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1. I was told, You can only buy them from the NY UN so they are hard to get. (however looks like some were mailed in mint packets like the post office does) and from the sound of it they are not often collected.
You can subscribe to new issues directly from UNPA. They issue year sets -- like the 1972 year set in your picture.
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2. Why are they not often collected? what dont I know about this area of stamps that makes them undesirable?
They were widely collected. But a lot of collectors (like myself) dropped out in the 1980s. UNPA used to have a strict rule about only 6 commemorative sets per year. But they quit observing that rule in the 1980s. Then they started the flag series, which was initially very popular, but started to get expensive. Many UN collectors liked the early limited number of issues, because it was easier to budget. Once UNPA began ignoring the rules, then the stamp budgeting became rather meaningless. Adding Vienna issues in 1980s in addition to Geneva issues really blew a hole in the collector's budget.
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3. are they collected as singles?, Blocks?, or Sheets? as I have never seen a Scotts UN specialty book I wonder how it is laid out.
4. 90% of what I have are mint sheets and I'm afraid to break them up until I know for sure how I'll collect them.
They are collected as singles, setenant pairs/blocks, and margin/inscription blocks of 4. In the old days, we collected the margin/inscription blocks in a size of 6. But now just about everybody collects them in blocks of 4.
Some items you should keep as full panes even if the stamps are not all-different. For example, the forest issue #522-523 -- NEVER tear that pane apart, as there is a major premium for the intact panes. Many collectors also like to keep the flag issues intact, although there is not necessarily a premium.
Enjoy your collection. It looks pretty nice already!
Posted 12/08/2010 12:59 am
