Swiss Post Horn Stamps

This post features my collection of Swiss post horn stamps. It is the latest in my series of posts featuring post horn stamps from around the world. Make sure to check out my main page on the subject here.

Post horns are small brass instruments, usually coiled (but sometimes straight). A mail carrier blew the horn to announce the arrival or departure of the mail. In the nineteenth century, the instrument became a recognized symbol of the postal service. It now appears on postal logos, mail boxes, and postage stamps all over the world. While it can be found on stamps from Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, it is most popular in Europe. Some of my other posts include post horn stamps from Romania, Austria, Germany, and Hungary.

Switzerland

While some of the Swiss cantons began issues stamps in 1843, the first federal stamps are from 1849. They feature a large post horn with a Swiss cross in the center. There were several variations over the next few years, including designs with the post horn resting on top of a shield with the Swiss cross. I have an example of an1850 design with the post horn above the cross and a value of 10 Swiss rappen. Unfortunately, these early Swiss stamps can be extremely expensive, and my stamp is in poor condition. The cancellation obscures part of the post horn, but if you look close you can make it out.

1851 Stamp

The next stamp in my collection is from 1851. This is the first stamp I own with an authentication certificate from the Royal Philatelic Society expertizing committee. It is very similar in design to the 1850 stamp, but has a red coat-of-arms on a blue design (the scan is more gray than the actual stamp). It has a value of 5 Swiss rappen.

Celebrating Postal Service

The next Swiss post horn stamps in my collection come from a century later, in fact they commemorate the initial issuance of stamps in 1849. The set of three colorful stamps feature changing transportation. The first stamp features a large post horn, the second a carriage, and the third a pair of buses. All have post horns in their designs.

In 1953, a remarkably similar design (especially of the third stamp above) was used for two stamps celebrating bus delivery of mail in the Alps. The first, a 10 cent stamp features a winter scene in the region of Graubünden. The second, a 20 cent stamp, depicts a summer scene in the Valais region.

Next is a stamp from 1974 that features a simple design with a post horn in the middle. The dates 1849 and 1974 are on either side. The stamp celebrates the 125th anniversary of the first postage stamps of Switzerland.

Finally, in this group is a rather strange stamp that I do not fully understand. It features a bucket, which as far as I can tell is used to collect flowers and special plants. On the side is painted a post horn. The stamp was issued in honor of stamp day in 1975.

Stamp Exhibitions

The next group of stamps in my collection both were made to commemorate stamp exhibitions. The earliest was in 1955 and commemorates a Stamp Exposition in Lausanne

In 1959, Switzerland created a pair of stamps in honor of the NABAG (Nationale Briefmarkenausstellung) philatelic exhibition. The lower denomination 10 centime stamp is green (you can see one from my collection below). The second stamp has a similar design in red with a 20 centime denomination. In addition to featuring a large post horn, these stamps also have a fasces, or a bundle of wooden sticks with an axe in the middle. This is an ancient symbol that denotes military power.

Next, is a stamp from 1971, celebrating the same exhibition, the Nationale Briefmarkenausstellung that was held in Basel that year. It features a “stamp on stamp” design, with the 1849 original Swiss stamp in the middle. To the side a very modernist representation of a basilisk, the mythological half bird, half snake, that is the heraldic symbol of Basel, Switzerland.

Much less exciting is the 1978 stamp for another stamp exposition in Lausanne. It features a large post horn in a crest along with a banner above that states “Canton de Vaud.” Lausanne is in the Canton of Vaud. In the center of the horn it says “Liberte et Patrie,” or Freedom and Homeland, which is the motto of Vaud.

Post Rider Stamp

The next stamp in my collection features a wonderful post rider blowing a post horn. Check out my post on post riders and postillions on stamps

Swiss Europa Stamp 1973

This final stamp in my swiss post horn collection was a part of the Europa series from 1973, where many countries in Europe put similar designs on their stamps. Check out my collection from this series.