VOL. XXI, NUMBER 6NOVEMBER 1995

American HelvetiaPhilatelic Society

72F - A Treasure Hunter's Dreamby Richard H. Barton

The 3Fr Standing Helvetia issue is a fascinatingstudy. Of the 9 different issues listed in Zumstein, 3of them are cataloged over 9000 SFr (Scott only lists 5different issues, none of which are cataloged at over$100) . The 72C has only 10 known copies (see TELLSept . 1995, p. 5), while the 100A has about 20 knowncopies.

What makes the 72F so intriguing is the fact thatit is numerous enough to make it likely that more arestill hidden in numerous dealer stocks and oldercollections. Zumstein shows 72F with a catalog valueof 9000 SFr . used . Since Scott does not recognize it asa separate issue, it is sold by U. S. dealers as Scott 88cataloged at $8 .00 used. Thus it is indeed a find . Thefact that the 3Fr issue was primarily used forpackages makes it more likely to show up in the U . S.than in Switzerland. To date there are only about 100known examples . The exact number actually printedand perforated is not know, but probably 200 to 400.They were printed with plates of 200, which wereseparated into sheets of 100 prior to perforating . Asall of the known copies are from fields 1 - 100, itappears that only the left half of the sheets wereperforated 11 3/4.

The author has discovered three of these beautiesin the past 5 years, so they are out there waiting to bediscovered. The one shown was liberated from a smalldealers stock at a local bourse. It is from field 63 ofprinting plate la and has retouches of the lower borderand corner below FRANCO (Zst . 3 .11/I) . Like many ofthe 72Fs discovered, it has a St . Gallen 1901cancellation.

Another one was included in a batch of 3Fr issuespurchased sight unseen at an auction last year. Thatone is from field 62 (just left of the above copy and theperforations appear to match, so they are probablyfrom the same sheet) of printing plate Ia, and has aretouch in the lower border (Zst . 3.1/I) . It too iscanceled St. Gallen 26.I.01, or 4 days later than theillustrated specimen.

The third 72F was just found last month (betweenthe first writing of this article and the sending of it tothe printer) at the same bourse, but different dealer,as the first one. It is from field 17 and has a GAIS -9X 01 cancel . It does not have any retouches . It is thepoorest centered, but has the freshest color.

A reprint of an article on the 72F by PierreGuinand is included in this issue starting on page 8.It goes into detailed descriptions of how to identify the72F from its close brethren the 72A and 72E. I will tryto summarize the process that I go through to identifythe 72F. It is not as precise as Herr Guinand' s, but itquickly culls out the more plebeian 3Fr items and thenone can follow Herr Guinand 's more precise methodson the remaining 10% for final identification . Howeverit could cause you to pass up the rarer 72C and 100A.

The printing of the 72F is fuzzy (Zumstein lists a72Fb as a clear strike, with only two examples foundto date) . This immediately separates it from most ofthe 3Fr issues . If the cancel is readable, then the yearshould be 1901 . There are some known 72Fs canceledin 1902, but they are not listed on the date table onpage 12 . Next count the vertical teeth . 14 is themagic number and by now you have either a 72A, 72E,or 72F . Then check the size of the stamp . The 72Aand 72F is slightly taller (23 mm - bottom of perfs)than the 72E (22 mm) . The 1992 Zumstein Specializedcatalog has a size and perforation guide on page 90.Otherwise carry a ruler or a 72A for comparison.

(Cont. on Page 2 .)

Contents72F - a Treasure Hunter's Dream 1From the President 3Exhibit Awards 3Swiss Mail Service to Foreign Countries Inter-

rupted During World War II - Correctionsand additions 4

Basel, a Post Office Specializing in Cut-RateMail? 6

72F 8World War II - Part 8 13Profiles of Swiss Stamp Collector 16Copyright 1995, The American Helvetia Philatelic Society (AHPS).TELL (ISSN 1042-2072) is the official journal of the AmericanHelvetia Philatelic Society, affiliate #52 of the American PhilatelicSociety and a member of the Union of Swiss Philatelic Societies.TELL is published bimonthly (Jan/Mar/May/Jul/Sep/Nov).

Opinions expressed in this journal are those of the authors and arenot necessarily endorsed by AHPS or the Editor.

Letters and articles on Swiss, Liechtenstein, UN Geneva andrelated philately are welcome and should be sent to the Editor.Manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced. Whenever possible,submit material on 5%' or 3W PC or Macintosh computer diskettes(high density Mac disks). Illustrations may be submitted as full sizephotocopies ; or, we can copy/scan your originals (please contact theEditor before sending actual stamps, covers, etc .) . Please include youraddress and telephone number.

Subscriptions for 1995, include AHPS dues : North America, $20;overseas air delivery, $30. Request membership applications from theSecretary. Change-of-Address should be sent to the Secretary.

Commercial advertising copy and rate inquiries should be sent tothe Editor . Advertising deadlines are the first of the month prior topublication (Dec/Feb/Apr/Jun/Aug/Oct).

Printed by Kettle Moraine Printing, West Bend WI 53095.

72F (Cont.)After the above checks, look for the control mark

and determine if it is I (wider) for 72A or II (narrower)for 72F. I leave the later for last as it is usually diffi-cult to see at a bourse or dealer and it is very time con-suming to use watermark fluid (if available).

If you should be fortunate enough to find a 72F,please send it to Pierre Guinand for Authentication.He is keeping the records for the issue.

FRENCH-OCCUPIED SWITZERLAND, 1792-1815The above named exhibit by Harlan F . Stone has

been photocopied and donated to the American Phila-telic Research Library . AHPS members can borrow acopy from Ms. Gini Horn, Librarian APRL, APS, POBox 8000, State College, PA 16803.

The exhibit covers the following topics.Introduction : This exhibit documents, primarily

through postal markings, how the French and Swissorganized and administered postal services in the ar-eas that now make up Switzerland during the Frenchrevolutionary and Napoleonic era of 1792-1815. In-cluded are areas that France annexed, occupied andleft independent.

Annexed Territories : France annexed parts ofNorthwest and Southwest Switzerland . These usedFrench departmental postmarks .

American Helvetia Philatelic SocietyOfficers 1995-1997

ELECTED OFFICERSPresidentErnest L. Bergman1421 Harris StState College PA 16803-3024Home : 814-238-0164

Past PresidentMario Wiedenmeier12 Lyncrest DriveGalveston, TX 77550-3215Home : 409-763-4855

Vice-PresidentDick Barton2800 Crestview Ct.Loveland, CO 80538-3078Home : 303-669-8130

Secretary & LibrarianRichard T . HallP.O. Box 666Manhattan Beach, CA 90267Home : 310-546-5226

Publicity ChairmanAwards ChairmanEditor EmeritusHarlan F . StoneP.O. Box 770334Woodside NY 11377Home : 718-478-2374

ARIPEX January 5-7, 1996Phoenix AZ1996 AHPS ConventionChairman: Donn LueckP. O . Box 11582Phoenix, AZ 85061

Pacific'97 May 29 - June 1, 1997San Francisco CA

MILCOPEX'98September 18-20, 1998Milwaukee, WI

Treatment : All Swiss cantons are identified by theirFrench names . Handstamps are described as Jean J.Winkler listed them in his 1968 "Handbuch derSchweizer Vorphilatelie 1695-1850".

Highlights: 33 covers with postalmarkings thatWinkler rated at the top of his rarity scale (12 or 13).

APPOINTED OFFICERSTELL EditorDick Barton2800 CrestviewLoveland CO 80538Home : 970-669-8130

TELL Associate EditorSteven S . WestonP.O . Box 868Del Mar CA 92014-0868619-752-7812

Circuit Sales ManagerEmil L . ToblerP .O . Box 26Bradford RI 02808Home : 401-377-2238

Auction ManagerGeorge Struble210 18th St NESalem OR 97301Home : 503-364-3929

TreasurerFrank Young412 North Main StreetHerkimer, NY 13350Home : 315-866-7822

Regional Director WestDonn LueckP . O . Box 11582Phoenix, AZ 85061Home : 602-841-1322

Regional Director CentralRobert Gleichenhaus7602 VinewoodSan Antonio, TX 78209Home : 210-826-0930

Regional Director EastDavid E . Durham, Pastor#7 Allenhurst RoadBuffalo, NY 14214-1201Home : 716-833-6504

Plan to attend/exhibit at theseAHPS Conventions and shows :

Slide ChairmanRichard W. BlaneyPO Box 1100Easton MA 02334-1100508-238-3134

REPRESENTATIVESUnion of Swiss PhilatelicSocieties RepresentativeRalph SoderbergP.O. Box 36067Grosse Pointe WoodsMI 48236Home : 313-885-4125

American PhilatelicSocietyCharles J . LaBlondeP .O . Box 264Chelmsford MA 01824Home : 508-256-3904

Liechtenstein StudyGroupChm: Max Rheinberger100 Elizabeth St . # 510Duluth MN 55802Home : 218-728-3925

2 TELL

November 1995

From the PresidentThe heat finally broke and it feels more like

working with stamps again, because we in the Easthad a very rough summer and even thinking "stamps"was very hard.

Now it becomes high time to get ready for"ARIPEX " where, as reported earlier, a veryinteresting program will await us.

We also need a volunteer for taking care of ourmeetings in Milwaukee WI in September 1998 incooperation with MILCOPEX. While it looks like along-time off, time flies fast and if you live in thatregion we would love to have you as the generalchairman. Please let us know - thanks!

AHPS exhibited the Felix Ganz book "PostalCancellations and Markings in Switzerland" at theThird National Philatelic Literature Exhibition inOttawa, Canada , June '95. The book received a silvermedal. It must be repeated that thanks to VinalGrim and Steve Weston, this book came into beingand they deserve our congratulations.

As a matter of fact, we still have some copies ofthis book available for sale . Those of you who put offbuying the book or don 't know what to give a stampcollector as a Xmas present, here is your chance.Just send the necessary payment and address to DickHall and even add a note (not letter) to be includedwith the book and we will take care of the shipment.

Your Board of Directors has reviewed thestanding rule that the AHPS membership list is notbeing published and/or for sale as requested bysome . In these days of computers and all the talkabout cyberspace, we felt that it would not be in thebest interest of the individual member to release sucha document to the public . We feel very strongly thatthe membership should support those dealers andindividuals who by various means can advertise in"Tell". This will give you a chance to request fromthem what your heart desires instead of being"bombarded" with material in which you are notinterested.

STAMPSHOW 95 in St. Louis has come and goneand congratulations are extended to RalphSoderberg and Harlan Stone for their fine Swissexhibits in the World Series of Philately,participating as Grand Award winners of SCOPEXand INDYPEX respectively. In addition, both gotgold in the Open Exhibition for other Swissmaterial and Soderberg also the Reserve GrandAward.

Since this is already the last issue of the year, thevery best wishes for a very happy and healthy Holidayseason and New Year are extended to all of you, andespecially "fun & good stamping" . Will see you all, Ihope, at "ARIPEX"

Ernest L Bergman

Exhibit Awards

by Harlan F. StoneAHPS exhibitors again took advantage of a

one-frame opportunity, using the third annualAmeriStamp Expo in May to show six displays.James A. Anderson received a gold medal for " PioneerRailroad Post Office Markings" and a vermeil for" numbered Railroad Post Office Markings " . Harlan F.Stone won a gold medal for "1900 UPUCommemorative Uses" and a vermeil plus an AAPEaward of honor for "Mobile Post Offices". JohnSteinberg gained a vermeil for "Civilian InternmentCamps 1940-43" and Charles J . LaBlonde received asilver for "The de Coppet Postmarks".

At STAMPSHOW 95 John Steinberg, aliterature dealer, convinced the American PhilatelicSociety to accept non-English language books in itsannual literature competition for the first time . Theresults: gold for "Swiss Letter Mail to ForeignCountries 1459-1907", authored by Richard SchaeferSr., vermeil for "Study of Swiss Hotel Mail" by M.Kottelat, and "The Winterthur" by H . F . Hunziker,both published by Zumstein, and silver for the 1995Zumstein Swiss catalog.

At CANADA 95, Gene Kelley's Catalogs of theTaxed Documents of Switzerland, Volume Three . WithPost Cancel on Kanton Tax Stamps on Documents gota bronze.

Other recent award winners:AHPS, "Postal Cancellations and Markings" by

Felix Ganz, CANADA 95, silver.J. R. Fahs, "Ticino Sampler 1862-92", DELPEX 95,

silver.Ralph B. Soderberg, "IKW Issue 1918-1919",

PLYMOUTH 95, vermeil and Helvetia award ; "SittingHelvetia", STAMPSHOW 95, reserve grand ; "StandingHelvetia", APS World series of Philately (WSP) , gold.

John Steinberg, "Civilian Internment Camp Mail1940-46", BALPEX 95, vermeil.

Harlan

F .

Stone,

"Sitting

Helvetia" ,STAMPSHOW

95,

gold ;

"French-OccupiedSwitzerland 1792-1815", APS WSP, gold.

George O. Trabue Jr ., "Strubels", PLYMOUTH 95,silver.

Editor's comments

Dick BartonThis is the last issue of the first year of my two

year stint as your editor . I have learned a lot aboutboth editing a stamp journal and Swiss philately.More importantly I have had the opportunity to talkand correspond with a number of very interestingpeople.

However this is a good time to have all of youthink about how you can contribute to AHPS andparticularly to TELL . Do you have something ofinterest about Swiss Philately to share with yourfellow members? How about serving as an officer,either elected or appointed! AHPS is only as good asyour involvement. Give it some thought, then act!

November 1995

TELL 3

Swiss Mail Service to Foreign CountriesInterrupted During World War II -

Corrections & Additions -by Ernest L Bergman

The above article was published in TELL XX (4)10-11, 1994. Roland F . Kohl (2) of Zürich CH seriouslyquestioned the validity of the statement that thestamps "Retour-Zurück etc ."' or "Zurück-Retour etc .""were applied in Lyon or Frankfurt respectively, asstated in the article. This original information wastaken from Riemer (4) page 105 Figure 277 and page161, Figure 428.

Figure 1 . 12-16-1944 Zürich 12Fraumünster (airmail) to Barcelona,Spain, censored by Zensurstelle b

Berlin, by British P-148 and by Spain onMarch 1, 1945. Black streak on lowerleft is due to German test for secretwritings.

In the meantime, AHPS printed the FelixGanz book (1). On pages 19-25 of this book inthe Table "Alphabetical List of Postal Mark-ings of Switzerland", "Retour-Zurück" and"Zurück- Retour" are recorded as Nrs . R9 andZ4 respectively. Walton (7) stated in 1983that Swiss mail was stamped at the "collec-tion center" with "Zurück-Retour etc ." but itstill left the controversy between Riemer (4)and other reports open as to where thesestamps were applied.

The author was now able, through Jean Specht ofBasel CH (6), to secure finally an official documenta-tion (Nr. 4310.4.5 ) of the Direction General of theSwiss Postal Service (PTT), dated May 16,1940, whichrequested the District Postoffices etc . to apply the spe-cial stamp "Zurück-Retour" to all mail destined forLuxemburg & The Netherlands and return the items

to the sender, because one had to expect a longer dura-tion of interruption of mail movement to these coun-tries. Furthermore, LaBlonde (3) reported the same inregard to mail service to Norway, as based on PTTPostal Bulletin 83.

Therefore, it must be assumed that Riemer (4) hasbeen incorrect and the footnotes to Figures 2, 5 and 7of my article should read "applied in Switzerland" andnot returned from Frankfurt, and those of Figures 4and 6 should state the same and not "returned fromLyon".

This would also answer the questions posed by thewriter under Period IV, namely "By whom and wherewas this Lyon stamp used" . In the meantime, on a se-cured postcard (Figure 1), the sender wrote on De-

1 cember 15, 1944 to an uncle in Spain :"Today,I read in the newspaper that mail can beshipped again to Spain" . This would indicatethat there was indeed a mail embargo at thattime, but it seemed to be of much shorter du-

, ration than in previous periods.Mr. Kohl (1) also drew my attention to the

fact that there exists another stamp, also ap-plied in Switzerland, namely "Retour-Zurück/Service postal aérien suspendu/ Luft-verkehr eingestellt" (Figure 2), as recorded onpage 61, No. 52 in the Luftpost-Handbuch.This stamp was issued in Geneva in 1942 andis 16 x 68 mm in size . (5). Ganz has thisstamp recorded as R10 in his list (1).

In addition, a stamp "Vom Postamt Lyongare zurückgewiesen/mangels Verbindungmit besetztem Gebiet/ Post Basel 2" was also

- issued by Switzerland as per Ganz Nr V10 (1)

Figure 2. 12-3-1942 Basel (airmail) to Lon-don, but airmail service suspended and returnedto sender. Resubmitted for shipment when serviceopened again, probably 1-13-43, hence the stampcrossed out with pencil . Censored by OKW b

Berlin. Gray vertical streak represents censor's testfor secret writings.

4 TELL

November 1995

and Mr. Specht (6) but not as in-terpreted by Riemer (3) on page161, Figure 427 as being applied inLyon. A copy of this stamp, used ona post card, is shown in Figure 3 bycourtesy of Specht (6) who wrotethat this stamp also exists inFrench language.

These corrections, additions anddocumentations again draw the at-tention to the fact that even now,55 years later, we still don't haveall the facts of this terrible periodand should not be afraid to makecorrections when a reversal ofearlier published data is warrantied.

References:1. Ganz, Felix, 1994, Postal

Cancellations and Markings InSwitzerland. American HelvetiaPhilatelic Society, PO Box 666,Manhattan Beach CA 90266.

2. Kohl, Roland, F . 1994,Personal communications.

3. LaBlonde, Charles J ., 1995,World War II --one more time.TELL (21) 4: page 14.

4 Riemer, Carl-Heinz, 1979,Die Überwachung des Auslands-briefverkehrs während des II . Welt-krieges durch Deutsche Dienststel-len, Heft 88, Neue Schriftenreihe,Poststempelgilde "Rhein-Donau" ,Düsseldorf, Germany

5 Schweizerischer Aerophilate-listen-Verein, 1978, SchweizerischeLuftpost-Handbuch, 1978 . SAV Sel-bstverlag, 8340 Hinwil, Switzerland.6. Specht, Jean 1995, Personalcommunications.

7. Walton, E. C ., 1983, CensoredMail from Switzerland, World WarII Period 1939-1947. TELL (9)7-12,47-51,89-95 .

Figure 3 . 5-19-1941 Schöftland toClicky (Seine) France but returnedto sender because destined to theoccupied zone of France & no mailservice existed at that time betweenthe two French zones .

TELL 5November 1995

Basel, a Post OfficeSpecializing in Cut-Rate Mail?

by Herbert BrachI have long had a suspicion that

somebody in the Basel post officewas a specialist in cutting cornerswhen it came to determining ratespaid for transatlantic mail duringthe Strubel period.

In effect, I found that of 18 let-ters originating in Basel withdestinations in the U .S., only 7 paid thegoing rate, while 11 were frankedat rates that took a roulette chanceof reaching their destination with-out penalty. Nothing illegal, mindyou, just being sharp and takingadvantage of existing alternatives.

How successful was the ploy?Well, out of the 11 chances taken,ten slipped through, some withocean freight never having beenpaid by anybody. Only one wascaught and that through a stupidmistake ; it was penalized asfranked because our man forgotthat the division into Rayons inSwitzerland for traffic to the U. S .

had been discontinued as of Janu-ary 1, 1857 and that the rate fortransport via American steamerfrom Le Havre had been unified at65 Rappen from any point in Swit-zerland. The letter from 17 June1857, franked at the old Rayon Irate of 60 Rp, was thus a glaringmistake.

Basel was absolutely unique inits success with getting away withthe practice of using the lowestrates available. Of other townswith more than one attempt to usereduced rates, Geneve with fourtries was successful only once, withthree of their letters having had thefull 21c postage due assessed in theU.S. Zurich, with three attempts,had two assessed the full postagedue with one having gone viaAmerican sailing ship with the cor-rect rate for this service . St. Imier,with three tries, had all three as-sessed the full postage due in theU.S. Basel was truly the queen ofcut-rate mail to the new world.

THE EVIDENCE

RateFIRST RATE PERIOD

1 .30

SECOND RATE PERIOD 1 .30

Date/Paid (if correct)(15 Sep 1854 - 14 Dec 1854)

No mail from Basel found

(15 Dec 1854 - 31 Dec 1856)

Paid/Assessed

THIRD RATE PERIOD 0.95

FOURTH RATE PERIOD 1 .15

12 Jan 55 1 .30 x 2 Br. Pkt.12 Feb 559 Mar 55 1 .30 Br. Pkt.

19 Apr 559 Apr 56 1 .30 Br. Pkt.

12 Jun 56 1 .30 Am Pkt.17 Jun 56

(1 Jan 1857 - 30 Apr 1857)8 Apr 57

25 Apr 57

(1 May 1857- 30 Jun 1862)17 Jun 57

21 Aug 576 Aug 58 1 .15x2 Am. Service

20 Dec 588 Jul 592 Jan 602 Jul 60

18 Jul 60 1 .15x3 Br . Service18 Sep 61 1 .15

Br. Service

.60 Br. Pkt. (no ocean freight paid)

.60 Am. sailing ship, 2c to captain

.60 Br. Pkt. (no ocean freight paid)

.65x2 Br . Service, no freight paid

.65

Br. Service, no freight paid

.60 Livree comme non affranchie21c postage due

.65 Am. Service, no sea freight paid

.95x4 Br . Service, Br . Open Mails.95x2 ? Service, Br. Open Mails.95x2 Br. Service, Br . Open Mails

.95

Br . Service, Br . Open Mails

FIFTH RATE PERIOD

1 .10 (1 Jul 1862 - 31 Jul 1863)

No mail from Basel found

6 TELL

November 1995

EXPLANATORY NOTES:1. The "going " rate was that from

Basel prepaid to U.S. port of arri-val up to April 30, 1857 and todestination from May 1, 1857 on.

2. The 95 Rp rate of the thirdStrubel rate period was that inforce for transport via Britishpackets between the effectivedate of the British-French postaltreaty (January 1, 1857) and thatof the U.S.-French postal treaty(April 1, 1857) . For reasonsunknown, the Swiss postal authori-ties missed the second date by 30days and did not change theirrates until May 1, 1957.

Note the two letters fromBasel during this 30-day period(8 April and 25 April 1857)which both slipped through inthe confusion.

The 95 Rp rate from May 1,1857 on was that for the BritishOpen Mails, which was reducedto 90 Rp starting July 1, 1862; itwas supposedly paid the rate toport of arrival only, but all fourletters from Basel so frankedwere delivered free to theaddressees.

3. The 60 Rp rate from Basel un-til December 31, 1856 and the 65Rp rate from January 1, 1857 on,was on the books for:

a. Transport via Americansteamer, in which case it paidthe rate to European port ofembarkation only . Sea freightwas to be collected in the U .S.from addressee.b. Transport vis French

merchant vessel, in which case itpaid the rate to U.S. port ofarrival.Since no Strubel mail trans-

ported via French merchant vesselhas yet been found, for all practicalpurposes this rate should havebeen applicable to transport viaAmerican steamer only, or, as wefound out, to American sailingships.

Of seven such frankings knownfrom Basel, four traveled via Brit-ish Packet and sea freight wasnever paid on them. One traveledvia American sailing ship and thecaptain received 2c for his troubles.

November 1995

One went by American steamer (21August 1857) after the rates hadbeen unified, but slipped throughwithout paying the sea freight inthe confusion . Only one letter waspenalized because of a glaringmistake of insufficient postage . Notethat Basel abstained from attempt-ing to use the 65 Rp rate afterAugust 1857 and contented itself tocutting corners by the employ of theBritish Open Mail rate of 95 Rpthereafter.

ARIPEX 96By now you all know that the

next AHPS Convention will be held

at ARIPEX 96 in Mesa, Arizonafrom January 5 - 7, 1996 . (If youdid not know, then shame on youfor not reading the past few issuesof TELL!)

What you may not know is thatfrom 1-5 PM on the afternoon ofThursday, January 4, 1996 therewill be held a "Swiss PhilatelicRoundtable " sponsored by AHPS.An international team ofParticipants will be there to answer all ofyour questions about SwissPhilately.

This will be the Swiss Philatelicopportunity of a life time, so don'tmiss it!

TELL 7

72F

by Pierre Guinand(SBZ, May 1979, updated Sep 1995)translated by Evelyn & Peter Meier

The first question a non-collector asks a collector is : Do youhave the "Basler Tubli"? As if thisrare bird is the criteria to dividecollectors into two classes : thosethat have it and those that do not.(those poor have-nots ; do you thinkthey can sleep at night?)

But in conversation that phi-latelists have with each other, oneof the subjects that crops up quiteoften is the famous 72F stamp, thatmany look for, but few own.

Why of all the things that one,when in the same family reign the100A, the 97B and the baby of thefamily, the brand new 68A, ofwhich we know of only 3 samples.All these pieces are missing frommost of the collections, and the 72Fcannot compare in rarity to those.

We can explain the infatuationwith this stamp two ways : one thatit is fairly difficult to identify,which means that each of us mightbe lucky enough to find one whichslipped mistakenly into an album ofa dealer or into a circuit folder.The second reason is that right nowthere are actually quite a numberof 72F on the market . (Editors note:In the past 4 years I have only seenone on the market and it was inTELL - see mini-ad) An enormousamount of 3Fr Standing Helvetiaswere brought recently into Switzer-land, and several of those rarestamps were mixed in, among thou-sands of less interesting stamps.This untouchable stamp is becom-ing accessible, at least for the timebeing, and just to exhibit a 72F isprobably not any more enough toboost a collection in a regional showto a silver medal level . For severalyears already there is not a weekthat a collector shows us one or sev-eral 3Fr in the hope that one ofthem is the right number ; most ofthe time we had to answer nega-tively, but in the past few months afew collectors or dealers were com-pensated for their efforts (orpurchases.) . How do you recognize thisstamp? According to the catalogs,

it is a yellow-brown 3Fr,given out in 1901, 11 3/4toothed on all sides, witha narrow oval controlsign, and appearing quitefuzzy. Let's try to exam-ine in detail the differentcriteria that allow us toidentify it exactly:

Serration and FormatAll philatelists know that the

72F has 14 vertical teeth . Unfortu-nately, the 72A and the 72E alsohave 14 perforations, so simplycounting the teeth is not enough.Using an odontometer exactlywould help, but it is necessary tolearn how to handle this instru-ment with some common sense, andto keep in mind that even if the in-strument measures very precisely,it does not mean that the stamp isexact. (By the way, do you knowthat the odontometer was inventedin 1890 in Lausanne by Mr . EugeneCheneviere, who was then secre-tary, and later on vice president ofthe Lausanne society of "Stampol-ogy". A German firm, who rightlyguessed that this invention wouldbe very popular, appropriated it foritself without permission, and lateron called it a "perforation table " )Of course it is very important thatthese tables are printed very pre-cisely and that the measurementsare calibrated exactly to correspondwith the top and bottoms of the per-forations . However, these line per-forations, which have been usednow for a century, have not beenconstructed by people in love withround numbers. We have made aquick check of a half-sheet of the86C, and have found the followingcounts: horizontally, 117 teeth for20 cm; vertically, 61 teeth for 10cm. Maybe they used anothermeasuring system! The perfora-tion, which in philatelic languagemeans the number of teeth in 2 cm,is therefore exactly 11,7 by 12,2.While all catalogues and perfora-tion tables say 11,5 by 12 . there-fore do not expect the number ofthe odontometers to correspond al-ways 100% with the perforation ofthe stamps, and the numbers given,even though they appear very exact

Fig. 1 . Left, 72A; center, 72E;right, 72F. Two are perforated11 3/4 (72A and 72F) and havea slightly higher format thanthe 72E, perforated 11 1/2 : 12.

(11 .75, 11 .5, 12 etc.) must beconsidered approximations. Wetherefore warn anybody not to usethe odontometer to locate a 72F.

What to do then? A proverbsays: comparison is not logic ; but itis by comparisons that any collectorcan distinguish the two perfora-tions: 11 .75 : 12 or 11 .5 : 12. Allone has to do is to place the twovertical sides side by side, and ifthere is any difference it becomesvery obvious, especially especiallythere is a minute difference inheight between the two stamps . Asa matter of fact, all the stampswhich appeared at that time, bethey slightly higher in format thanthe stamps perforated 11 .5 : 12.

The WatermarkControlmark or watermark?

Technically, this cross surroundedby an oval was pressed into the al-ready dry paper, whereas the truewatermark (the big cross withoutan oval frame) is a mark pressedinto the wet paper and thus createsa thinning of the paper at thepressmark. This mark does not dothis. Yet the name "control sign " or" control mark", even though con-stant use has made it acceptable, isnot sufficient, since all watermarksare after all "control marks". Thisgoes also for the crossthread of the"Rappen", or the bits of silk threadof many later editions. Those tooare control marks, i .e . signpostswhich give the users the possibilityto check the authenticity of thestamps they have at hand, and alsomake it impossible to imitate it.(We have to admit that these markswork.) Let's remember that it isthe post office, and not the

8 TELL

November 1995

Fig. 6 & 7 . Two 72A with average clear printing . Fig. 8 & 9 . Two 72Da with fuzzy printing, the72F is similar.

Fig. 10 & 11 . Two 72Ea, slightly fuzzy, Similarto the less clear 72F .

Fig. 12 & 13. Two 72Eb, especially clean and fine.

November 1995

TELL 9

Fig 14 and 15(left) . The differ-ence between thefuzzy (72Da, 72F)and the clean(72Eb) printingcan be especiallyseen in the ovaland the Swissshield of arms.

72A: This is a stamp that wasgiven out over 10 years, since onecan find it with cancellations from1891 to 1902, and even later. Twoplates with 200 boxes were used forthe printing of this stamp, and eventhough the printing in general ispretty good, one can find once in awhile some examples which are lessclear . When the printing is slightlysmudged and the cancellation is1901, one must examine the stampcarefully to distinguish between the72A and the 72F ; in that case, thewatermark and the paper qualityare the determining factors . Withfew exceptions, the 72A is a verywell made stamp, in which the hori-zontal lines of the oval are verydistinct.

72Ea : This issue comes froma printing run on a sheet with 400stamps. Whereas the 72Eb are es-pecially neat and precise, the 72Eaare characterized by fuzzy printing,similar to the 72Da and 72F.

The horizontal lines are most ofthe times indistinct and seem to betouching each other at severalspots. These stamps have charac-teristically a reddish appearance onthe backside, just like the 20c and

Fig 17. Left a 72F, right a 72Awith its grainier paper . Note thecorrespondence of the perforationson the vertical sides; you can alsodistinguish the watermark, (left thenarrow oval, right the large oval) .

30c of 1901 (66E1 .6 and 68E1 .6)This phenomena, similar to the"ivory heads" of the first Britishstamps, can be found on nearly allthe 72Ea, whereas we have neverfound them on a 72F, or for thatmatter on a 72Da. The reddishvariation is sometimes very indis-tinct, but a trained eye can discernit immediately, and in that case onehas to classify the stamp as a 72E.

The PaperEven though used very infre-

quently, checking the paper is avery food means of distinction, es-pecially when the watermark showsup badly . The 72A was printed ona fairly soft paper with a slightlyrough surface and under a light atan oblique angle the backsideshows a certain porosity, whichslightly reminds you of a blottingpaper. The later editions (to whichthe 72F belongs) have a muchfirmer paper, smoother, more satin-like, resembling the paper used forthe editions Number and Cross,around 1900. the backside issmoother and approaches the con-sistency of today's vellum paper .

Fig 16. the reverse side of a72Eb, which shows on a red-dish background the silhouetteof the Helvetia and the squaresof the stamp value on the topof the stamp.

Touch-UpsGenerally, they are at the upper orlower frames, and they are charac-teristic enough that we shouldmention them. They are done verycarefully, in contrast with the ap-pearances of the touch ups on theStanding Helvetia . The engraverhas conscientiously re-engravedwith the help of an engraving toolthe lines which were not deepenough on the printing plate.Those lines appear darker, becauseit is extremely difficult to gauge thenecessary pressure exactly toachieve a perfect correction. Thoseretouches don ' t show as supplemen-tary lines to the original engraving,but simply as a reinforcement atdifferent spots of the design.

We can find those retouches onthe 72A, 72C, 72F, 72Da, 100A, and100B, which were printed eitherwith one or two common plates.They are not to be found on the72Ea. the retouches on the latter,which are very rare, appear much

Fig.18-22. The re-engraving, very frequently seen on the 72A, 72F, 72Da,100A and 100B, can be found mainly in the upper and lower frames.

10 TELL

more irregular, and the reinforcedlines are rarely straight, and if theyare, they rarely follow the strictparallelism of the original design.

The CancellationCancellations cannot be used to

identify the stamps, we give thefollowing information only to helpyou. All of those who are interestedin the Standing Helvetia know thatmost of the sheets were sold in St.Gallen, as we can see on the cancel-lations of the pieces found so far.On the other hand it is generallynot known that the distribution ofthose stamps was not limited to themain post office of the district, butsome neighboring offices had a sup-ply also . Some copies had cancella-tions of the St. Gallen branch, St.Fiden, Rorschach, Appenzell, Gais,Wihlen-Herisau, Rheineck . An-other distribution center was in Li-estal, and Basel, St . Alban, but withless copies. Aside from those twofairly limited sources, two copieshave been found with surprisingcancellations, and we leave it to thereader to dream up an explanationfor the cancellations from ZurichR.III Fahpr .Aufgabe and anotherone from LaCure, a small villagevaudois in Geneva Postcircle. Wewanted to show with these exam-ples that anything is possible withcancellation localities, even though8 or 9 out of 10 cancellations camefrom St . Gallen.

The cancellation days are nothelp either . In several collectionswe have seen cancellation date onthe 3Fr with location St. GallenFahrp.Exp, and we can see thatthis postoffice used stamps simulta-neously which today's collectorsclassify as different editions. Thefollowing list shows that the St.Gallen Post office used the 72A, the72Da and the 72F during the firstfour months of the year. we alsonoticed that the 72F was issuedduring two different periods in theyear: a first series during the firstthree months of 1901, and a secondone at the end of the year . It istherefore impossible to get first dayeditions, since an exact date cannotbe determined for the 72F. Thestamp was issued with other ones .

All we can do is push back the dateas we are discovering new speci-mens, and so come closer to thefirst day sale . Up to now the oldestuse known for the 72F is Jan . 19,1901 . Fig. 26 (below) shows an ex-ample with the fuzzy printing,characteristic of the first sheets,with a cancellation of Jan . 15, 1901- four days earlier . When will wefind a 1900 cancellation? (Theearliest known cancellation is nowJan. 10, 1901)

We do not want to continue withoutthanking all the dealers and collec-tors who allowed us to preserve onvideo sufficient quantities of pairs,strips, blocks and even half-sheetsof 50 stamps, so that we could re-constitute at least two plates of

72A. And one of those plates wasthe one used for the 72F! Thanksespecially to the PTT, which openedits archives for us, a true treasurecave, where, among other marvels,the printing plate of these stamps iskept . . . It is a plate with 200squares, and its reconstitution isfinished. The identification of mostof the squares is relatively easy,thanks to the many retoucheswhich are present at the beginningof the printing. thanks to this platewe have been able to place the72F's which were submitted to us.Some of the pieces defied our ef-forts, either because their printingwas decidedly too fuzzy, or the can-cellations masked the importantparts of the picture. However wesucceeded in getting a surprisingresult : All the 72Fs which we iden-tified and which we could place onthe printing plate came from theleft half of the latter! . . .And yet thisplate has not been sawed in half,since it still exists in one piece, verysolid and heavy, covered for protec-tion by a layer of transparent wax.We had a lot of trouble on accountof the wax to take usable pictures.

Fig 24-25. Twonewly discovered can-cellations on the 72F:Zurich, and La Cure.One can see a slight re-engraving in the lefthand bottom corner onthe stamp with theZurich cancellation.

November 1995 TELL 11

How was this possible? First ofall, we must know that the 72F andthe 72Da were printed simultane-ously, and were delivered to thesame post offices during the sametime span . Fig. 27 (below) shows aschematic reproduction of thisplate, on which the locations of the72F are marked in black.

We suggest a hypotheses onwhy the 72F is absent from theright half of the plate . (Fig. 28right) The sheets of stamps, whichcome non-serrated from the press,200 stamps per sheet, are plied oneon top of the other, and then splitinto two panels of 100 each to beperforated . If we accept that only afew sheets were perforated 11 3/4,it is logical that they come onlyfrom one of the halves of the print-ing plate, since the splitting upinto panels of 100s takes place be-fore the perforation. At that timethe post office did not pay atten-tion to the differences in serration;it was the philatelists that decidedthere were two editions which dif-fered from each other only in theserration, i .e . a technical detail.

What is the conclusion? TheStanding Helvetia, with all its obvi-ous and subtle nuances, with rareand original cancellations and othervariations, presents a rich and in-teresting challenge to the beginneras well as the expert collector . It isnot too late to start collecting it ; wehave quite some friends who discov-ered some extraordinary finds inthis field.

Figure 27. The printing plate with200 places, but the 72F has onlybeen found in the left 100. Thestamps found so far are shown inblack.

12 TELL November 1995

WORLD WAR II - ONE MORE TIMEPART 8

by Charles J. LaBlonde

In the last two installments we digressed slightlyfrom the WW II PTT correspondence discovered byMichael Rutherfoord in the basement of the PTTLibrary . Recall that, in the early days of the war, thePTT tried everything possible to assure transport ofmail from Switzerland to the world . Every complaintwas answered in some detail, to the point where theletters start to sound similar . And this in the daysbefore word processors!

In this installment we wrap up 1940. The firstletter is especially for our Canadian friends . It appearsthat someone in the Swiss Foreign Ministry wrote tothe PTT asking about mail to Canada. Here is theanswer. We get a clue as to why mail from Canadatook longer than mail from New York . (There were noflights from Canada to England at this time, correct?)

Swiss Foreign MinistryOverseas DepartmentBern

Postal Connections with Canada

2 .X.1940Dear Minister,

In response to your letter, in which you forwardedto us a report from the Swiss Consul General inMontreal about postal connections betweenSwitzerland and Canada, we are pleased to providethe following information.

Since restoration of rail service between Genevaand Lisbon, letter and parcel mail from Switzerlandfor Canada is sent regularly once per week via ship to

Figure 1 - 21 November 1940, St.Gallen toMontreal . Canadian censor . Interesting rate forsurface, third weight stage ( .30 + .20 + .20) .

New York. Of course the steam ships are slow . Andthere are often problems between Geneva and Lisbonwith rolling stock and personnel in France and Spain.You should count on a transit time of at least 4 weeks.Unfortunately the Canadian postal authorities onlyuse the connection between New York and Lisbonsparingly . When Canadian ships are departing forGreat Britain, the mail for Switzerland is put aboardthem. Since there are only 1-2 ship connectionsbetween Great Britain and Lisbon every month andthe freighters are often overloaded, the Swiss mail sitsin England. Since June for example, mail fromMontreal for Basel routed via England has taken 46,54, 59 and 78 days. At the same time, mail dispatchedfrom New York on 25 July and 16 August arrived inBasel in 31 and 28 days respectively.

Airmail from Switzerland to Canada is sent by railto Lisbon to meet the Pan Am Transatlantic Clippers.According to our records airmail from Canada toSwitzerland also goes via Great Britain . We are notsure if it gets there by air or by sea. In a mailbag thatarrived in Geneva on 1 October, sent by air fromLondon to Lisbon, we found three letters postmarked11 September in Canada.

We hope this information has helped you answerthe query from Montreal.

Be assured, Herr Minister, of our highestattention .

SECTION POSTAL CONNECTIONSSigned Müller

From another source I heard that the Britishwanted all Commonwealth mail to go through London

for censorship purposes at thistime. Was that correct? Didn'tBermuda get all the Canadianmail to censor?

The next letter, later thesame month, is to a companyworried about business.

Neos Dental CompanyRue de Hesse 8Geneve

Postal Connections via France-Spain-Portugal

28 .X.1940

The Department of Industryand Trade sent us your letter of 2October and we are honored toprovide the following answer.

Mail destined for Switzerland,arriving in Lisbon from abroad, isforwarded to us on a fairly regularbasis. Sometimes there are

problems in France and Spain (damaged goods,personnel shortages, rail interruptions) to deal with.But in general Portugal, Spain and France have tried

November 1995

TELL 13

to get the mail to Switzerland as fast as possible . Allrumors to the contrary are incorrect. Last week, forexample, we received over 1000 sacks of mail fromEngland, North, Middle and South America, India,East Asia and Australia.

Longer delays in mail, especially from Britishlands, are to be expected since, in addition to theshortage of ships, all overseas British Empire mailmust go through England. There the mail is censoredand waits for onward transport - between London andLisbon there are only 2-3 ships per month.

In the near future longer delays are to be expecteddue to the floods in southern France and Spain thathave damaged the rail lines.

From the start of the war the PTT has beencommitted to getting the mail through, despite theenormous cost of delays and detours . For example,packages to South America that can no longer bedirectly sent by ship are now sent via New York at anextra cost of 40000 francs . We have not collected thiscost from the senders. Further, during the raildisruptions in Savoy, we have arranged transportbetween Geneva and Annecy with Swiss trucks at ourown cost to assure continuity for the Swiss exportindustry. Due to the developments in the war we areoften powerless to solve all the problems of the mailand we hope that mail users will be understanding.

SincerelyOBERPOSTINSPEKTORATSigned Bonjour

So there you have it . I don 't think the PTT wasvery happy with the Neos Dental Company . In fact theletter was very curt and in German, even though

Figure 2 - 31 December 1940, Thun to Montreal.Postage for 5 grams airmail ( .30 basic + .60).Canadian censor . Note rerouting from Basel toGeneva-Lisbon .

going to Geneva . Patience with all the complainerswas wearing a little thin. The users of the mailsexpected miracles and the PTT did deliver miracles,but not all the time!

A similar letter was sent to a company in LaChaux-de-Fonds on 5 December 1940. We will notrepeat it here, but it does contain a very interestingtable showing the time enroute for mail from the USAto Switzerland . Here is that table from the 5 December1940 letter to Invicta SA:

New York Departure Swiss Arrival Days EnrouteBy Sea

19 September

18 October

2919 September

20 November*

6226 September

20 November*

553 October

6 November

343 October

10 November

3810 October

10 November

3110 October

17 November**

3817 October

22 November

3617 October

2 December

4624 October

23 November

3024 October

2 December**

39By Air

15 October

20 October

520 October

29 October

922 October

31 October

924 October

5 November**

1226 October

5 November

1031 October

11 November

1111 November

3 December***

2212 November

4 December***

2213 November

4 December***

2116 November

3 December***

17

* = Censor in Bermuda and caught in floods in Spain& France** = Censor in Bermuda*** = Flight delayed by bad weather

Finally, a short but veryinteresting letter that shows howthe business aspects of the mailcame into play.

Postal District HeadquartersZürich

Postal Connections with the US13 December 1940

In response to your letter wecan inform you that negotiationsbetween the PortugueseGovernment and the "AmericanExport Lines" have led to a newcontract for transport of the mail.The invoice for this transport willbe rendered monthly and it mustbe paid within 6 months . Becauseof this new contract the transportof our mail should be assured.

November 199514 TELL

We cannot tell exactly how longthe mail was stopped. Via telegramfrom the American Government weknow that the steamer "Excambion "that arrived in New York on 29November carried no Swiss mail.The steamer "Exeter" arrived inNew York on 9 December with onlyparcels. We assume that 2 or 3ships sailed without any Swiss mail.

This is an extra burden for therecipients of mail, that is alreadydelayed due to the war . We onlylearned of the problem from ourcorrespondents in the USA. Wehave assured the US by telegram ofour attention to this matter.

Please pass our sympathy andassurances to the Stehli Brothers

November 1995

Figure 3 - 13 November 1940,Zürich to Columbus, Ohio . Postage1 .80 ( .30 basic + .60 each 5 grams +.30 registered) . Arrived New York26 November, Columbus 27November . Bermuda censor.

Company in Zürich.SECTION POSTAL CONNECTIONSSIGNED Müller

So 1940 comes to a close withthe mail moving fairly well, allthings considered.

I want to thank all who havewritten about this series and sentsample covers. They will appearsoon .

Next time, a single (long) letterfrom February 1941 that gives agreat summary of the situation todate .

Figure 4 - Registered Feldpostletter to Chicago, postage paid.Censored by the Swiss #363.Departure date illegible (known to beNovember 1940),

K Cancel Update: K numbershave changed again . The SwissCancel Collectors changed 3661Uetendorf to K 1441 and 5463Wislikofen to K1442 since publishedin the September TELL.

This will be the last K cancelupdate published in TELL. Anyonewanting a copy of the recently issuedK Cancel Handbook, supplement 2,send a dollar for postage to ChuckLaBlonde .

TELL 15

Profiles of Swiss Stamp CollectorsDonn Lueck

by Robert D. GleichenhausEvery AHPS member is eagerly awaiting the

ARIPEX convention to be held January 4-7, 1996 andwe will have Donn Lueck to thank for helping to puton what promises to be a great program, which in-cludes lots of Swiss material. Of course, we have torecognize other organizers of the upcoming show, likeChuck LaBlonde, but the "resident member" alwayscatches the heaviest work load.

Donn, who is currently serving as Western Direc-tor of AHPS, held this responsibility back in 1981 andarranged the AHPS convention at that time.

We asked Donn about his Swiss collecting special-ties and his response was most interesting . "revenuesand documents from the Helvetic Republic Period tothe present . I have been involved in several catalogu-ing efforts since 1972, when I started collecting reve-nues. I am currently working withDenis Gainon on a catalog of Swit-zerland revenues which should becompleted sometime in 1995. (Ed.note: The catalog has been issued).Denis lives in Neuchatel, the cata-log is in French, so it has been achallenge for me because I neverstudied the French language inschool . "

Donn started collecting stampsin 1948 as a general collector . Hefirst got interested in collectingSwitzerland in 1958, specializing inStrubels, Sitting Helvetia, stam-pless covers of Basel and Geneva,and WWI and WWII soldier stampsand covers. In 1972 he started col-lecting the revenue stamps of Swit-zerland and has sold most of hispostage stamps . Presently his onlyinterest in Switzerland is revenuesand documents from the HelveticRepublic period to the present.

"I have a passport issued to arelative of a former member ofAHPS which also happens to bear apreviously unlisted municipal reve-nue. The new 'find' will be listed inthe catalog of Denis Gainon . "

Donn is especially appreciativeof the friends that he has made inAHPS. "My memories of FelixGanz, the nicest person I have evermet in or out of stamp collecting.Other nice people I have met overthe years include Ernie Bergman,Chuck LaBlonde, Harlan Stone,Mario Wiedenmeier, Steve Turchik,Ralph Soderberg, the late Irv Sil-verman, and many others . "

Even though Donn onlycollects revenues, hefeels that he continues tolearn much from othermembers articles, exhib-its and collections.

Donn appreciateswhat the membershiphas done for him, and weappreciate what he hasdone for us in his yearsof service to AHPS. Welook forward to the up-coming convention in

Arizona being a memorable experience.I must note that Donn franked his letter with a

group of variable rate U.S. postage in an interestingmanner, such that the five stamps added up exactly tothe correct postage of 32c.

16 TELL