Collector’s Corner: The Universal Postal Union and omnibus stamps
By Medicine Hat News on February 25, 2019.
To the stamp collector an omnibus issue is an issue of stamps by several countries with a common subject and which may share a uniform design. Omnibuses have been particularly associated with stamps from the former British Empire, now the British Commonwealth, due to the large number of countries participating. Initially designs were identical for each colony with only the denominations, colours and country names varying. This year is the 145th anniversary of two memorable events resulting in omnibus issues. The first is the formation of the Universal Postal Union and the second is the birth of one of history’s greatest statesmen. The UPU is the subject of this month’s column while our mystery man will be covered in a forthcoming edition. When you send a letter to another country I am sure that most people never give a second thought to anything but the amount of postage required. Prior to the establishment of the UPU, each country had to prepare a separate postal treaty with other nations if it wished to carry international mail to or from them. In some cases, senders would have to calculate postage for each leg of a journey and find mail forwarders in a third country if there was no direct delivery. To remove this complexity the General Postal Union was formed by the Treaty of Bern in 1874 with its headquarters still located in Bern, Switzerland. Four years later the name was changed to the Universal Postal Union. It is currently the world’s second oldest commercial organization. One of the most important results of the UPU Treaty was that it was no longer necessary to affix the stamps of any country through which one’s letter or parcel would travel in transit. The UPU provides that stamps of member nations are accepted for the entire international route. The UPU anniversary issue of 1974 put out by members of the British Commonwealth is a favourite of collectors. It is comprised of 319 stamps from 79 countries. Sixty-six of the countries utilized the common design pictured in the accompanying photo and 13 countries chose their own design. Omnibus collections can be very challenging and may take years to complete. They are just one more facet of a very diverse hobby. To find out more about stamp and coin collecting, plan to attend this spring’s Coin and Stamp show in Higdon Hall at the Medicine Hat Stampede grounds on April 6, sponsored by the Medicine Hat Coin and Stamp Club. Collector’s Corner is contributed by the Medicine Hat Coin & stamp Club. For questions or comments about coin or stamp collections email medhatcsc@live.com 11-10
