I have every reason to be grateful to my Lord for giving my wife and myself a successor from my own family who has what it takes to become a very capable dealer. I have always been very keen not only to gradually hand over certain business activities to him, but also to give him immediate responsibility for them. He was allowed to make a mistake with me - you learn much more from that than from a lot of good advice. It always depends on what you learn from it yourself and how you approach it. That was already the case when I was far more involved with chess than with my hobby at the time, stamps! I learnt far more from my own mistakes than from my victories!
Furthermore, it would be advantageous to consult with colleagues who have children of their own and have pursued similar career paths. Furthermore, there have been, and continue to be, instances where I would be reluctant to emulate as exemplars. It is therefore particularly gratifying to observe that our son Markus is pursuing a divergent and superior trajectory. Over the course of approximately three decades, he has progressively refined his professional abilities, to the extent that I am currently unable to match his level of expertise in any particular field. One will swiftly discern this if one seeks contact with him. It is conceivable that he will implement alterations to the business and perform the requisite tasks in a more proficient manner than I.
In particular, those colleagues and collectors interested in not only individual items but also entire collections and large quantities from a classic area of old Swiss philately will find what they are looking for. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that an increasing number of collections have been presented to us directly in recent years. There is a growing divergence of opinion regarding the practices of certain auction houses. The situation is similar regarding normal dealers: there are those who conduct themselves in an exemplary manner, but there are also others. It is extremely difficult to find such objects, often in a state of readiness for display, in the old Swiss area today.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that if a son has managed to remain in the same office as his father for an entire generation without significant detriment, this is a commendable achievement that warrants recognition. It would be advantageous for others to emulate this approach.
My thanks would be incomplete if I failed to mention here that his wife Claudia, as well as my own, Margot, reliably and constantly endeavour to support us in the business to the best of their ability. Both of them do this more quietly, they don't need the dazzling stage lights where today's stars and starlets try to produce themselves. I think this is all the more worth mentioning and I am all the more grateful for it.
In my endeavour to finally step back into the second rank, to bother you for the last time with the traditional annual review or outlook, which hardly anyone has read, my son suggested that I should recount some experiences from my 60 years of professional experience. How easy it would be! He offers me four (!) pages of space in the new catalogue! But I am neither a storyteller nor a memoirist! There are plenty of stories, but you have to be a bit careful, because you never know what living contemporaries (or their heirs) will say about specific names. I can try, but it will be purely random experiences or people mentioned that come to mind when you remember an exhibition or an exchange. And preferably without specific names. And my memoirs wouldn't fill four pages, but four thick tomes. A work that would take years and yet hardly anyone would be interested.
My philatelic activities certainly didn't start with Old Switzerland, but with the mass-produced miniature sheets and issues following the major Nabra exhibition in Berne in 1965. An important dealer at that time was Hans Grünenfelder Senior, who not only had a large stock of these highly speculative Swiss souvenir sheets, but also and above all of the Liechtenstein issues.
Together with Max Rudolf in Siebnen and Silvio Chiani (Senior) in Gossau, we regularly had full-page adverts, especially in Germany. We usually received dozens of orders for each advert. Naturally, these were smaller sums and the margins were minimal. I advertised the 1965 Nabra souvenir sheets (face value = CHF 3) at CHF 3.20 and delivered them en masse all over the world, especially to Germany. A dealer from the Iberian Peninsula still owes me the price of 1000 pieces that he never paid for. However, there were not only negative experiences with this Bernese souvenir sheet from 1965, but also amusing ones. For example, a colleague from the Uster district offered this souvenir sheet at an exchange for CHF 3.20. He had 20 of them in stock. Out of sheer joy at selling all 20 blocks for CHF 64 and a net profit of CHF 4 (without loss of interest), he invited all the dealers present to a drink! The demand for these modern speculative issues was so great that it would have been impossible to buy enough on the weekend Swiss stock exchanges. So I had a colleague in the USA who collected the items that were on my shopping list from all over the country and delivered them to me once or twice a month. His main job had nothing to do with philately! He was the general importer of dried meat from Graubünden for the USA and only did philately as a sideline.
Mrs Vontobel had a small stamp shop in Rüti. I have her to thank for advice that I now consider invaluable. Even though I had already made a name for myself with the modern Swiss stamps. She said that I couldn't possibly retire one day with these boring speculative issues. I should instead focus on the classic Swiss issues and study this area. I took this to heart and from then on studied the displays of the old Swiss dealers in the Weisses Wind in Zurich far more than those of my numerous ‘block colleagues’. This soon brought me into contact with the great luminaries of the Durheim editions, Werner Städeli and Willy Bryner. They were among the first to know the various printing stones of the rayons (the identification books for these did not yet exist) and were also able to identify them. So I very quickly learnt to distinguish the better, rarer printing stones from the ordinary, cheap ones. And I regularly showed my first, scarce purchases at the Saturday markets to Willy Bryner on the way home, who examined them and passed on a lot of knowledge to me from his numerous Rayon albums. Later, when my business was limited to the old Swiss stamps, I was also able to acquire entire batches and collections of rayons, which Werner Städeli identified for me by printing stones. Both of them already had a large collection at that time and were only able to add a few new pieces.
In contrast, for example, to the third great connoisseur, Dr Viktor Streiff. I got to know him as a customer for Rayons. He was a geologist by profession and was looking for (and found) oil in the Sahara region at the time. He set himself the goal of completely reconstructing all the rayons according to pressure stones with all the groups. This was a goal that had no foreseeable end at the time, because it was not even known how many pressure stones there were. Over time, unexpected things would continue to emerge, just think of the so-called ‘unknown stone’ in the light blue rayons! A real explorer, as he was, would not be deterred by a vague, not yet clearly defined goal. On the contrary: a real researcher is spurred on even more by what no one has yet researched and therefore no one knows. This meant that Dr Streiff initially had a great need for rayons. He asked me if he could identify incoming items or collections of stones for me. Of course, he then had first choice for all the pieces he could still use. This led to many years of friendly co-operation. He commissioned me to look after his interests at numerous auctions and to acquire his desired lots for him wherever possible. In his will, he bequeathed the Rayon reconstruction to the Postal Museum in Berne. For the remaining part of his collection (he bequeathed a considerable object, from the cantonals and the rayons, which were not the subject of his reconstruction, with all the letters and the rarities such as the inverted yellow print), he stipulated in his will that these must first be offered to me. In doing so, he duly reduced his purchase prices, knowing well that a dealer also had to earn something himself. All this without my knowledge – I only found out about it from his wife after the will had been opened.
I was lucky enough to soon meet the next of the really great connoisseurs of our old brands: Bernhard Geiser. Beni was at home in the printing business, where he had the honour of designing the advertising for a major Swiss distributor, for example. He had an invaluable advantage for philately: he was a trained lithographer! He set himself the goal of gradually reconstructing and identifying the old Swiss stamps that had not yet been researched using printing stones. He did not necessarily need the originals, but only very good photos of them. For several decades, he was particularly interested in the Orts-Post and Poste Locales stamps. In each case with and without cross borders! Over the course of these many years, we must have sent him not just many hundreds, but probably over a thousand of these stamps, which he then scanned. Later, when he was able to find fewer and fewer additions to the numbers 13 and 14, most of which were only useful to him in the form of pairs or even larger units, he also shifted his attention to a number of cantonal numbers, such as the large Geneva Eagle, the Vaud 5 and the Zurich 6. He kept a record of his work in folders and this library was not just large, but gigantic! All in all, it comprised around 160 A4 folders, plus several boxes of unprocessed copies and photos. When it came to slowly closing down and finalising his work, he could have sold this life's work to a number of collectors, dealers or examiners (including me!) for good money. But he didn't want to do that. He informed all interested parties that this library would not be sold individually, but only in its entirety – to me! I was certainly interested, but I never exerted the slightest pressure on him. He probably saw this as recognition for decades of friendly co-operation, because over the years he had received all the items from us that were of interest to him and that we were able to acquire individually or in entire collections. He also gave very precise instructions on what to do with his folders, that none should be taken out of the house and that no copies should be made. Of course, we intend to follow these instructions. How else can you honour such an incredible gift? Our daughter Jacqueline took three days off work and transformed an entire room into a ‘Beni Geiser archive’. She has organised the 160 folders and numerous boxes in three large wall cupboards so that it is easier to find a particular number. After I retire, I hope that I will have the time and leisure to delve into one or two of Beni's folders myself and fall in love with the numerous photos of special rarities that are documented here!
Having visited an estimated total of 100 exhibitions and trade fairs (with or without my own stand), I could recount some memorable event or meeting with a special customer or colleague at most of them. Saying something about the exhibitions themselves is not a problem, but I don't want to name (almost) any people. This may still be acceptable in the case of customers who have long since passed away and whose family has sold the collection with their names mentioned. However, in the case of customers who are still alive today, I don't always want to have to obtain the consent of the wife or family that they agree to the customer's name being mentioned. And as long as this has not been clarified, discretion takes precedence for us. What's more, I'd like to share just a few of the experiences that spontaneously spring to mind when you hear the name of an exhibition you've visited. In other words, only a small fraction of all the experiences or all the customers you met there would be mentioned by chance. It could well be that ‘complaints’ are received from very good customers and really great collectors who complain that they have not been mentioned here!
We have fond memories of the World's Fair in San Francisco. We had just got out of the taxi on the first day when our dear customer H. was already waiting for us outside the main entrance. He had forgotten his wallet and borrowed a few dollar bills from us for the day. With Rolf P. Salinger from Kassel, we had a very good expert on the sights and catering options in this fantastic city. So we got to know the Fisherman's Warf from an expert's perspective. His Old Switzerland collection was a testament to his great expertise and was considered one of the largest in Germany at the time.
I visited the World Exhibition in Madrid purely as a tourist, i.e. without my own stand. I had invited my father-in-law. Together we waited for over an hour in the scorching sun until the gates finally opened. As the organiser of a philatelic exhibition, Spain had the advantage that you could always meet dealers from the South American continent there. And with a bit of luck, you could easily find and buy unexpected items from them. I sought out one such dealer. He offered me a box containing perhaps 100 covers with Swiss stamps. I calmly looked at letter after letter. I immediately had a colleague from Paris behind me, who was obviously also interested in this item. Looking over his shoulder, he must have immediately spotted a front side. Probably hoping that I wouldn't have recognised its value myself, he asked me if he could have a look at the item himself. I asked him to be patient until I had finished. I immediately saw what the seller had obviously not recognised himself: it was a mixed franking of a Rayon together with a Strubel stamp! The rest of the item was not worth mentioning. But that no longer mattered. Of course I bought the item, much to the chagrin of my Parisian colleague. If I'm not mistaken, it was also at this exhibition that my colleague Swoboda found no fewer than 3 numbers 72F in a bundle of well over 100 3-franc Helvetia stamps! They probably came from frankings of watch consignments to South America and mostly bore the cancellation of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
In earlier years, it was customary for collectors' clubs to organise trips to foreign world exhibitions. We used to join these trips with my wife from time to time because we only wanted to visit the exhibition as tourists and without our own stand. I remember Rio de Janeiro. Not only, but also because of the Copacabana, the marvellous stand with the decorated mosaics on the beach promenade. It's around ten kilometres there and back. Even though I hadn't timed it, I really wanted to run this parade route under the Sugar Loaf Mountain. Afterwards, a dip in the sea is all the more refreshing. And this inevitably brings W.G. to mind. He probably didn't find much to add to his fantastic collection of stamps from the Entlebuch at the exhibition. But he had more and more experiences! He treated himself to a dip in the sea in the summer heat and deposited his clothes – apart from his swimming trunks and beach sandals – among the countless bathers on the sandy beach. On his return, however, this bundle had disappeared! Fortunately, there was a shoe shop just a few steps behind the beach. There he bought some new shoes so that he could go to his hotel. He told the shop assistant that he wanted to keep the new shoes he had tried on and that she could put the beach shoes in the box for him. In the twenty seconds it took him to pick out the ‘nest egg’ he always takes with him from a small pocket on his swimming trunks, the box with the packed beach shoes had already disappeared from the conveyor belt.
Our small tourist group consisted of eleven people. Of these, nine (!) were robbed during this trip! And this happened at completely different times and in different places. I myself had the back of my trousers slashed with a knife or razor blade on a bus journey. But my wallet didn't fall out because it was also in a sewn-in cloth bag. The trousers, on the other hand, were beyond saving. Before returning to the hotel, I had to get a new pair.
A subsequent round trip took us from Rio to Manaus. The Brazilian Cruzeiro was subject to a huge devaluation at the time, which I remember could amount to one or a few per cent every day. To prevent people from converting their entire fortune into US dollars in one go, only a small sum was allowed to be exchanged once a week, which was supposed to cover the cost of living for a week. For us Swiss, it was an unusual sight to see a huge queue (more than 100 metres long!) of people waiting patiently hours before the bank counter opened on this ‘exchange day’ until they could change some money again. I have never had a better visual lesson in what a stable currency in a country as stable as Switzerland should be worth.
Not only the opera, but also the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Amazon are deeply impressive. The two rivers, the black Rio Negro and the brown Amazon, flow side by side for kilometres, mingling only very slowly. And if you go on an excursion up the Amazon with a knowledgeable guide, you immediately think of Werner Herzog's film Fitzcarraldo in this tropical wilderness. This film offers a very good impression of this tropical jungle and its inhabitants.
We can't possibly ‘forget’ the World's Fair in Washington! We had our first meeting there with probably the most important collector for Classic Switzerland in South America. He found exceptional rarities in our holdings, which are still in his collection today and which are not so easy to find on the market. I would also like to mention the most important buyer of classic stamps from various countries at the time, but above all of Classic Swiss stamps, who lived in Paris. He asked for the Cantonals, started at number one and worked his way through all the books. It went something like this: I'll take it, I'll take it, no, too expensive, I'll take it, maybe (we still have to talk about the price, I'll take it, I'll take it, no, too expensive. You never forget something like that. Fortunately, the cheque we received was covered! We also had the pleasure of meeting the buyer of the legendary Anderegg collection.
At that time, we were able to generate extremely pleasing sales not only in sales, but above all in purchases, which could hardly be topped later on. I was accompanied on this journey not only by my wife, but also by my son Markus and his wife Claudia. In addition, my granddaughter Soraya, who had just been born. She played and slept on the stand and entertained the whole hotel bar in the evening. Priceless moments to remember!
In terms of turnover, the Helvetia Genève 90 exhibition probably comes closest to Washington. One of the most prominent exhibitors was Alma Lee from London. Her very high quality collection was also admired by a ‘new’ collector from the Geneva area. The numerous Swiss cantonal stamps, especially the Zurich 4, particularly encouraged him to try something similar. We were able to supply him with all types of the first Zurich cantonal stamps, the vertical Zurich 4 (along with other stamps). It was then that we met Josef Niederberger from Stans for the first time. Always accompanied by his rucksack, he was a conspicuous figure. You could easily write a whole book about him and his great expertise! I became indirectly acquainted with him at a Corinphila auction. In a type plate of the light blue rayons in type 8 at the top right, I could easily make out one of the very rare Misshapen stones.
Niederberger obviously recognised this too, but didn't want to buy the whole 40-plate because of this one type. He made a note of my bidding number in the room and was able to find out my address from friends. He wrote to me to say that he was still missing type 8 in a reconstruction and I told him that I could easily send him some type 8s to look at, to which he replied that he really liked the one in the Corinphila plate and that he would like to have it from me! When I then told him on the phone that he was probably not just looking for a normal Type 8, but the one from the Misshapen Stone, the ice was broken. From that moment on, we were and remained good friends until his death.
I remember one event in particular from the Lemanex exhibition in Lausanne in 1978. My friend Jack Luder and I had chosen the same hotel in Ouchy to stay at. We were accompanied by our wives and him, and there was plenty of space behind the hotel where we could park our cars. During our first morning meal together, Jack appeared a little beside himself and asked me if I knew where his car was. It had simply disappeared. He had only had it brand new for a few weeks! The subsequent reports to the police and the hire of a replacement car kept him busy in the morning. But after two days he was informed that the police had found his goods in Rotterdam. They were in the process of loading him onto a cargo ship there. I'm no longer sure whether it was about to leave for Africa or South America.
In honour of the 1984 Naba Züri in the Züspahallen in Oerlikon, we were able to persuade the Sprüngli company to produce the Zurich 4 and Zurich 6 for us in the form of chocolate pralines. The company kept this customised product in its range for a few more years.
Basel had the good fortune – or the honour – of hosting two major stamp exhibitions in succession. The first was the National Exhibition in 1971, followed by the International Exhibition in 1974, both of which were excellently organised and also enjoyed commercial success.
Now another major highlight awaits us, the Bernaba. From 14 to 17 May 2025, a multilateral exhibition will be held in Bern to mark the 175th anniversary of federal stamps.
Jean-Pierre Senn and his team are professionally organising this event, which is the most important one for us. You can look forward to a superbly organised exhibition. In May 2025, in the centre of beautiful Berne, all the top names in philately will come together and there will be outstanding collections to admire. What else is being planned around the exhibition is also impressive. Find out more on the official website https://www.bernaba25.ch/ and be sure to reserve a few days next May for philatelic delicacies that we rarely get to see in Switzerland!
What will the future bring? I have always been very happy to only present the current and expected future of the old Swiss market. And not that of the 20th century editions of Switzerland. We are not living in very easy economic times! There are some problems in Europe. This is particularly noticeable in Germany, a very important market for us. There seems to be grit in the gears and the reluctantly assembled coalition government is struggling to survive the period until the next German elections. I have serious doubts as to whether this will succeed! All Western European countries are finding it difficult to continue supporting Ukraine, which has been invaded by Russia. There is no money to maintain their own armies, let alone for new acquisitions or donations to Ukraine. This is mainly because for years a new war in Europe was considered impossible. Continuing to run up debts simply means shifting the costs onto the next generation. If inflation picks up again and interest rates rise, the next generation will have serious problems.
In Switzerland, we are also feeling the effects of economic restraint. Exports with western countries are partially subdued. As a result, there is no rush to make new investments. Things are looking a little better in Asia. But political clouds are gathering in the sky there! When you look at China's threats against Taiwan or North Korea's missile tests and how both dictators are cosying up to those in Russia, you wonder with genuine concern how long these power games can go on before one of these power mongers blows a fuse.
Let me mention a few points as to why I believe that the prospects for Switzerland, and therefore also for classic Swiss stamps, are nevertheless better than for practically all other European countries in terms of alternative capital investment in classic Swiss stamps:
- Not only does Switzerland have a high price level, but wages remain very high. This applies to the middle and high income brackets, but not to the lowest, which is not as high as in most other countries. The high earners are still prepared to spend the money.
- Investments in securities are not entirely risk-free at present. If the global economy were to experience even greater problems, the stock markets would only be heading in one direction: downwards. This leaves alternative investments at best. Many people are buying paintings, jewellery or investing in gold. But classic stamps also remain an issue. Property in good locations in Switzerland is (too) expensive and hard to find. The price of gold, on the other hand, has risen very high, so you have to wonder whether this will continue. If you compare the ratio of a kilogram of gold to the price of a beautiful Basel pigeon letter today and a few years ago, you will surely agree with my statement that the old Swiss stamps with their maintained price level are inexpensive today and increasingly worth considering,
- We have a relatively low inflation rate in Switzerland, which is lower than in Europe or the USA. The unemployment rate is also lower than in our European partner countries or in the USA. This will continue to widen the prosperity gap in the future.
- In contrast to the countries mentioned above, Switzerland's national debt has fallen in recent years and can be described as healthy. Thankfully, our National Bank does not allow itself to be influenced by politics.
- Our policy of neutrality has certainly played a part in our prosperity. Nevertheless, it seems to me to be interpreted a little too rigidly today and should be adapted somewhat to current political circumstances. But without abandoning it!
- For these reasons, the ‘prosperity gap’ between Switzerland and our most important purchasing countries, i.e. between the CHF and the US dollar and the euro, will probably continue to widen in the future. Both the dollar and the euro have depreciated by several per cent against the CHF year after year and this is likely to continue for the reasons mentioned above. So if you invest in the strong Swiss franc by buying old Swiss stamps, you will normally automatically earn from the appreciation of the CHF year after year!
- Nevertheless: only buy what you like yourself and from a supplier that you consider to be reliable and honest and whose goods include certificates from a recognised expert.
- There are always areas in philately that fluctuate in price. Not so much for economic reasons. But if a number of collectors in a highly collected area retire as buyers for reasons of age or even pass away within a short period of time, it usually takes a while for new collectors to recognise these buying opportunities and enter the market themselves. It pays to enter an area after such an explainable slump and not when ‘the whole world’ is looking for it and the t and the prices become prohibitive. We will be happy to inform you about such opportunities.
It's still a little early for a review of the year. However, it is possible that the election in the USA – in the longer term – will not have a major impact on the economy in Europe and Switzerland. And if you have the impression that my above plus points for confident assessments for our classic Swiss brands are hardly any different from those of the past few years, then you are absolutely right! Because the outlook has hardly changed compared to the last few years! You can see that immediately, if you take a look at my opinions over the last few years. If the outlook hasn't changed much, there's no reason to have a different assessment.
My last point has not changed either. It concerns my heartfelt thanks to you, dear customers and colleagues, who have contributed to our business performance again this year with your repeated purchases. My son and I, together with our family helpers, will continue to endeavour to meet your philatelic wishes in the coming year. You can look forward to next year's review, which will be written by my son. He has been working on these reviews for a long time. Judging by the response, his stories about ‘Pfüpf’, our pet cat, were the most popular item in my year-end reviews!
We hope you continue to enjoy your hobby in the coming year and, above all, wish you good health. And – God willing – no storm clouds on the political horizon.
Schmerikon, 5. 11. 2024 Gottfried Honegger