Basel Dove

The Basel Dove, also called Basel in Switzerland Dybli ( original name in Basel German ), is the first and only stamp that was issued by the Swiss Canton of Basel.

The output of the Basel Dove on July 1, 1845. At this time there was no uniform postal system for the whole of Switzerland. Every single canton was responsible for their own postal service. It was only on January 1, 1849 saw the establishment of a separate Swiss postal system, which spent 1850 general stamps for the whole of Switzerland. Until then, its own postage stamps, were next to Basel, issued only by the cantons of Zurich and Geneva.

The postage of the Basel Dove was 2 ½ cents and was for letters up to 1 Lot ( 15 grams) in the city of Basel determined. The design took the architect Melchior Berri. He chose as his subject a white dove, which is surrounded by the inscription city post -Basel. The special feature of the stamp, however, lies in the color. The stamp design was produced in three colors: black, blue and carmine, making it the first multi-colored stamp in the world.

The stamp was produced by letterpress printing. The dove was coined and is therefore out of the stamp paper should be higher. The Basel Dove was published cut. This means that it has no perforation, and therefore had to be cut with scissors from the sheet. The stamp was used until September 30, 1854.

The high collector's value of the Basel Dove is made up of their rarity and their wide recognition. It belongs next to the Double Geneva and Zurich Zurich 4 and 6 to the top at Swiss stamps philatelists.