Sheet Numbering

If you have a copy, take a look at the 25 February 2008 issue of Linn's. On page 26 is an ad from WorldStamps.com - Frank Geiger Philatelist, that uses the UNPI numbering for personalized United Nations sheets! I have purchased UN stamps from Frank in the past and have always been very satisfied. His unique methods of packaging, make it fun to open up the envelope! I am happy to see the numbering system continues to be adopted by both dealers and collectors.

I also have a "head's up" for everyone. On 12 May 2008, the United States will be increasing is domestic and postal rate from 41 cents to 42 cents. Although I don't know the new international rate, we can probably expect that to rise along with the domestic rate. So, on 12 May 2008 we can probably expect new generic sheets from UNPA and the withdrawal of S17 and S18. If you don't have your set yet, be sure to order it soon.

S15 - 50th Anniversay of Japan's Accession to the UN Auction

I was watching eBay item #310024298255, to see how it would do in a no reserve auction. This is one of my "must buy" sheets, because of the very low printing quantity of 2,500 sheets (25,000 stamps), and its listed catalog status. It closed on 24 February 2008 for $63.00 after 5 bidders placed 12 bids. The seller has to pleased with that result. Again, I urge all my readers to obtain this sheet before the price rises again.

S19 - Peaceful Visions

The next United Nations personalized stamp sheet was issued on 1 June 2007, and as of this date, remains on sale at the UNPA website. It is a very strange emission in a lot of ways. First, the U.S. international airmail rate had changed from 84 cents (the value of each stamp on the sheet) to 90 cents in the previous month. So, the stamps in the sheet paid no discernible rate at the time of release.

Next, when the sheet was released, the stamps were to be the same stamps as in the Japan 50th Anniversary sheet. Since there was such an outcry over the Japan anniversary sheet, UNPA probably decided to go ahead and release this sheet, so as to lower the rarity of the stamps in that sheet. Unfortunately, that did not work at all. The Japan 40th Anniversary sheet was printed with offset lithography by Sprintpak Security Print (Australia). The perforations are 14.4 x 14.4 and the stamp size is 30 mm x 30.55 mm. The Peaceful Visions sheet was printed by Lowe-Martin Co., Inc. (Canada) using a 600 dpi digitized 4 color process. The perforations are 13.2 and the stamp size is 30 mm x 30 mm. Needless to say, the stamps in the sheet received their own Scott number (931) and Michel Number (1065).

Finally, the sheet is not personalizable. This is due to the artwork on the tabs by Slavka Kolesar, who also designed the stamp set issued at the same time. So, while the name "personalized stamp sheet" is somewhat of a misnomer, we can just think of the sheet as "personalized only by Slavka Kolesar."

Market Movements

Whenever I receive the latest issue of Linn's, the first thing I do is check to see if it contains an advertisement for United Nations Personalized sheets from Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc. Debbie and Henry Gitner have been staunch supporters of United Nations philately and especially for the personalized sheets. Their full page Linn's ads are a strong indicator of the interest in the UN personalized sheets. They have made numerous discoveries in the field, including the 2005 Microcredit sheet. Also, they have adopted the United Nations Philatelists' UN personalized sheet numbering system, which has also now spread to Germany thanks to Klaus Ghul and his articles in UNOPost.

I save the Gitner ads to compare how the market has changed for the sheets over the preceding month or two. There were no price changes between the 5 November 2007 and the 24 December 2007 advertisements. However, there are a couple of interesting developments in the recent 11 February 2008 ad. First, the S5 2005 Student sheet jumps from $74.95 to $99.95, a rise of about 33%. S6, the generic Greetings for the United Nations sheet, jumps from $149.95 to $199.95, another 33% increase. S8 Riccione moves from $99.95 to $124.95, a 25% increase. All other sheets remained stable between the two ads. Again, I would urge you to purchase the scarcer sheets as soon as possible. There are probably more price increases in the future. You can download all the previous Linn's ads from the Gitner website at http://www.hgitner.com.

S18 - United Nations New York City International Rate

The next United Nations personalized stamp sheet was issued on 14 May 2007 and remains on sale on the UNPA website, probably until the United States international first class mail rate changes (possibly in June 2008). This sheet and S17 were issued simultaneously and are intended to be the main two sheets for tourist and philatelic personalization during a visit to the UN.

This sheet was designed by Robert Stein (who unfortunately for United Nations philately, passed away in July 2007). The ten 90 cent stamps themselves, are similar in design to S16 (Essen 2007), except for the denomination. The stamps are still 30 mm x 30 mm with 13.2 perforations. The Scott number is 939 and the Michel number is 1064.

S21 - World Space Week Catalog Numbers

I just received an email from one of our correspondents that Scott finally released the catalog numbers for the World Space Week personalized stamp sheet back in late January. They are Vienna 404-408. So, if we believe that there are only 6,000 sheets available, once again we have some very rare United Nations stamps. Only 12,000 possible sets might exist. I'm eagerly awaiting the announcements from UNPA (supposedly in this quarter) that will let us know the printing quantities.