issue, perf.11 ,came out in two stages: the first from 1882and the second from 1889, with a short inter-val for this value perf.9½. Thus thechronological order of appearance is A-B-A-C-Detc. But only with the 25c. value have webeen able to sort out the two stages of issueA with certainty. (Here the following order ofshades has been established: blue-green,yellow-green, olive-green, then follows No.67Band finally No.67Ag green or yellowish-green).With the other values of this issue there isnot enough material which can be allocatedwith certainty and with constant referencemarks to enable the two printing periods to besafely distinguished.

Thus No.70A was issued in two runs. About1890 there appeared on a plate of 200 stamps,which was in use for a very long time, twolarge plate defects in the form of strongstreaks of colour. Was this a printing platewhich had been in use since 1882 and in whichthese defects arose during the course ofusage? Or did these defects arise with thedelivery of new plates? We do not yet knowfor certain. What is certain is that boththese clear streaks of colour lie over twostamp positions in the right hand 100-pane ofthe plate of 200, as shown in the sketch.

One meets both these scratches for the firsttime on 70A, then finds them again on 70C and70D etc., but not on the coarse-perforated 70BOwing to the long period of use of these platesthese defects are not so rare. The relativelyhigh valuation is due to the large demand asthey are much sought-after by collectors onaccount of their clarity and spectacular natureTheir appearance is frequent with 70C, 70D and74D whilst they are relatively rarer on 70A.

Two examples found in the last few years haveled to the conclusion that also stamps printedfrom this plate in green were perforated112 x 12. This concerns 74Ed, which is noteasy to find and which can be recognised byits unclear print similar to 74Da and Db. Sowith luck it should be possible to find thesebig streaks of colour also on 74Ed, as they

Note: So far only the defects on fields 148and 180 have been found on 74Ed.

This article, by Mr.P.Guinand, was publishedin the Berner Briefmarken Zeitung and isreproduced by kind permission of Zumstein &Cie., Bern.

Monsieur Guinand is of course today's leadingexpert in the field of Sitting and StandingHelvetias and his certificates for suchmaterial are known throughout the world.

EDWARD H. SPIROIT IS WITH GREAT REGRET THAT I HAVE TOANNOUNCE THE DEATH OF EDWARD H.SPIRO ATTHE AGE OF 75.

EDWARD SPIRO APPROACHED ME IN 1950 WITHWHAT AT THE TIME SEEMED TO ME A MOSTAMBITIOUS AND IDEALISTIC SUGGESTION: THEPUBLICATION OF A CATALOGUE FOR SWISSSTAMPS IN ENGLISH AND A NEWSLETTER FORCOLLECTORS OF SWITZERLAND. HE TOOK UPONHIMSELF THE ENORMOUS ORIGINAL RESEARCHAND WORK NECESSARY FOR BOTH THESEPROJECTS, WHILE MY ONLY OBLIGATION WASTO FINANCE THE PRINTING COSTS.

THUS, EDWARD SPIRO BECAME, IN 1951 THEFIRST EDITOR OF THE AMATEUR COLLECTOR LTD.SWITZERLAND CATALOGUE AND THE 'SWISSPHILATELIST'. HIS KNOWLEDGE OF SWISSSTAMPS WAS EXTENSIVE AND ALREADY IN 1946HE FOUNDED THE 'HELVETIA PHILATELICSOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN'. IN LATER YEARSHIS JOURNALISTIC CAREER PREVENTED HIMFROM TAKING PART IN PHILATELIC ACTIVITIESBUT COLLECTORS OF SWITZERLAND WILL NEVERBE ABLE TO FORGET THE SERVICES HE HASRENDERED TO SWISS PHILATELY IN THIS COUNTRYAND THROUGHOUT THE ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD.

H.L.KATCHER

the performance of swiss stampsis breathtaking

BROUGHT UP TO DATEFROM SWISS PHILATELIST

NOS.67 - 75

The above highly interesting graph appeared in the FinancialTimes (London) on November 28th, 1978 and is reproduced withtheir permission. It shows the performance of the Francsince 1973, a "step like" progress towards ever-ascendingpeaks. When an intolorable peak is reached measures aretaken to induce a temporary fall. But without reallymeasurable inflation the Franc resumes its upward movement.

We are pleased to announce that, for the 5th time, theAmateur Collector Ltd was awarded the "Stephen BrahamTrophy" for best large Stand at STAMPEX. On the other handyour editor must take to task the many readers of the "SwissPhilatelist" who did not go to the trouble of competing forthe H.L.Katcher Trophy. With Wing Commander Bulstrode'sexhibits now Hors Concours, no competitive Swiss exhibitwas judged good enough to be awarded the trophy. We hopethat our readers will respond more actively next year andshow pride in their Swiss stamps'

INTERNATIONAL STAMP EXHIBITIONThis Exhibition promises to bethe philatelic "Mecca" of thedecade. Highlight of LONDON 1980will be approximately 4,500 frames

of stamps, housing not only the competitiveentries, but also the specially invited dis-plays, including an exhibit from the collectionof Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Organising Committee has decided that theawards will take the form of special trophiesand medals. Collectors interested in compet-ing should write to the organisers for fullparticulars at LONDON 1980, PO Box 300, DanesInn House, 265 Strand, London WC2R 1AF.

It has been our particular pleasure to helpmany collectors all over the world win awardsand, 'LONDON 1980', being no exception, Mr.H.L. Katcher will be glad to personallyadvise and help any collector wishing toexhibit at this event. Our unrivalled stockand expertise is here for the asking - writeNOW and let us know how we can help.

A 'LONDON 1980' award could be yours!

OR ** ?An article by Walter Frauenlob in the SchweizerBriefmarken Zeitung No.3/79 headed "BLEACHINGSOLUTION OR GOLD MEDALS FOR STAMP HINGES?" isfascinating. He states that the article by MaxWOthrich of the Research and Development sec-tion of the P.T.T., Bern, in SBZ 9/77 is parti-cularly interesting. (Editor's Note: Theauthor is referring to the P.T.T. ResearchDepartment's investigation which showed thedangers of keeping stamps in pochettes andcertain cello-strips and hingeless albums.Unfortunately damage to stamps and covers hasoccurred, such as discolouration, rubbing offof colours and even the dissolution of certainprinting inks).

M

For years people have battled over gum and un-mounted mint stamps, and for this "quality"quite fantastic prices have been paid. In theStone Age of stamp collecting stamps werefixed into the album with paste and gum arabic(protection against theft!). Later on oneasked at the Post Office for the margins ofsheets of stamps - likewise to fasten stampsinto albums. These were so-called "forerunners'of the stamp hinge. Then one could buy trans-parent gummed rolls, also for fixing stamps.And with the passage of time there developedthe stamp hinge, which after many changes andtrials became the accepted method of fixingstamps in the album. One knows that for a longtime the transparent pocket came under inspec-tion - the quality did not always bear closescrutiny.

In the SBZ 10/77 "German Viewpoint" J.H. Krebswrites, among other things; "it seems to methat this theme is a lasting fire which heatsup again from time to time, kindled from manysides, producing confusion and leaving thequestion unanswered."

As a philatelist of many years' standing, Irecommend that a committee of experts of theV.S.P.H.V. (Swiss Philatelic Traders' Assoc.)together with the B.D.P.H.V. (their Germanequivalent), should be formed so that lengthytechnical discussion and research may becarried out until an opinion is formed whichwill serve the whole of philately.

My feeling is that we are coming back to thestamp hinge. He who has paid for gum has sure-ly paid too much. Probably the stamp hingewill some day be awarded its Gold Medal. Thestamps should after years remain unblemished.Stamps chemically discoloured cannot be return-ed to their original state by treating themwith bleaching solution!"

THE REVENUE PAGE4 FERTILE COLLECTING FIELD

BY M.N.THALERThis month's scrapings are concerned with themunicipal revenue stamps of Switzerland.Schaufelberger lists few. Forbin lists a smallfraction of the ones that are known - and onlythose before 1915.

Just to give you an idea of what may be involv-ed, the Swiss postal authority lists over 5000towns, and there was no reason to have prevent-ed any of these communes and others not listedas having post offices from collecting taxesand administrative fees by revenue stamps. Forall we know, many of these towns are stillissuing revenue stamps. And to go further inimpressing you with the vast scope of this fieldI have not completed classifying and mountingall of my Ticino municipals and I have about500 in an album from this canton alone!

The only lists I have been able to find aretypewritten and memeographed attemps by Euro-pean collectors and dealers to catalog thesestamps. None of these lists which I have iscomplete. Schaufelberger started a list anddied before completing it. Leone de Magistris,Paolo Cometta, J. Breitschmied and perhapsothers may have put compilations together. Thusthere is nothing which is comprehensive. Butnow, at long last, we have something to lookforward to. Our own Gerald M. Abrams has been

working on a catalogof Swiss revenuesincluding municipals.Hopefully it will becompleted and publi-shed by this timenext year.

In the meantime,gather these municipals where you may. Theyare delightful stamps with all of the excite-ment of collecting. There are provisionals,imperfs. tete-beche examples, errors and a hostof other aspects that make seeking them outworthwhile. As for the unusual, one can findvariations and errors in typography, illustra-tion and denomination almost anywhere. As anexample, I have illustrated a pair of stampsfrom a commune in Ticino - Astano (1950) inwhich the shields of side by side stamps are ofdifferent designs. Even the borders are madefrom different printing slugs.

If there ever was a virgin field for study -this is it. But the big problem is: wheredoes one find Swiss municipals? Maybe nexttime I'll have some ideas on that subject -maybe not.

NEWCATALOGUEFOR SWISSREVENUES

We are advised by Gerald M. Abrams of theAmerican Revenue Association that there willbe a delay in completion of the subject catalo-gue. While the manuscripts are in process,there have been so many additions and correct-ions made by those collaborating that the

entire manuscript must be redone. Thisincludes both the federal/cantonal portion,and the municipal section.

Mr. Abrams adds that he hopes to have thedrafts in our hands before the year is over,and apologizes for the unforeseen delays. Headds that he is sure that the enthusiastsawaiting this massive effort will agree that itis best to take the time to do it right, ratherthan fast.

We are in agreement with that philosophy, andbeg your indulgence until this unenviable taskcan be completed.

Revenues BY M.N. THALER

Fellow scrapers: Today we discuss Bern canton-al revenues, but before we get started, Ipromised last time to provide some ideas on howto scrape up Swiss municipals.

My way has been to look for collections andofferings which include these stamps amongothers - then to sell or trade the rest, if Ican. One has to correspond with dealers andother collectors, and, I admit it is difficult.Lately I have noted some auctions which haveseparated the Swiss municipals from the rest andoffered them as separate lots. The anomaly isthat those interested are usually collectors whohave most of the stamps in the lots and are rel-uctant to take on the whole for a few here andthere. But this is only one way. Dealers willnot have these stamps except for a few who arewell-known and those get good prices. Auctionsare often unsatisfactory because conditions maybe below par. Just keep asking any dealer ifhe has any and about one percent of the time hewill. He'll be glad to get rid of them.

There really ought to be a Swiss group in theA.R.A.Coming back to Bern, the revenues for generalcommercial purposes are verynumerous because of wide-spread use. There are50 of the same generalformat with variations.Also the microscopicdates on the 1892/1902 issue increasethe collectableamount. There areabout 100 differentdated stamps of the18 denominationsand two of the 15c.The really inter-esting ones ofthe same formatare those withthe microscopicnumerals in the side panels. Nothing is saidabout these numerals in either Schaufelberger orForbin and I know of nothing published on them- but I suppose there must be information inthe literature.

The first of these is the 1880 15 rappen, No.22Forbin and No. 20 Schaufelberger. Under theword "TIMBRE" you should find these tiny numer-als. I have the numbers 1 to 5 on these stamps.Then again you should find these micro-numeralson some, not all, of the 1881 issue. Theselatter are slightly larger than the first-mentioned, but fainter and appear on the left

panel under "STEMPEL". They are from 1 to 5and I have them on the 5c, 10c and 30c only.The faint letter "K" appears in the oppositepanel and this, no doubt, stand for "KIMMERLY",the designer.

I tried to measure these numerals under a strongglass. The smaller ones are about .01< inch andthe larger about twice that size.

Next time well try to tell you about the reas-ons for these numerals.

Both articles by M.N. Thaler are reprintedfrom The American Revenuer by permissionof its editor and the Author.

THE THIN PAPER STRUBELS: Continued from Page 6

Reason for these different values immediatelybecomes apparent if one considers inherentporousness and inequality of the paper, evenwithin millimetres of area. For the samereason only 70% of the total stamp area needconform. The occasional higher value on cer-tain points of the stamp can be toleratedproviding the 70% rule is applied.

Other simple rules which must be observed arethe following: Measure away from silk thread(distortion will be found up to 1 m/m each sideof the thread), natural paper creases, emboss-ing (if in), gum remnants and even heavypostmarks. Without wishing to insult the intel-ligence of our readers, may we mention thathinge remainders must be avoided and one shouldnot fall into the trap believing the stamp tomeasure within permissible limits if it hasbeen thinned through damage.

DATES OF USE: In late 1857 (according to theAndres & Emmenegger Postmark Manual, sometimein 1858), the lozenge grill postmark generallyused until then was discontinued and datedcircular cancellations introduced (for our pur-pose we ignore the earlier dated circularstrikes of which there were only a few). Someexperts, preferring outdated doctrine to factsand logic, maintain that no E and F stampshould carry a grill postmark. They believecopies only with circular cancellations cancome from this group. They err on three counts:(1) The ZUMSTEIN SPECIALISED CATALOGUE clearlystates 1856 and 1857 as the earliest knowndates for these stamps which are still withinthe grill postmark period.(2) It presupposes that every postmaster, onthe prescribed date for changing his cancella-tion actually did so (they did not!).(3) Imagine a small village post office whereone sheet of stamps lasts several months. Whenthe first few copies are sold they receive thethen still valid grill postmark. Weeks ormonths later when the last copies are sold theyreceive the new circular dated cancellation.The first copies are "disqualified" but thelater sold copies miraculously become the genu-ine article by virtue of a round postmark:

CONCLUSION: E and F stamps are rare and notfound every day. There are other very thinpaper stamps, particularly in the A group(Second Munich Print). These have very strongcolours and no one will easily confuse themwith the dull (matt) greyish E's and F's.Carry out your measurement meticulously and ifyou are a serious collector of Strubels, theexpense in acquiring a gauge similar to theone illustrated is a sound investment.The average collector will not wish to run tothis expense.

THANK YOU TECLA DOMINICIFOR TWENTY YEARS LOYALSERVICE TO THE AMATEUR

COLLECTOR LIMITED, SINCE APRIL 1959. AndThank You particularly for having put up withHLK's demanding standards: We would also liketo voice appreciation on behalf of the manyclients who have praised the conscientiousservice and attention you have always given tothem. Having served part of your Apprenticeship,you have only thirty more years before qualify-ing for your Masters Certificate!!

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