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STAMPS ON STAMPS COLLECTORS CLUB |
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United Nations
Souvenir Cards and SOS, By Harry Skallerup |
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In an
earlier article I attempted to describe a collecting interest which seems to be
neither fish nor fowl in the realm of philately but is perhaps of possible
appeal to SOS members. It was about United States souvenir cards. Now I am
continuing by taking a very quick look at United Nations souvenir cards in
general, and then focusing on two of its cards that depict stamps on stamps,
and two that salute the Universal Postal Union. The
United Nations Postal Authority has been issuing souvenir cards since 1972.
Its cards, like those of the United States, are not valid for postage, but
differ from them in several other respects. They are issued in recognition of
some United Nations interest, event, or theme. The stamps reproduced on them
are solely United Nations issues, as opposed to true United States souvenir
cards which were produced for philatelic shows or events and mostly featured
previously issued relevant stamp designs, some being reproductions of foreign
countries’ stamps.
Figure 1
- UN Souvenir Card #4 issued in 1973 United
Nations cards are issued on the first-day observance of certain new stamp
issues and may depict one or more images of other previously issued United
Nations stamps germane to the new issue’s topic in combination with the new stamps.
Usually a short explanatory message or salutation in English by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, along with his signature, make up
the textual content. Figure 1 shows a card issued in 1973 that highlights one
of the many international concerns of the United Nations, human rights, and
contains images of ten stamps on this theme that were issued between
1952-1973. The
United Nations souvenir cards are listed at the very end of Scott’s 2001
Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers. As of August 1999
there were 54 cards identified and numbered, containing a total of about 388
stamp images. The cards exist in a canceled as well as a mint state and are
issued in New York, Geneva, and Vienna. Mint souvenir cards in some sets sell
for about the same price or more on the market as the canceled cards. In the
canceled state, the newly issued United Nations stamp is affixed to the card
and bears a first-day of issue cancellation. New stamps issued at the New
York headquarters are canceled in that city, and the complementary stamps of
the United Nations Geneva and Vienna offices are canceled on the same date on
separate but identical souvenir cards. Since 1980, a complete set of cards
consists of four cards, one mint, and one canceled at each location with its
own stamp design and denomination. Figure
2 shows a full set of cards with the theme, "Tribute to Philately,"
issued in 1997. It is deceptively laden with SOS reproductions, for in
effect, it reproduces two generations of stamps on stamps (SOSOS) by
depicting six stamps which feature stamps on stamps issues from 1968,
consisting of three designs. The first, on UN #714 and UNG #312 is that of a
partially magnified image of a stamp (a third generation of that design)
which shows a mother and child (UN Type A16, also shown full-size in Fig.1 as
UN #29). The second design, on UNG #313 and UNV #228, at first glance looks
more like a miniature aerial photo of a rural landscape than stamps; but on
closer examination, a "sheet" of stamps can be seen. In fact, six
of the stamps have been identified in the SOS master checklist as UN #30
(Type A16 again) and UN #420, UNG #100,114, 128, and UNV #45. The third
design is that of a man examining a pseudo stamp under glass on UN #715 and
UNV #229.
Figure 2
- A full set of cards themed "Tribute to Philately," issued in 1997 The
SOS on the "Tribute to Philately" card lead back to the year of
their release and to UN card #29, "Philately -- The International
Hobby," issued in 1986. Figure 3 shows three of the then-newly issued
stamp designs as UN #473, UNG #147, and UNV #63. Also reproduced on the card
is a previous UN SOS of 1976 showing a magnifying glass over a grid of pseudo
stamps (UN #278) along with its complementary Geneva stamp, a stylized post
horn (UNG #61). Both of these stamps had been issued on the occasion of the
25th anniversary of the United Nations Postal Administration.
Figure 3
- "Philately - The International Hobby," issued in 1986 The
direct connection of SOS images on the cards ends with the "Tribute to
Philately" card. However, the Geneva 1976 post horn design links up with
another card issued in 1974 that honors the centenary of the Universal Postal
Union (Fig. 4). It featured new stamps with a different post horn design
honoring the UPU along with two UN stamps (#17-18), issued in 1953, which
show the back of a transparent envelope in their design. Now, in the spirit
of April Fool, if only the front of the envelope had been shown instead, and
if a dot of color had been put in the upper right-hand corner of it, the
result would have been a Type SY SOS! Well, anyway, souvenir UN cards #29 and
#51 contain almost all of the Type A authentic SOS issues of the United
Nations. If you don’t have the stamps, you can always opt for reproductions
of them in their true colors and sizes on just these two cards. And if you
like Type SYs, you will be happy to find at least a dozen of them dotting
envelopes and parcels on the card in Figure 5!
Figure 4 - Card #5 honoring the centenary of the Universal
Postal Union
Figure 5 - Souvenir card #54 with canceled UN #767a in the upper right hand corner |
