Embossed Issues

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland. more...

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(pre-stamp postal history here)

Cantonal issues

The first stamps used in Switzerland were issued by the cantons of Zürich, Geneva and Basel for their own use, with the first federal issues coming several years later.

Zürich

The Zürich issue was first put on sale 1 March 1843, making it the second type of stamp in the world, after the UK's Penny Black three years earlier. The issue consisted of two imperforate stamps printed as side-by-side pairs, one with a large numeral "4" and the other with a "6", both inscribed "Zürich" at the top. The 4-rappen stamp was also inscribed "LOCAL-TAXE" at the bottom, since it was intended to pay for letters mailed within a city, while the 6-rappen, inscribed "CANTONAL-TAXE", for use with letter going anywhere in the canton. The design was lithographed in black by Orell, Fuessli, and Company, with a pattern of fine red lines underneath, to discourage counterfeiting. Initially the red line were horizontal, but starting in 1846 they were printed vertically. These stamps were popular from the start, but were not printed in large numbers and are quite scarce today, with values ranging from US$1,500 to $20,000 depending on type.

In 1850 Zürich issued a 2 1/2-rappen value depicting the city's coat of arms.

Geneva

Geneva brought out its own stamp issue on 1 October 1843, the "Double Geneva". Like the first Zürich issue, it consisted of pairs of stamps, each printed in black on yellow-green paper, depicting the city's arms, and inscribed "Poste de Genéve" at the top and "Port local" at the bottom. But an additional inscription, reading "10 PORT CANTONAL Cent" ran across the top of each pair. The idea was that the user could cut out a single stamp to pay the intra-commune rate, and a pair to make up the inter-commune rate. Only 6,000 of the doubles were ever printed, and as of 2003, intact used doubles typically go for around US$35,000 at auction.

In 1845, Geneva switched to conventional single 5c stamps. In 1849 it printed a 4c stamp featuring the federal cross in black and red, and similar 5c designs in 1850 and 1851.

Basle

Basle only ever issued one stamp, the "Basel Dove" of 1845. This was a 2 1/2-rappen value featuring a white embossed dove carrying a letter in its beak, and inscribed "STADT POST BASEL", a design by the architect Melchior Berry. It is printed in black, crimson, and blue, making it the world's first tri-colored stamp.

Read more at Wikipedia.org