Sunday, October 11, 2015

United Nations Postal Administration




Until recently I had no idea that the United Nations issued its own stamps. They come in three varieties: US dollars for New York, Swiss Francs for Geneva, and Euros for Vienna.

 You can only use the stamps to mail letters at the UN. I was in New York earlier in the year and even though I have been there quite a few times I've never visited the UN. This time it was on my agenda, so I ordered some stamps ahead of time so as to avoid disappointment. After the transaction finalized, the message was to expect delivery in up to 4 weeks! I am used to the USPS order system which usually takes a week to 10 days

 Well, the stamps didn't take quite that long to arrive (surprise 1), and they were beautifully packaged and even had a perfectly grouped and cancelled set of stamps (surprise 2).


I chose the World Poetry Day stamps. English on the domestic rate, Spanish on the international rate. I have had a stack of New York postcards for a long time, and decided it was time to release them into the wild.



The UN has 6 official languages, and each of the sheets features a poem written in each one: English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian and Arabic.  The only other language to feature on the stamps is German (on the ones issued in Vienna).

The Spanish poem translates as 'I have a white rose to tend' and the stamps are my selection for today's Sunday Stamps theme of flowers, although I think my favorite of the set is the Arabic with its amazing underwater scene. The English set does mention the word 'flower' in Wordsworth's poetry.

 Interestingly, tomorrow is UN Spanish Language day.







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10 comments:

  1. Mail AdventuresOctober 11, 2015 at 3:39 PM

    Now that I see all these stamps I regret even more that the letter was lost :(
    I love this mix of languages, and the designs are superb.

    I wonder why they chose such an ancient poem in Arabic. Do you know the meaning of the Arabic words? Just in case... It says (more or less): "You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”

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    Replies
    1. FinnBadgerOctober 11, 2015 at 5:04 PM

      Thanks for sharing that meaning. The Chinese poem is even older.

      Yes, very sad that the letter I sent you from the UN went missing, even with a return address.

      Delete
  2. big mamabirdOctober 11, 2015 at 8:28 PM

    I remember receiving that card, it is nice to see the full sheets, very beautiful!

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  3. Bob ScotneyOctober 12, 2015 at 8:57 AM

    I shall have to pay more attention to the UN envelopes available in our local flea market if there are treasures like these to find.

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    Replies
    1. FinnBadgerOctober 12, 2015 at 5:39 PM

      I think there are some sets of stamps that are particularly nice, and some other less attractive ones.

      Delete
  4. JoyOctober 13, 2015 at 5:45 PM

    I do love it when postal authorities use real stamps on their packages. A nice theme for stamps, the Rumi mini sheet is beautiful.

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    Replies
    1. FinnBadgerOctober 14, 2015 at 5:43 PM

      Yes, that was a nice surprise to see the care taken with sending the package.

      Delete
  5. VioletSkyOctober 18, 2015 at 6:29 PM

    I've seen some UN stamps, but none have been quite as nice as these.

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    Replies
    1. FinnBadgerOctober 20, 2015 at 10:37 AM

      I thought these were the nicest ones available at the time.

      Delete