United Nations announces 2024 stamp program

By David Hartwig

The United Nations Postal Administration revealed its 2024 stamp program in its bulletin for collectors, Fascination (issue No. 142).

UNPA chief Thanawat Amnajanan outlined some of the 2024 subjects in a statement at the beginning of the bulletin.

“Looking ahead to 2024,” he said, “UNPA will continue its very popular Flag and Endangered Species stamp issues; promote sport for peace for the Olympic Games in Paris; showcase World Heritage sites in the Republic of Korea; feature modern transportation; educate people about the International Day of Older Persons; and issue the third series of United Nations Crypto stamps and much more.”

The program will begin Jan. 19 with a pane of 10 stamps celebrating the Year of the Dragon. The $1.50 stamps for use at the post office at U.N. headquarters in New York City mark the 14th pane in UNPA’s Chinese Lunar Calendar series.

The UNPA will issue a pane of 10 €1.20 stamps for use at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria, sometime in February. The postal administration calls this issue a Greeting sheet.

March 15 will see a continuation of the U.N. Flag series with an issue of two panes of eight stamps with four designs per pane. Each stamp is denominated $1.50 for use at U.N. headquarters in New York City.

The Flag series originally ran from 1980 to 1989, depicting the flags of all U.N. member states at that time. The series resumed in 1997 to include the flags of new member states, show the flags of countries that had changed their names, show new flags, and show flags with design alterations.

The UNPA last issued stamps in the Flag series in 2020. That set depicts the new flags of Belarus and Mauritania and the redesigned flags of Bahrain, Brazil, Cyprus, Dominica, Mongolia and Paraguay.

On April 25, the UNPA will issue stamps in its Endangered Species series. This long-running series began in 1993. The stamps will be in three panes of 16 with four designs per pane.

The Endangered Species set will include $1.50 stamps for use from the post office at U.N. headquarters, 1.90-franc stamps for the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and €1.50 stamps for the Vienna International Center.

The program will continue May 17 with the Sport for Peace issue in honor of the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The issue will include six panes of eight stamps denominated 66¢, $1.50, 1.20fr, 1.90fr, €0.95 and €1.20. Three souvenir sheets will be denominated $1.50, 2.50fr and €1.90.

The XXXIII Olympic Summer Games will take place in Paris July 26 through Aug. 11, 2024.

A July pane of 10 $1.50 stamps for use at the U.N. headquarters will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, commonly known as the Bretton Woods Conference, held July 1-22, 1944, in Bretton Woods, N.H.

During the conference, delegates from 44 nations agreed on a new system of rules, institutions and procedures to regulate the international monetary system following World War II.

The conference established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The latter is now part of the World Bank.

The UNPA will continue its World Heritage series Aug. 15 by highlighting sites in South Korea with 66¢, $1.50, 1.20fr, 1.90fr, €0.95 and €1.90 stamps in panes of 20, as well as related prestige booklets with text and illustrations.

On Sept. 6, the UNPA will commemorate modern transportation with 66¢, $1.50, 1.20fr, 1.90fr, €0.95 and €1.20 stamps in panes of 20.

The U.N. General Assembly designated Oct. 1 as the International Day of Older Persons in 1990, and in 2024, the UNPA will mark the day with $1.50, 2.50fr and €1.90 stamps in panes of 10 along with a souvenir card.

According to the United Nations, the number of people aged 65 years or older worldwide is projected to grow to 1.6 billion in 2050, more than doubling from 761 million in 2021. In 1980, that number was around 260 million.

“Rapid growth in the number of people reaching older ages underscores the significance of promoting health, preventing, and treating illnesses throughout the entire course of life,” the United Nations said.

A pane of 10 stamps denominated 1.20fr for the post office at the Palais des Nations will commemorate World Post Day Oct. 9 and celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union.

The Oct. 9, 1874, Treaty of Bern established the UPU, which is now a specialized agency of the United Nations. World Post Day has been observed annually on Oct. 9 since 1969.

In November, the UNPA will issue a pane of three stamps denominated $1.50, 2.60fr and €1.90 for the Qatar international stamp show.

“At this stage, we do not have any information pertaining to the Qatar show,” the UNPA told Linn’s in an email, adding that the administration was informed by a sales agent that the show might take place sometime in 2024.

Crypto stamps will return Nov. 24, following the first two issues in 2020 and 2022. This third set will be issued in three souvenir sheets of one stamp each. Crypto refers to cryptocurrency, a form of currency that only exists digitally. The denominations for these sheets are to be determined.

This 2024 program is tentative and subject to change.

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