Corinphila auction to feature classic Swiss treasures, stamps and postal history from the Luder collection

By Michael Baadke

The Corinphila auction firm in Zurich, Switzerland, has scheduled an auction series in two parts, with the first sessions taking place Nov. 10-11 and featuring Switzerland and Liechtenstein, including stamps and postal history from the Jack Luder collection.

An auction of Europe and overseas material, including specialized Australia, will follow Nov. 22-24.

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Luder and his father, Eduard Luder, led the Corinphila firm for decades, and during those years Jack Luder (1936-2015) built his own collection of classic Switzerland.

The Nov. 10-11 auction will open Friday afternoon with Swiss issues dating from 1907 and will continue with airmails, soldier stamps, Liechtenstein and a lengthy selection of classic Switzerland.

The Saturday session highlights the Luder collection with additional specialized classic Swiss material.

Among the postal history rarities on offer is an example of the highly prized 1850 10-rappen yellow, black and red Rayon II stamp with complete frame around the cross (Scott 6) on a folded letter mailed Oct. 15, 1850, from Grandson to Aubonne, both today in Switzerland’s Vaud canton in the western reaches of the country.

The framed cross variety of the 10r stamp is exceedingly rare, unlike its similar counterpart with no frame around the center cross in the design (Scott 8). Few examples of the rare stamp exist, and even fewer on cover. Corinphila cites a value of 440,000 Swiss francs (CHF) from the Schweizer Briefmarken Katalog, roughly equivalent to $450,000.

U.S. dollar amounts here are estimations.

The stamp on the cover includes the frame around the full design plus a segment of the stamp from the row above. It is postmarked “P.P” from Grandson, Corinphila notes, and the cover is struck with a nearby Grandson circular datestamp in black.

Certification of the cover includes examination and authentication by Fulpius (1950) and Rellstab (1993).

The starting bid is set at 100,000fr ($102,000).

The Luder collection material also includes a rare and unusual variety of the 1843 black-on-yellow green Double Geneva stamp from the Swiss canton of Geneva.

While this scarce issue is usually seen in horizontal pairs that consist of a distinctly identifiable left stamp and right stamp, both denominated 5 centimes to create a single 10c franking, this item consists of a vertical pair of the left stamp only, cleanly struck with the Geneva red rosette postmark. The pair is offered with an opening of 60,000fr ($61,000).

Another classic rarity in this sale is a re-engraved variety of the 1900 25c blue UPU Allegory stamp (Scott 103) struck with a black “LAUSANNE EXP. LTR.” circular cancel. The stamp and cancel are certified as genuine with certificates from Zumstein (2007), Eichele (2007) and Guinand (2017); the authenticity of the cancel is the important element of this issue, for genuinely used stamps are valued significantly greater than unused examples. The opening bid for this stamp is 4,000fr ($4,070).

Details of the Corinphila auction, including individual lot descriptions and photos, can be found at their website.

For additional information contact Corinphila Auctions, Wiesenstr. 8, AG 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.