U.N. Stamp Sales Giving Much-needed Funds

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31085, 14 June 1966, Page 10

U.N. Stamp Sales Giving Much-needed Funds

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter) NEW YORK. The United Nations is using postage stamps to sell its message of peace—and put badlyneeded funds in its coffers. Stamps are at present adding over £1 million a year to United Nations funds. Mr T. Clements, who has been head of the United Nations postal administration since 1960, says that income from stamps has doubled in that time. “And,” he adds, “we have not even started to scratch the surface.” United Nations stamps, issued in United States currency denominations, may be used only for mail sent through the world headquarters’ own post office. But only about 16 per cent of any United Nations issue actually goes on letters, cards and parcels. Dealers and collectors take the remainder, many of them making a good profit in the process. A special souvenir sheet of stamps, which sold for about Is on the United Nations tenth birthday in 1955, is now worth £35. Last year’s twentieth anniversary souvenir sheet, with a faee value of about Is 6d, has already more than doubled in value. Unused sheets, each of 50 stamps, of last year’s regular 25-cent issue are selling now for more than 10 times their face value, but only if the name of the printer appears in the margin. Some 30,000 sheets carried this information.

Keeping Faith The United Nations has learned that it pays to keep faith-with philatelists. Before Mr Clements’ time, dealers and collectors reacted angrily in 1957 when a special issue commemorating the United Nations emergency force in the Middle East was reprinted after supplies ran out The value of stamps, as of other commodities, is determined by supply and demand. Now, when the United Nations says that two million copies of a stamp will be issued, philatelists know that they can rely on the figure. Mr Clements says that it takes, on an average, about 18 months to exhaust a commemorative issue, though some issues go much more quickly. .

If a collector realises the philatelists’ dream and finds a stamp with some sort of error, the United Nations will protect his investment. The United States Post Office created enormous illwill among the philtelic fraternity when an error in the stamp issued to honour the late Mr Dag Hammarskjoeld was deliberately repeated. Astute Iraqi The United Nations special issues usually promote United Nations themes. When subjects are to be chosen, Mr K. Tooni, an astute Iraqi, who directs the commercial management service, reviews with Mr Clements and other senior officials, questions which have aroused particular interest at a General Assembly session. Last year, United Nations stamps took note of the special fund for economic development projects, the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, the centenary of the International Telecommunications Union, international co-operation year, and economic development in relation to population growth. This year, the World Federation of United Nations Associations was honoured with

a special issue, which came out in January. The World Health Association will be similarly commemorated on May 26.

Other commemorative issues scheduled for 1966 will honour the international coffee agreement, to be issued in September; the United Nations peace-keeping observers, in October; and the United Nations Children’s Fund, in November. None of these issues will run to more than 2.2 m stamps in the five-cent denomination, and 2m in the 11-cent. Relatively small United Nations

issues are a big reason for the growing interest of collectors.

More than four million orders were received for last year’s twentieth anniversary souvenir. The postal administration returned about £50,000 to disappointed collectors because no more than two million souvenir sheets were printed. Mr Clements and Mr Tooni talk as enthusiastically about stamps as the most eager philatelist. But neither of them collects them. “That way,” Mr Tooni explains, “no one can doubt our integrity.”