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I have brought these prices up to date and added currency selection. CheckList Setup |
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| 1868 set | 1881 set | Cancels | Specimens | Proofs | Puzzles | Perfins | Stationery | Envelopes | Telephone |
Steve Hiscocks wrote:
There seems to be little that can be said about the telegraph stamps of Switzerland. They were used to prepay telegrams between 1 January 1868
(although Moens states that they were issued in late 1867) and 30 September 1886. All were printed by the Swiss Federal Mint —
typographed and embossed such that the white parts of the design are proud. The main point of interest is the change in 1881 from a plain white
paper to what is called 'granite paper' in the UK: that is paper containing short silk threads — red and blue in this case. These may easily be seen with
a magnifying glass on the back or on the white parts of the design. In spite of the fact that the granite paper issues were current for only six years against
13 years for the plain paper issues, the granite paper issues are much more common.
My note:
The flecks of silk threads can sometimes be quite sparse.
There is also the issue of different colours used for the central parts,
the apparent shade of which can be affected by toning. It is not always easy to identify a particular stamp.
Beware of fake cancels on the last 20Fr stamp.
1868-1869 Typographed on plain white wove paper without watermark. Perf. 11¾ (frame colour given first).
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| 25c (H1) | 50c (H2) | 3Fr (H4) courtesy of Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions. (click image for listing) |
20Fr (H5) | 20Fr (H5) used in 1884 |
| Mint examples showing carmine centres and a used 20Fr courtesy of Dave Elsmore. | ||||
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| 50c (H10,red) | 20Fr (H19,rose-red) | Beware of fake cancels. It is easy to add something like this. |
| Comparison of red and rose-red centres. | ||
The naming of colours is always problematic.
There are only two types of 20Fr listed, and one is on granite paper.
The used 50c is dated 1878, granite paper was used from 1881.
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| 25c (H1 or H15?) | 50c (H2 or H16?) |
| These appear to be without the silk threads, but the centres look like rose-red. | |
| Hisc. | 1868 Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | 25c grey and carmine | 200.00 | 300.00 |
| H2 | 50c blue and carmine | 100.00 | 50.00 |
| H3 | 1Fr green and carmine | 375.00 | 125.00 |
| H4 | 3Fr gold and carmine | 1250.00 | 750.00 |
| H5 | 20Fr pink and carmine | 50.00 | 25.00 |
1874 As above but colour changed.
| Hisc. | 1874 Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| H6 | 3Fr brown and carmine | 500.00 | 750.00 |
1877 As above but new values and colours changed (red centre).
| Hisc. | 1877 Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| H7 | 5c black and red | 100.00 | 275.00 |
| H8 | 10c dark red and red | 125.00 | 375.00 |
| H9 | 25c grey and red | 200.00 | 375.00 |
| H10 | 50c violet-blue and red | 250.00 | 50.00 |
| H11 | 1Fr green and red | 1500.00 | 300.00 |
| H12 | 3Fr light yellowish brown and red | 75.00 | 15.00 |
1881 As above but on granite paper (coloured fibres in the paper).
| Hisc. | 1881 Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| H13 | 5c black and rose-red (shades) | 0.75 | 1.50 |
| H13a | black and rose-carmine | 1.20 | 2.25 |
| H13b | grey-black and rose-red | 1.50 | 3.00 |
| H14 | 10c rose-red | 0.75 | 1.50 |
| H14a | rose-red and dull rose | 0.75 | 1.50 |
| H14b | rose carmine | 1.80 | 3.75 |
| H15 | 25c olive-grey and rose-red | 1.25 | 2.00 |
| H15a | olive-grey and pink | 1.25 | 2.00 |
| H15b | olive-grey and scarlet | 1.50 | 2.50 |
| H16 | 50c prussian blue (shades) and rose-red | 0.75 | 1.50 |
| H16a | prussian blue and pink | 0.75 | 1.50 |
| H17 | 1Fr green (shades) and rose pink | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| H17a | green (shades) and rose carmine | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| H17b | deep green and rose-pink | 1.50 | 3.00 |
| H18 | 3Fr bistre and rose-pink | 5.00 | 2.00 |
| H18a | deep bistre and rose-pink | 5.00 | 2.00 |
| H18b | deep bistre and scarlet | 5.00 | 2.00 |
| H19 | 20Fr carmine-rose and rose-red | 30.00 | 120.00 |
Hiscocks added the following note:
| Note. The prices of the earlier issues may seem very high. Unfortunately they do in fact line up with those asked and obtained by European dealers and there is no point in setting lower prices. |
16Fr 80c worth of 1881 issue stamps on a part of a telegraph form, courtesy of briefmarkenauktion.de
This kind of cancel could easily be faked on a single 20Fr stamp, be careful.
A pair of 50c stamps cancelled at Olten on 21 August 1883.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH.
At least 2 types of Specimen overprints exist.
Images courtesy of Rölli Auktionen & Philatelie
A range of proofs are available. These are imperforate with embossing.
Images and descriptions courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH (copy/download for larger)
There are other kinds of proofs :
Images and descriptions courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH (copy/download for larger)
There are two Anniversary sheets that can source confusing items.
1952.
These are not so convincing up close. Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
1958.
I'm not even sure myself if those are genuine stamps! Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
Supposedly as a security feature a cross in an oval were added on each stamp in the form of embossing.
The bottom of the oval can be seen on the stamps below, it should have been higher up. On the last stamp it is also over to the right far enough to be partially under the lettering.
There are two printing plates as well as the embossing and I do not know the sequence in which they were used. The 3Fr seems to have lost part of the value frame.
Is it a coincidence that the letters "PHIE" on the 25c are missing their bottom serifs?
Anyone have an example with it over to the left causing similar problems ?
It may be that a combination with a bit of over-inking is also required.
Normal on the left, the "error" next and an over-inked 1Fr on the right.
The over-inked example has reduced areas of white, possibly leading to the embossing causing white areas to be invaded by excess ink. Last is an over-inked 1 Fr but without the embossing misplaced.
By the way, on the left fibres can clearly be seen, on the right they are still there, but much smaller.
On the left is a 5c that appears to be shedding the black ink. I have seen similar stamps, but this is probably the worst. The problem does not appear to affect the central pink/red area.
In the center is the 25c repeated from above to compare with the 3Fr stamp on the right, courtesy of Gabriel Coutinho de Gusmão.
The 3Fr has a similar problem with serifs though without being over-inked and no apperent embossing in the area.
There are currently six perfins known on Swiss Telegraph stamps.
As can be seen, the T perfin is very variable !
H F
The images and information above are courtesy of Jeff Turnbull.
A new addition comes from Kurt Ehrler :
G & B is Geilinger & Blum of Winterthur.
| "B/W" of : - "Bank in Winterthur". Mostly on 1Fr but also 5c. "N.S/B" of : - "Nussbaum Steiner", Birrwil & Rupperswil. (5c, pair of 50c) "SWR" of : - (Mechanische) "Seidenweberei, Ruti", Zurich. (on 1Fr) "T" of : - "Thomann & Leicht", Zurich. (all but the 20Fr) "HF" of Henri Fierz, Zurich, Fluntern. (5c and 50c) "G & B" of : - "Geilinger & Blum", Winterthur. (on 5c) NOTE: - N.S/B, & T scan is not to scale. |
Whilst this does appear to be an early Sending Form No. 7, dated 5 August 1860, it was not used as such.
Instead it was folded, addressed, stamped and sent by Lake Lucerne ship mail across the lake. There are also envelopes marked "Nr. 7.".
Front and back of the folded form.
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH.
Sending Form No. 7
It has disclaimers in German and French., and is franked with two 50c stamps. It has a space for a date-stamp at the bottom.
A scarce and early telegraph form used 21 May, 1868 in Niederurnen, sending to Zurich. Image courtesy of briefmarkenauktion.de
Another example from the following day, used at Luzern on 22 May 1868
1Fr. stamp for 19 words.
Used 22 May, 1868 in Lucerne. Image courtesy of Rölli Auktionen & Philatelie
A very similar Sending Form No. 7, dated 30 September 1868. This has a different Coat of Arms? at the top and was used in Basle. The information boxes at the top are also different
1Fr for 20 words.
No space for a date-stamp at the bottom. Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A very similar Sending Form No. 8, dated 22 July 1885. This has 78Fr.20 in stamps for 34 words to New York.
2Fr.30 per word.
Rather spoiled by multiple commentary in ink. Nothing on the back ! Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
(My motto - "Don't do anything that cannot be undone.")
A modern unused PTT Sending Form. This has an imprint suggesting a printing date of October 1970.
Imprint of "PTT 740 23 X 70 70000 x 100 A5 065" Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A DISPACCIO TELEGRAFICO Delivery Form No. 3, used at Alt[d]orf and dated 22 December 1861. This is in Italian only.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A Delivery Form No. 17, used at FLÜHLI and dated 26 July 1884. This is in German only. The "Arms" at the top-left match an 1868 sending form above.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A Delivery Form No. 4, similar to last. This used at Cham and dated 19 Deptember 1898. This is in German only.
The year was pre-filled as "18...".
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A Delivery Form No. 4, similar to last. This used at Zurich and dated 5 Octomber 1907. This is in German only.
The year was pre-filled as "190 "
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A Delivery Form No. 2. Now in A5 format. This used at Lenzburg and dated 12 August 1911. In three languages, German, French and Italian.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A Receipt used at Lenzburg, dated 16 June 1915, marked "No. 14. / VI. 14. 50,000." at bottom-left.
This is in German, French and Italian.
Image courtesy of AsianStamp - (click for listing).
A 1918 telegram and envelope.
A telegram dated 18 August 1939 used at Chur.
This has imprints at the bottom, "No 2ter. — X. 38", suggesting a printing date of October 1938 on the left and "A 5 (148×210). — Qu. O 70." on the right.
It was contained in the 1939 Chur envelope shown below.
A telegram dated 18 July 1966 used at Lausanne.
At the bottom it has "On request, the telegrams will be sent by telephone" in German, French and Italian.
This has an imprint at the bottom-left, "PTT 740.11 X. 63 A5 065 ", suggesting a printing date of October 1963.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH.
Nr. 7. - not to be cofused with the No. 7 sending forms above.
Front and back of an undated, but fairly early Telegram envelope used at Hottingen, confusingly marked "Nr. 7." at top-right. An early sending form above was No. 7.
This is in only German.
A space at the bottom-left for any charges that may be due. Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
Front and back of a similar 1910 "Nr. 7." envelope, marked for and used in Zurich,
This is in only German.
A space at the bottom-left for any charges that may be due. Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
No. 3. - these were around for decades and went through a number of changes.
Some differences are very subtle and are probably the result of different printing companies implementing the same instructions in different ways.
An undated, but fairly early Telegram envelope for Menzingen, dated 18 August 1939, marked "No. 3." at top-right.
This is in German, French and Italian, with a plain back.
A space at the bottom for any charges that may be due. Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A Telegram envelope used in Zurich, dated 30 April 1914, marked "No. 3" at top-right. Compared to later ones, the "window" has very square corners.
Place for date-stamp marked with dotted-circle. This is in German, French and Italian, with a plain back.
A space for any charges that may be due. Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
This shows two very similar Telegram envelopes marked "No. 3" at top-right. The first used 9 October 1915, then 16 December 1917. The difference is size and the spacing between "No. 3" and "Uficio".
The first also the only one I have seen with a period after the "No. 3". These are in German, French and Italian. Both used in Zurich.
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
This shows Telegram envelopes for internal Swiss use and international use, the latter marked "No. 3." at top-right again and used 14 February 1917 (see the 1917 one above).
These are in German, French and Italian, with the internal use one printed in green, used 18 July 1966, and with a PTT imprint with printing date of April 1963.
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
There now follows a series of envelopes very similar to this one Tdated 19 June 1926, marked "No. 3" at top-right. "Telegraph Administration" added at top-left.
There is a place for date-stamp marked with a circle
They are in German, French and Italian, with a plain back.
A space for any charges that may be due. Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
Here are 7 types in approximate chronological order. There may be more. I have marked diagnostic features.
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
 Top line large. Left-side of "A"s line up. About 1920. Ref.T1 |
 Top line large. Low bar on "A" Ref.T2 |
 Top line medium. Sloping serif at top of "d" Ref.T3 |
 Top line medium. As last plus line through "dmini" Ref.T4 |
 Wide "A" in "Amministrazione". "h" taller than "T" Ref.T5 |
 Wide "T" of "Telegraph...". "G" above "st" Ref.T6 |
 Small hyphen. Large, very sloping "A". About 1935. Ref.T7 |
"Urgent" overprints with a "D"
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
 This looks well placed with the "D" after the "No. 3", used in 1920. I have seen 2 examples, this is a T1, the other is a T3 of 1921. |
 The "D" has been moved lower and the overprint is more orange. Used 1921. I have seen 2 examples, this is a T2, the other is a T6 of 1921. |
Here is a different overprint, the letter "S" (Service perhaps ?). It is on a T4 dated 1921.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A similar though re-designed Telegram envelope to the last, this used at Chur, dated 18 August 1939, marked "No. 3." on central-right and stamped "Telephon!".
This is in German, French and Italian, with a plain back.
Images courtesy of Les Bottomley.
A similar Telegram envelope to last, this used at Geneva, dated 25 October 1940, marked "No. 3." on central-right and stamped "Telephone". This probably contained a telephone bill.
This is in German, French and Italian, with a plain back.
Image courtesy of AsianStamp - (click for listing).
An envelope used in Bern dated 18 February 1945, marked "No. 3." at central-right.
This is in German, French and Italian, with a plain back.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
An envelope used in Zurich dated 26 March 1954, imprint marked "TT3. - VI.53" at left suggesting a printing date of June 1953.
This is in German, French and Italian, with a plain back.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
An equivalent PTT envelope used in Horgenberg dated 10 June 1987.
This is in German, French and Italian, with a space for charges.
The imprint says "PTT 745 05 III 80 900 000 C5 Ou 80", suggesting a print date of March 1980. Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
An undated pale blue PTT envelope with an imprint duggesting it was printed June 1986.
This is in German, French and Italian, with a space for charges.
The simplified imprint says "PTT 745 05 VI 86 ET ", suggesting a print date of June 1986. Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
LX Envelopes theis appears to be an international designation for "Luxury" Greetings envelopes.
Yugoslavia had its own (ЈПТТ) LX-11.
A "PTT - LX11" envelope used at Bern on 7 July 1947
"PTT - LX11" at bottom-left. Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
An "LX16" (at top-right) envelope used at Bern on 7 July 1947
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
An LX21 envelope used at Zweisimmen on 28 November 1962
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
Form Nr. 662. - Monthly Telephone payment for March 1904 at Lenzburg.
1Fr45 for local calls, 6Fr70 for intercity and 50c for line rental adding to 8Fr65c total and stamped on 4 April 1904 to indicate payment.
An imprint gives the printers name and date of September 1902.
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
Here just the top has been kept as a receipt for 5Fr65c, dated 13 July 1903 in Zurich.
Image courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
Form Nr. 662. - Monthly Telephone payment for May 1911 at Aarau.
1Fr10 for local calls, 3Fr30 for intercity and 12c for the stamp adding to 4Fr52c total and stamped on 6 June 1911 to indicate payment.
An imprint gives the printers name and date of January 1910.
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
Form Nr. 662. - Monthly Telephone payment for July 1913 at Stans.
3Fr35 for local calls, 43Fr25 for intercity and 20Fr for half-year subscription fee adding to 66Fr60c total and stamped on the back 7 July 1913. This is now double-sided with the payment details on the back.
An imprint gives the printers name and date of March 1911. Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
A later Form Nr. 658. - Monthly Telephone payment for March 1930 at Zurich.
3Fr80 for local calls and 1Fr70 for intercity adding to 5Fr50c total. Information on the back for codes used. This looks computerised !
An imprint gives the Form number and date of July 1929.
Images courtesy of Luzernerraute GmbH
If anyone can provide scans to help with this, I am happy to give appropriate credit.
Last updated 17th. August 2025
©Copyright Steve Panting 2012/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25 except where stated.
Permission is hereby granted to copy material for which the copyright is owned by myself, on condition that any data is not altered and this website is given credit.
