S18 - Generic International and Pope Benedict

Recently, Marlen Stamp and Coins, Ltd. began offering a Pope Benedict sheet commemorating his visit to the United States on 15-18 April 2008. On 18 April 2008, Pope Benedict delivered a public address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Pope Benedict noted that, if rights are to be more than legal fictions, they must have their foundation in justice and religion.

The Marlen United Nations personalized stamp sheet is a commemoration of that event. The personalization was done by UNPA at Marlen's request, much like you or I could do if we wanted to send UNPA a scan of Pope Benedict and pay $14.95 per sheet. Marlen is currently selling these souvenir sheets for $74.95 per sheet. They are similar to the two Elvis sheets in that they commemorate a specific person or event, and they are printed by UNPA

I try not to make judgments in this Blog on what individuals should or should not collect. I leave that choice up to everyone, and if you collect this type of material, that is fine. I only try to present the facts despite the promotion that Marlen has written on their website:

"UNITED NATIONS POPE BENEDICT SURPRISE SHEET MINT NH THIS SHEET WILL NOT BE SOLD TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC---THROUGH THE UNPA. THIS IS AN OFFICIAL ISSUE OF THE UNITED NATIONS. THIS SHEET WAS ISSUED SPECIFICALLY TO MAKE COMMEMORATIVE COVERS FOR HISTORIC SPEECH BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS ON FRIDAY. WE HAVE ASCERTAINED THAT JUST ABOUT THE ENTIRE PRINT RUN HAS BEEN UTILIZED FOR COVER GENERATION. IF YOU WANT A PIECE OF PAPAL HISTORY THIS SHEET IS FOR YOU. WE ONLY HAVE A FEW SHEETS AVAILABLE."

Nothing said here is untrue. The sheet will not be sold to the general public by UNPA. Marlen owns the sheets and can sell them either intact or broken up to make commemorative covers. However, this sheet will never be listed in any United Nations specialized catalog.