tradition and experience in classic philately since 1919

Card Index Switzerland

COMPETENCE THAT CREATES ADDED VALUE: PROVENANCE RESEARCH AND ARCHIVES

The best marketing and describing of rare stamps requires much more than the simple indication of catalogue numbers and values. Often the "provenance" of a rare item is also decisive for demand and price. Provenance is a philatelic "family tree" of previous owners, or auctions through which a stamp has changed hands. The further a "family tree" reaches into the past, the more sought-after the rare item is. Provenance is a kind of "seal of quality", as the names of famous previous owners and their collecting skills are linked to it. As in art, "provenance" is an indispensable aspect of valuable stamps in philately today.

The Corinphila card index is today the largest existing card index of classical Swiss philately in the world. Thousands of individual records, illustrations and auction descriptions with sources and data references provide information in the context of provenance research for rare items and their famous previous owners. A few years ago, the archives of the well-known Swiss expertisers Hans F. Hunziker (1911-1994) and Emil Rellstab (1928-2006) were added. In April 2008 Hans Schwarz, Editor-in-Chief of the "Schweizer Briefmarken Zeitung", wrote: "With these two archives, (Corinphila) has brought invaluable philatelic expertise into their house". At Corinphila, philatelic experts have access to the crucial knowledge to offer and value rare stamps in the best possible way. Competence that creates additional value and pays off for Corinphila consignors through the best auction results!

Today's Corinphila index is a wealth of knowledge par excellence!

 

Which items are included in the card index?

Provenance can be determined for stamps, covers and postal history from the Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Rayon and Strubel issues. This is – to our knowledge – by far the most comprehensive and important index of Swiss stamps in the philatelic world. But not every single Zurich 6, Vaud 5 or Rayon stamp can be recorded. Please see the detailed list of which items are included:

Übersichtsliste herunterladen (PDF)