U.N. twin pandas event sheets for stamp shows in China, Singapore

By Denise McCarty

Twin pandas are featured on two event souvenir sheets from the United Nations Postal Administration.

The two pandas, Qiqi and Diandian, are the first U.N. Development Programme global animal goodwill ambassadors. The brothers were born in 2015 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.

One souvenir sheet commemorates the China 2019 World Stamp Exhibition taking place June 11-17 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The sheet was issued June 11, the opening day of the exhibition.

The second souvenir sheet, to be issued July 31, honors Singpex 2019, the 36th Asian international stamp exhibition taking place July 31-Aug. 4 in Singapore.

Each souvenir sheet contains three stamps in three different currencies. From left to right, the stamps are denominated $1.15 for use from the post office at U.N. headquarters in New York City; 2 francs for use from the post office at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland; and €1.80 for use from the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria.

The stamp designs are the same in both sheets, with the $1.15 stamp showing Qiqi, the €1.80 stamp picturing Diandian, and the two pandas together on the 2fr stamp.

The selvage area of the sheets differ, however, with different illustrations of pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding shown in the background. The sheets also include the logos of the respective exhibitions, as well as the U.N. emblem.

Rorie Katz of the United Nations designed the stamps and souvenir sheets, and the illustrations in the selvage are by Chinese artist Shenyong Wang.

Cartor Security Printing of France printed the souvenir sheets by offset in the following quantities: 32,000 for the China World Stamp Expo, and 23,000 for Singpex.

For ordering information, visit the website www.unstamps.org; email unpanyinquiries@un.org; telephone 212-963-7684, or 800-234-8672; or write to UNPA, Box 5900, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-5900.

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