Canada United States Plans Provinces Blog About

Universal Postal Union, 1874-1974

Stamp Info

Name Value
Date of Issue October 9, 1974
Year 1974
Quantity 27,500,000
Denomination
Perforation or Dimension 12 x 12.5
Printer British American Bank Note Company.
Postal Administration Canada

Buy on ebay

Sorry, our call to ebay returned no results. Click on the button below to search ebay directly.
More Results
PSG earns commission on these links.

Stamp Price Values

Condition Name Avg Value
M-NH-VF
Mint - Never Hinged - Very Fine Only available to paid users
U-VF
Used - Very Fine Only available to paid users
* Notes about these prices:
  • They are not based on catalogue values but on current dealer and auction listings. The reason for this is that catalogues tend to over-value stamps.
  • They are average prices. The actual value of your stamp may be slightly above or below the listed value, depending on the overall condition of your stamp. Use these prices as a guide to determine the approximate value of your stamps.

Stamp Supplies on Amazon

Layouts

Pane of 50 Stamps

Quantity Produced - Unknown
No Images Exist for this Layout.
Add to List

Official First Day Cover - 2 Stamps

Quantity Produced - Unknown
No Images Exist for this Layout.
Add to List

Official First Day Cover - Plate Block

Quantity Produced - Unknown
No Images Exist for this Layout.
Add to List

About Stamp

The world postal service is part of the daily life of people everywhere. Its proper running is essential to the life of the international community. Although not widely known to the public at large, the Universal Postal Union, the co-ordinating body for the world's postal administrations, is one of the oldest intergovernmental organizations in existence. The Universal Postal Union was founded in Berne, Switzerland, in 1874 as a result of the desire to overcome the great expenses and technical difficulties which hindered the exchange of mails between the countries of the world. At that time, international postal communication was based solely on bilateral agreements between countries, postage rates differed from one country to the next and revenue was apportioned between the originating country, the country of destination and any country through which the mail passed. At the conference in Berne, representatives from twenty-two states attended, quickly reached an agreement and on 9 October 1874 a "Treaty concerning the Establishment of a General Postal Union", commonly known as the "Berne Treaty", was signed. This was the forerunner of a multilateral convention governing the international postal service which came into force l July 1875. In 1878, the General Postal Union became the Universal Postal Union (UPU). That same year, Canada became a member of the UPU. Today there are 150 member countries. The aim of the Universal Postal Union is to secure the organization and improvement of the postal service and to promote in this sphere the development of international collaboration. With the formation of the UPU, the member countries were considered to comprise "a single postal territory for the mutual exchange of letter mail". Herein lies the principle of freedom of transit-the obligation of postal administrations to allow postal items to pass through their countries unimpeded an route from one member state to another. The Acts of the Universal Postal Union contain compulsory provisions for all member countries concerning the organization of the Union and the handling of international letter mail based on unity of the postal territory, freedom of transit and standard postage rates with common scales of weight and charges. Regulations exist which govern the despatch of registered mail, air mail and perishable or fragile items. Optional agreements govern certain specialized aspects of the international postal service such as money orders, insured items, parcels, C.O.D. items and subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals. The UPU constantly reviews the acts of the Union based on proposals put forth by member states or the Executive Council. Every five years, Congress, the "parliament" of the UPU, convenes where the member countries study the proposals and revise the acts to adapt them to new developments in the economic, operational or technical fields. Throughout its existence, the Union has wholly devoted itself to the task assigned by its founders and has also managed to maintain the youth and vigour required to adjust itself to ever changing world conditions. By pursuing its efforts to intensify international collaboration, it is contributing to bringing men and nations closer together. This year, 1974, the Universal Postal Union celebrates its centennial and to mark this occasion two stamps will be issued by the Canada Post Office on UPU Centenary Day, 9 October. The stamps, designed by George Gundersen, feature the official emblem of the UPU and an engraving of the messenger god Mercury with two winged horses. The official emblem of the Universal Postal Union is a stylized version of a bronze monument in Berne, created by the sculptor René Charles de Saint Marceaux, for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the UPU. The sculpture shows the globe encircled by five figures representing the races of man, relaying letters to one another. The Indian represents the Americas, the comely Caucasian is Europe, then come the Malayan, the Asian and African, all combining to put a postal girdle around the earth.

Creators

Designed and engraved by George Arthur Gundersen.

Similar Stamps

Reference

Canada. Post Office Department. [Postage Stamp Press Release], 1974.

Improve Stamp Information

Did you notice an error in this stamp's information?
Do you have any interesting information about this stamp that you would like to share?
Please click here to send us an email with the details.