Liechtenstein: Stamps & Covers

Here's a stamp I look for every now and then on eBay but haven't bought as yet, so this image is nabbed from the internet.  The Curta was a mechanical calculating machine that was built in Liechtenstein which has now been commemorated on a stamp.  The machine is an amazing piece of work, I own a Type II and there's an odd soothing feel you get when you play with the thing.  Subtle clicking and whirring as the gears go around.  Over 600 parts!  And no, I've never tried to take mine apart.



Here's an interesting article on the Curta calculator, including a video showing how it can be used for simple calculations (you need to really hold your tongue just right to make it do tricky stuff like square roots).

www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/stunningly-intricate-curta-mechanical.html

Ryan

The above 1960 Europa stamp (Liechtenstein's first Europa stamp) was apparently a roaring success so they issued another design in 1961 in far higher quantity (over 5 million, more than 16 times as many as their first issue).  I guess they also figured they could set a new world's record for the largest selvedge attached to a stamp.  Look at this thing!  Liechtenstein continued with their own Europa designs until 1966 when they finally started using variants of the common design in use throughout many European countries.



I am a big fan of Liechtenstein stamps so I buy bulk lots far more often than I should.  This thread gave me the incentive to sort through my latest find, a 200g box of mixed Liechtenstein.  Here are another couple of stamps with huge selvedge pieces attached.  I don't mind that so much, these stamps have 10 Franc face values and those aren't seen very often when you buy stamps by the pound.  ha ha





The Europa stamps from 1984 have a bit of an odd design.  This is tree root art.



Most of Liechtenstein's stamps were produced in either Switzerland or Austria.  These two engraved stamps show clear influences from their Austrian designers - if you were to cover up the country name, I would likely identify these stamps as coming from Austria.





And one last posting - Liechtenstein is one of a few countries to have issued scratch-and-reveal stamps.  This pair was in my recent lot, one of them "used never scratched" and one that has been scratched to show the design underneath.



Ryan

1912 Sc. 1, 2 & 3

  




Available on Thick Coated Paper above &
1915 Thinner Normal Paper with much higher CV

The Prince's collection? Nooooo way! I bet that was a sight to behold. Like you I appreciate the art aspect of Liechtenstein's postage - beautiful pieces one and all. Small country, big stamps...

3 of my favorites - Semi-postal for Children's Welfare fund
An additional amount of 5, 5 and 10rp was collected

  




and perhaps the best and one of the last engraved stamps

The same stamp, in brown, was pictured in a S.S of 1934 for the Agricultural Ex. CV $1200+

doug630 - Quite a coincidence you're bringing up this topic right now. Yesterday I purchased a large accumulation of Austrian classics, primarily because I spotted this Austrian cancelled in Vaduz:


(Appologize for the crappy image, it's simply cropped out from the item description image on eBay, haven't received the collection yet.)

I certainly understand your friends fascination for these. I've been on the look-out for such a Liechtenstein forerunner for a long time, and this is the first time I've ever detected one. Well, I've seen these forerunners offered and identified as such before, but then it's always beyond my budget.

Anyone else found any of these Liechtenstein forerunners? I would love to see them!

jimwentzell - Nice card - I would keep the high denominations on the card as well - much more interesting displayed as postally used rather that simply filling an empty slot on an album page.

About Sweden - I am not 100% sure, however I believe the 'LØSEN' always indicate postage due.

Rockets for peace(ful) uses!

My contribution: A parcel card, for sending abroad packages.  In this case some products from a manufacturer of dental supplies/dentures.  Sent by airmail to Sweden Oct. 14 1978 via Zürich airport  in nearby Switzerland.  Somehow the parcel was judged to be postage due, witness the Sweden-applied "lösen 600 öre" label.  I picked it up for the price of a cafe latte at a cafe.  All the money I don't spend on coffee go to my stamp purchases!

I prefer postally used stamps from this tiny country (located between Austria and Switzerland on the Rhine river) and saw the high-value orange 10 francs stamps, covered partly by the pale blue 8058 Zürich 58 Flughafen label.  Some collectors tear such transit labels off their incoming modern mail; that is committing postal history heresy to me, a crime punishable by hingeing until cancellation!

The "tullinbetalningskort" handstamp applied upon arrival in Sweden translates to "duty payment slip" (thank you Google-translate!) and the same colored handstamp below it, I think refers to the receiving company, or maybe the classification of import.  Apparently a customs form of some type was attached to the upper left corner: 296   9434 Schaan being the postal-code for the sender IVOCLAR A.G.  In addition one can see customs and receiving cancels (in black), some sort of receiving boxed handstamp (in red) and a postage due payment handstamp (in light green).  Auxilliary marking heaven!!!  

The sender paid CHF 27.10 (around US$16.20 at the time) for the 7.5 kilogram package (about 16 pounds).  Liechtenstein uses Swiss currency ever since the hyperinflation began in Austria around 1920.  Before then, Liechtenstein used the Austrian Krone and Heller and was much more economically impoverished.  


I love covers, cards, or genuinely used philatelic material as they tell a story and are so much more interesting than individual stamps!


Apparently Liechtenstein produces something other than stamps!

Partly why l like collecting Liechtenstein is many of the issues are engraved like the ones just posted. More recently fewer issues from Liechtenstein are engraved.

As a beginning collector l fell in love with the first Liechtenstein stamps my grandfather gave me....then around 1972 I subscribed to their very efficient, collector-friendly standing over service. A $US20 bill mailed a couple times a year bought me First Day Covers of every new issue as well as one of every new stamp and souvenir sheet.