United Nations Postal Administration

The idea for the United Nations to issue stamps was first proposed in 1947 by the delegation of Argentina. The head of the delegation, José Arce, who was also President of the United Nations General Assembly, was himself a philatelist and wanted the United Nations to start issue stamps. 

Finally, on 16 November 1950, the General Assembly formally created the Postal Administration.

An agreement was signed on 28 March 1951 between the United Nations and the United States Post Office Department which stipulated that the United Nations could start issuing postage stamps.

The Postal Service was formally inaugurated on United Nations Day in 1951, with its first set of stamps also going on sale that day.

Similar agreements were reached with the Swiss authorities in 1968 and with the Austrian authorities in 1979. Today the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) is the only postal authority that issues stamps in three different currencies: U.S. dollars, Swiss francs and euros (formerly schillings). The stamps may be used for postage when used on mail sent from the United Nations offices in New York, Geneva or Vienna.

The United Nations issues both definitive and commemorative stamps. Usually six new commemorative issues are simultaneously released each year in New York, Geneva and Vienna and remain on sale for 12 months. At the end of that period, any unsold commemorative stamps are destroyed, and those stamps that are sold out are never reprinted. Definitive stamps, however, have an indefinite sale period and can be reprinted in the denominations required for general postal needs.

The stamps are designed to illustrate the aims and achievements of the United Nations and its family of organizations. Thus, the themes depicted on United Nations stamps are unusual in that they cover a range of global issues and problems. That, together with the bank-note quality of the printing and security procedures, makes United Nations stamps extremely popular among philatelists worldwide.