Zurich 4 and Zurich 6
| Zurich 4 and Zurich 6 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| output | |
| country | Canton Zurich |
| Face value | 4 and 6 cents |
| First day | March 1, 1843 |
| Date of Expiry | September 30, 1854 |
| layout | |
| Motif | Numerical values 4 and 6 |
| colour | black |
| draft | |
| Sting | |
| Print type | Lithograph |
| perforation | Cut |
| particularities | without gumming, red line vacuum |
| Edition | |
| Edition | unknown |
The Zurich 4 and Zurich 6 are the first and only postage stamps issued by the Swiss canton of Zurich . The designation Zurich 4 and Zurich 6 are derived from the dominant numbering of this edition.
It was issued on March 1, 1843. At that time, there was no uniform postal system for the whole of Switzerland . Each individual canton was responsible for its own postal service. It was not until January 1, 1849 that a separate Swiss postal service was founded , which issued general postage stamps for all of Switzerland from 1850 onwards. Until then, own postage stamps were issued, apart from the canton of Zurich only from Basel and Geneva . The rare stamps could be used until September 30, 1854.
The Zurich 4 and Zurich 6 are considered the first Swiss postage stamps. With the issue date of March 1, 1843, Switzerland would be the second country in the world with its own postage stamp issues after Great Britain . However, this view is particularly controversial outside of the German-speaking areas, as Zurich was not a state, but a largely sovereign canton. For this reason, Zurich 4 and Zurich 6 are sometimes only viewed as a local issue and not as a state post stamp issue.
The postage was 4 and 6 cents respectively . The imperforate stamps were printed in black on white paper using lithographic printing in the Orell, Füssli and Co. printing works in sheets of 100 stamps. The two postage stamps were issued without any gum and were gummed up if necessary. In addition to the numerical design, there is the canton designation and the inscription Local-Taxe on Zurich 4 and Cantonal-Taxe on Zurich 6, which provide information about intended uses of the two value levels. The Zurich 4 was used for letters from the Stadtpost and the Zurich 6 for letters within the canton up to a weight of one lot . For registered letters , 10 centimes had to be raised. These could easily be covered by a Zurich 4 and a Zurich 6.
The high collector's value results on the one hand from their rarity and on the other hand from their high popularity. It opens up a broad field of activity for a specialist. This can differentiate between horizontal and vertical underprints, collect five different types of each stamp and look for plate defects. The Zürich 4 and Zürich 6, along with the Double Geneva and the Basler Taube, are among the most popular stamps among Swiss philatelists .