Swiss Stamps
Pro Patria Issues
of 1936-1943
Pro Patria Swiss stamps belong to a very important and widely collected category of Swiss charity stamps.
Pro Patria, in Latin, means "for one's country". The Pro Patria Association is a Swiss patriotic and charitable association whose purpose is to give meaning to the Swiss National Day
every August, and to collect funds to benefit social and cultural
programs that are in the national public interest. These funds are
primarily collected through the sale of postage stamps and postcards, in
cooperation with the Swiss Post.
National Day
is the national holiday of Switzerland. It is held every year, and it commemorates the Federal Charter of 1291.
These National Day celebrations are referred to as the Bundesfeier (German), the Fête Nationale (French), or the Festa Nazionale (Italian).
The three surtaxed Swiss stamps shown above, at the top (Zu. WIII #5-7, Mi. #A294-96, Sc. #B77-79), were issued on October 1, 1936. These sheet-format stamps, featuring an alpine herder, are printed on granite paper with "smooth gum".
The souvenir sheet shown above, at the bottom (Zu. WIII #8, Mi. Block 2, Sc. #B80), was issued on October 23, 1936. The stamps in the souvenir sheet are printed on granite paper with "grilled gum". The size of the souvenir sheet is 120 x 103 mm., and it sold for 2 Francs.
The surtax on the sheet-format stamps and the proceeds from the sale of the souvenir sheets benefited the National Defense Fund.
The four Pro Patria surtaxed Swiss stamps shown above, at the top (Zu. WII #3-6, Mi. #364-67, Sc. #B100-03), were issued on March 20, 1940 to celebrate Swiss National Day. The four designs feature national monuments, as follows:
- 05 C. + 05 C. - Battle of Sempach, 1386.
- 10 C. + 05 C. - Battle of Giornico, 1478.
- 20 C. + 05 C. - Battle of Calven, 1499.
- 30 C. + 10 C. - Swiss Ranger, 1914-1918.
The 20 C. + 05 C. denomination was re-issued on April 6, 1940, with the difference being that the base of the monument is smaller (Zu. WII #7, Mi. #368, Sc. #B104).
The souvenir sheet shown above, at the bottom (Zu. WII #8-11, #12, Mi. #369-72 (Block 5), Sc. #B105a-d, #B105), was issued on July 16, 1940. The size of the souvenir sheet is 125 x 65 mm., and it sold for 5 Francs.
The surtax on the sheet-format stamps and the proceeds from the sale of the souvenir sheets benefited the National Fund and the Red Cross.
The two Pro Patria surtaxed Swiss stamps shown above (Zu. WII #13-14, Mi. #408-09, Sc. #B110-11) were issued on June 15, 1941 to celebrate Swiss National Day and to commemorate the 650th Anniversary of Swiss Independence.
The two designs feature Lake Lucerne and the Tell Chapel.
The two Pro Patria surtaxed stamps shown above, at the top (Zu. WII #15-16, Mi. #408-09, Sc. #B117-18), were issued on June 15, 1942 to celebrate Swiss National Day and to commemorate the 2,000th Anniversary of the City of Geneva.
The two designs feature views of Old Geneva and the War Memorial in Forch, commemorating the Swiss soldiers from the Canton of Zurich that died during World War I.
The souvenir sheet containing these two stamps is shown above, at the bottom (Zu. WII #17-18, #19, Mi. #410-11 (Block 7), Sc. #B119a-b, #B119). The size of the souvenir sheet is 105 x 63 mm., and it sold for 2 Francs.
The surtax on the sheet-format stamps and the proceeds from the sale of the souvenir sheets benefited the Swiss National Fund and the Swiss Alliance of Samaritans.
The two Pro Patria surtaxed Swiss stamps shown above (Zu. WII #20-21, Mi. #420-21, Sc. #B124-25) were issued on June 15, 1943 to celebrate Swiss National Day.
The two designs feature views of the old town of Intragna in Ticino and the Parliament Buildings in Bern.
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Swiss Stamps - Pro Patria Issues of 1936-1943
This 10 C. + 10 C. denomination Pro Patria Swiss stamp shown above (Zu. WII #1y, Mi. #326y, Sc. #B90) was issued on June 15, 1938 for National Day. A total of 2,480,450 of these stamps were printed on tinted, granite paper with "smooth gum". The "smooth gum" variety is shown above.
A smaller quantity, only 160,000 of these stamps, were also printed on granite paper with "grilled gum". They are scarce and much higher priced. This variety is shown at the top of column two (Zu. WII #1z, Mi. #326z, Sc. #B90a).
The design features Tell Chapel on Lake Lucerne.
The 10 C. + 10 C. denomination Pro Patria Swiss stamp shown above (Zu. WII #2, Mi. #356, Sc. #B95) was issued on June 15, 1939 for National Day and to commemorate the 600th Anniversary of the Battle of Laupen in 1339.
The design features a view of Laupen Castle.
The surtax on this stamp benefited needy mothers.