Manis Briefmarken Momente des Gluecks

Mani Affolter bought 12 of 13 special editions of the Swiss Crypto Stamp 3.0 at auction. We invited him to a photo shoot and met a happy man. His stamp albums are his treasure trove of memories. Now he is proud to own a philatelic speciality in the special editions of the Swiss Crypto Stamp 3.0 and to have done something good at the same time.

“Irgendeinisch fingt ds Glück eim,” sings Kuno Lauener from the band Züri West – you will find happiness at some point. Mani found happiness late in life. Kuno Lauener probably didn’t have him in mind when he wrote his song. But he is happy.

Mani, who hails from Bern, sits on the sofa and leafs through his stamp albums. A journey of thoughts through his life. Small pictures with perforated edges that evoke associations with events and journeys. Geography was his favourite subject at school. Stamps have been important to him since he was six years old. They ground him. He loves stamp collecting, enjoying the inner peace of designing a new maximum card, the search for the right postcard, the excitement of having stamps cancelled in a certain post office at a certain time. Repdigits are his specialist subject, along with geography and sport.

Stamps remind me of situations and events in my life. They made me want to discover the world.

And sparked his curiosity. Although Mani is already 66 years old and a retired SBB counter employee, he is by no means an old-school collector and is open to new things. That’s why he has almost all the Swiss Crypto Stamps in his collection, as well as a veritable treasure trove in his safe. He is thrilled that he can scan the QR code on the stamp and see the matching NFT immediately appear on his smartphone, although he also explains straight away that he does not want to trade with Crypto Stamps. He doesn’t understand all of that. He is just happy to have got hold of 12 exclusive special editions, each of which is only available once, in a Ricardo auction. Looking at him, it is easy to imagine the boy who stuck his first Pro Juventute stamps in his album and pressed the philatelic treasure to his chest.

What I really like about the Swiss Crypto Stamp auction is that Swiss Post donates the proceeds. That’s why I was a bit more generous with my bids.

The first issue of the Swiss Crypto Stamp in autumn 2021 gave him the metaphorical bug. The buyers did not know how rare the stamp they were acquiring was, or which NFT accompanied it. Mani kept on buying and ended up with many duplicates, but not a complete collection. He went on an elaborate search for the missing stamps and even bought the entire collection from a teenager. “At a good price for him,” Mani laughs. Because the young man reminded him of himself. He wanted to travel South America with the proceeds from the sale of his collection. Mani was happy to help.

Swiss Post has made me a cryptomaniac!

Mani has found happiness not only in philately, but also on his travels, in encounters all over the world – and at the SBB counter. Half of South America has already stayed with him in his home. How come? If someone turned up at the counter late at night and there were no more trains, Mani would offer them a place to sleep. Humanity is important to him, and he loves contact with people. For a long time, he struggled with his employer’s strategy of getting customers used to ticket machines and smartphones: “Diverting them, as it were,” says Mani. He even refused to use a company mobile phone. He points to his smartphone in front of him on the table. “Now, I rely on my own phone.” Mani uses the device to organize his many social activities. He looks at the display, shrugs his shoulders and sums up what he has learned from this period of his life: “You should never lose your curiosity,” he says. “Life is too beautiful.”

Mani’s philatelic world

“Stamps are works of art,” says Mani, who will also hang the art prints of the 12 special editions in his home. “They’re beautifully made!” Mani appreciates the tranquillity of his hobby. Carefully detaching stamps, examining them for damage, preparing them for the album and always looking for new stamps, designs and ideas: “I find it very relaxing.” Unfortunately, the philately scene is ageing, and he is the youngest in the railway philately club. Letters with stamps are also being sent less and less. That means the biggest problem nowadays is: where can you find the stamps? In Swiss Post branches and at postshop.ch, of course, as well as from stamp dealers. But Mani is more concerned about knowledge. He does have some stamps to sell, but he would especially like to share his experience. His advice to philatelic beginners? “Start small with a subject that’s close to your heart!”