In January of 1956, Lebanon issued a set of stamps and a souvenir sheet commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the United Nations (Scott #C221-22, C222Note). Only 15,000 sets and 4,000 souvenir sheets were issued. Scott '10 values them unused at $ 11.75 and $ 90.00, respectively. Both are attractive, and it is unclear which represents the better bargain, because it is likely that a far greater proportion of the sets were used as postage and discarded than were the souvenir sheets.
Stamps of Lebanon are popular among collectors of the Mideast and French Colonies. Furthermore, as a UN Topical, this issue has worldwide appeal, which should increase as the UN gradually gains credibility as an effective institution for dealing with global problems.
Lebanon, a nation of 4.2 million people, has had negligible GDP growth over the last 5 years due to Hezbollah's war with Israel, Syrian domination, and internal strife. Nevertheless, I am confident that it will eventually return to prosperity as the various factions within the region learn how to get along, and Beirut returns to its former preeminence as the "Paris of the Middle East."
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