1986 United Nations International Year Of Peace

        Costa Rica is a small country, bordered by Nicaragua and Panama, and on either side by the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Small it may be, but it was Costa Rica's initiative that saw the International Year of Peace first proposed in the United Nations General Assembly in 1981. The following year, a proposal to observe the calendar year of 1986 as the official United Nations International Year of Peace was adopted by consensus.

        During 1985 a nationwide design competition was held to obtain designs for the stamp issue.  The winning designs were seen as strongly promoted the message of peace.  They incorporated a diverse group of peace symbols that would be recognised by the widest possible spectrum of the community:  the dove; the 'tree of life', the United Nations Year of Peace logo; and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol.

Two se tenant stamps depicting the dove; the 'tree of life'. The United Nations Year of Peace logo and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol can be seen on each stamp too. 




25c - Dove of Peace.

25c - Tree of Life.


First Day Cover.

Technical information

Date of Issue: 5 March 1986
Designers:Margaret Clarkson, Auckland
Printers: Waddington Security Print, England
Stamp Size: 42mm x 28mm
Sheet Size: 100 stamps per sheet
Process: Lithography
Perforation Gauge:      13 x 12.5
Paper Type: Unwatermarked



Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ
You can visit their website and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/

Information for this post came from.