UNPA commemorates UNESCO World Heritage sites in Mexico

By David Hartwig

The United Nations Postal Administration highlights UNESCO World Heritage sites in Mexico on six stamps in a Nov. 21 issue.

Two stamps and one prestige booklet will be issued for each of the three U.N. post offices. The prestige booklets contain stamps in addition to text and illustrations.

The United Nations Postal Administration will host a first-day ceremony for the World Heritage stamps Friday, Nov. 21, at 12:00 p.m., during the Chicagopex show taking place Nov. 21-23 in Itasca, Ill.

The stamps are part of the UNPA World Heritage series that features sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The series began in 1997.

With its World Heritage list, UNESCO says it “seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.”

The six stamps commemorate the historic center of Mexico City, the pre-Hispanic city and national park of Palenque, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, the pre-Hispanic city of El Tajin, Hospicio Cabanas in Guadalajara, and the historic town of Guanajuato. These sites make up six of Mexico’s 36 properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. …

Rorie Katz of the United Nations designed the stamps using photographs of the sites from Adobe Stock. Issued in panes of 20, the stamps measure 50 millimeters by 35mm each and are perforated gauge 14.5 by 14.25.

Royal Joh Enshede of the Netherlands printed the stamps by offset lithography in the following quantities: 4,500 panes of the 78¢ and $1.70, and 3,500 panes of each of the remaining four denominations. The prestige booklets were printed in quantities of 3,750 for the New York booklet, 4,000 for the Geneva booklet and 4,750 for the Vienna booklet.

A special cachet for the Mexico World Heritage stamps will be available at Chicagopex.

Those interested in obtaining the show cachet can also send self-addressed envelopes affixed with stamps issued for use from the U.N. headquarters in New York City to United Nations Show Cachet CHICAGOPEX’25, ℅ Malli Hui, United Nations Postal Administration, P.O. Box 5900, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-5900.

Requests for show cachets should be postmarked before the start of the show.

For ordering information for the Mexico World Heritage stamps and related products, 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.

To read the full story about the new UNESCO World Heritage stamps, subscribe to Linn’s Stamp News.

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