@ deCoppet [#46]

Hello Roger,

another 2 nice envelopes, but I need to say something about them.

The first from Uster shows the Swiss handmark "3" for 3 Kreuzer, that the Swiss Post credited to Bavaria. In the old days, they wrote the credit for the German States on the reverse side very often, but later they wrote it on the front side. As Switzerland used the "P.D." handstamp for fully franked letters, the credit for other countries could not confuse others postal clerks about the taxes to be paid by the addressee (insufficiently prepaid letters).

Bavaria for instance never used the "P.D." handstamp on letters to Switzerland, so one had to pay attention, what was written on the letter/envelope - was it the "Weiterfranko" = credit for Switzerland, or was it insufficiently prepaid. Not an easy job at those times ...

The 2nd letter was a "R.L" - letter, Rayon Limitrophe.

20 Rappen were not a letter rate from 01.09.1868 (new postal contract), as letters were 25 Rappen in general. Your letter shows us the very rare 2nd weight of a rayon limitrophe letter within 7 miles (42,5 km) from Basel to Freiburg. Special with this letters was, that before the first of Sept. 1868, the rayon limitrophe was only 5 miles (37,5 km) and only letters within the rayon limitrophe had no distribution of the postage.

Each postage in the R.L., paid or unpaid, was given to the originating postoffice. So the Swiss Post got 20 Rappen, but Baden (from 1.1.1872 the German Reich) got nothing.

Rayon limitrophe letters are not rare, but to find a "heavyweight" is not easy. Congratulations for this rare item!

Yours,
Ralph