Lot 97 Switzerland SC#Unlisted 1941 Military Stamp Issue - SAN.ABT.5 Division, Perf With Unit Cancel, A Very Fine Used Block of 4, Click on Listing to See ALL Pictures, Estimated Value $10 USD

A very fine used block of 4 of the from the 1941 Military Stamp Issue - SAN.ABT.5 Division. perf with unit cancel. Our estimate of the value based on the condition is $10.

Swiss military stamps are an interesting area. Everybody knows that Switzerland is a neutral country. So, it would surprise many to learn that they even had military stamps. So, what are they? Why were they issued. During both World War I and World War II the government called up the Swiss army to protect the country from getting dragged into the war. Of course, the disruption to the lives of its men caused significant financial hardships. To alleviate this, the soldiers were given free franking priviledges. But over and above this, the PTT authorized each unit of the army to issue charity labels that could be sold to raise money. The holders could then attach the labels to mail to indicate that they were supporting the soldiers. There were strict rules to the design and issuance of these labels. Each issue had to be submitted to Berne for approval and errors were supposed to be destroyed on the spot and were not permitted to be sold. Consequently, the proof and error material on offer is not supposed to exist.

Print quantities of these were, as expected quite low relative to postage issues, and some are quite rare. There is a specialized catalogue that lists these stamps called Sulser. I do not have a copy and had no time to order one. However, I did some research and my estimates are based on that research that I did.