Zambia Philately: 1971 Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961)

Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in September 1961.

Hammarskjöld’s tenure was characterized by efforts to strengthen the newly formed UN both internally and externally. He led initiatives to improve morale and organisational efficiency while seeking to make the UN more responsive to global issues. He presided over the creation of the first UN peacekeeping forces in Egypt and the Congo and personally intervened to defuse or resolve diplomatic crises.

Details
  • Date of Issue: 18 September 1971*
  • Date Withdrawn: 18 December 1971
  • Date Invalidated:
  • Designer: John Waddington of Kirkstall Ltd, Leeds, England
  • Printer: The House of Questa
  • Process: Lithography
  • Paper: 
  • Watermark: None
  • Perf: 13.5 x 14 (comb)
  • Cylinders: Printed in panes of four and separated by vertical and horizontal gutters. Divided into two panes through vertical gutter for distribution.
    • 1A 1A 1A 1A : 1B 1B 1B 1B [upper left : lower left]
    • 1C 1C 1C 1C : 1D 1D 1D 1D [bottom left : bottom right]
  • Sheet: R5 x 5 (25 stamps)
  • Quantity: (sold)
    • 257,898 (4n)
    • 277,898 (10n)
    • 167,898 (15n)
    • 73,898 (25n)

Orders placed in advance with the Stamp Bureau, Ndola, were dispatched on the day prior to the official date of issue. As the stamps from this release were used to frank the envelopes in which the orders were sent, examples exist of all values franked 17 September 1971.

Subjects
First Day Cover (Official)
References
  • Wikipedia: Dag Hammarskjöld
  • Zambia’s Postage Stamps: The Post-Federation Stamp Issues of Northern Rhodesia (1963-1971 – A. R. Drysdall, J. Case