Best Catalogue for United Nations

 Needing a good catalog for the United Nations? The Lindner 6th Edition is probably the best one that you can find.  It covers all areas of United Nations Philately.  It is no longer in print but you can find used issues on Ebay. Full of information on varieties and specialty items. Also great for postal history and cancellations. It only covers issues to 1974 but will provide serious information to that date.

 

Be sure to give it a look if you can find a copy.  It is "neat" bound so some pages may need attention because they come loose with constant use.
 

Not all First Day Covers are the Same- Pay Close Attention

 

Shown below are two WFUNA 1972 Covers for the 25th Anniversary of the Economic Commision for Europe. At first glance the covers appear to be the same. But, compare the cancels.

The top cover contains the cancel which is catalogued in the Gaines Catalog as M10e. This means that it is a machine cancel. The bottom cover contains a slightly different cancel as is catalogued H-27 handcancel. What makes them different?  Look at the arrangement on the circular date and the spacing between that and the slogan cancel. 

A lesson to learn when looking at covers. Do not categorize the cover strictly by the stamps or the cachet. Look closely at the cancel also. 

Have fun checking for varieties in  your First Day Covers.   Good Collecting! 

Unusual United Nations Topical Cover

 Unusual United Nations Covers

        Besides United Nations First Day Cover there are many cover produced by foreign countries that are members of the United Nations. Many of the covers are used to remember anniversaries of United Nations events of the organization and also by organizations within the U.N. i.e. UNICEF, FAO, UNESCO and others. Be sure to look through the mixed cover boxes of dealers at the next show that you attend. Most dealers just throw this type of cover in the “Bargain” boxes.

 

Shown above is a very attractive and unusual cover which was carried from Paris, France to London, England. This was during a postal strike in England so the cover was carried by hovercraft to London. Please note the rectangular rubber stamp on the cover. It was then sent to the United States by air where it was posted with a U.S. 33 cent stamp at Dobbins Air Force Base in Georgia. The entire trip took from February 9-18, 1971.

 Another First Day Cover that was produced by the United Arab Republic with U.A.R. semi-postal issues to commemorate United Nations Day and UNICEF on October 24, 1959. This type of cover from many foreign countries can form a supplementary collection for the United Nations. 

You will be pleased at all of the interesting covers that you can find for special United Nations events and anniversaries.

Good Collecting!

United Nations & Show Covers

                An interesting area to collect and appreciate are covers which are produced at Stamp Shows or Exhibitions where the United Nations has a actual presence. This would mean that they have a booth and sell UN Stamps and provide information about them.  In some cases, there may also be a meeting of the UN Specialty Societies held during the show. 

                   Two of the most well known and popular shows are ones held in the larger cities. Compex and Interpex are among these. Interpex was held in the New York City area and always had a presence of the UNPA because it was located there. At every show of this size, there is usually a First Day Cover Society and a special envelope with cachet are used for the show only.  Shown here is an early Interpex cover. This Interpex cover also has a red cancel placed on the cover at the show. 

                  Shown below are two covers from Compex which was held in Chicago, Illinois. These covers show that the location was the Lasalle Hotel located in downtown Chicago. These covers are from the years 1962 and 1964 respectively. The location and venue for Compex was later changed to a location more closely located to the O'Hare Airport. Circumstances have changed and the Compex show is not longer being held. It was held I believe until the mid 2000's . 

                These covers make a nice specialty area for collection and you can pick your favorite city. They are available most of the time on Ebay and are very reasonable in price. Be sure to sort through the large boxes of covers at your next stamp show and you may find a couple of them probably for "a buck a cover".

Good Collecting

United Nations & South Moluccas

Sometimes you may find a stamp that relates to the United Nations and is from a country which you have not heard about or don't know where it exists. The stamps shown below show the U.N. emblem and the New York office building and appear to be from the Rupublik Maluku Selatan.  They are in the archipelago of Indonesia and did not produce any valid postage stamps.  Shown below is a set of stamp which were produced by a New York  stamp dealer, Henry Stolow (1901-1971). They were also produced in an imperforate format. These issues have never been listed in any catalogs.

 

You may find these stamps in “junk” boxes or in 1950’s collections. They make a nice addition to a collection but don’t spend too much to obtain them.

        Good Collecting

 

 

 

 United Nations Topical Issues

      One area that can be forgotten as a U.N. collector is the very interesting and extensive area of U.N. topicals that can be found in most all of the countries in the world. Any country that has become a member of the United Nations has issued stamps related to the United Nations. These issues were issued to identify the following:

• U.N. Anniversary Dates
• United Nations Day
• World Health Organization
• UNESCO
• And other special causes identified by the U.N.

You can collect individual stamps and also First Day and Event Covers. An example of a cover from Korea that recognizes the 10th Anniversary of Joining the U.N. is shown here. 

Shown above the cover is the insert that was enclosed in the cover.  The insert has an image of the stamp and some information about the issue. 

I purchased a large lot of this type of cover from an auction recently and will be sharing some of the additional "finds" in future blogs. 

Good Collecting

 U.N. First Day Covers used for Christmas

        United Nations Covers were occasionaly used for additional purposes than showing the issuance of a stamp issue. Below is shown a very attractive cover which was produced and used by the J.H. Stolow company of New York City. This company was a prominent stamp dealer and auction house in the city.  The contents have been removed so iit is not possible to the exact nature of them. It may have just been a holiday greeting.  From the address of the cover it may have been the company who produced the auction catalogs for Stolow. 

        It would be interesting to know how many companies have used United Nations First Day Covers for the same purpose of holiday greetings or marketing efforts.