Congo postage stamp year 1961 Nobel Prize MSS MNH set
In 1961, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Congo-Kinshasa) issued a well-known Miniature Sheet (MS) or Souvenir Sheet to commemorate the Nobel Peace Prize and its 1961 recipient, Dag Hammarskjöld.
This issue is particularly historic because Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, died in a plane crash in 1961 while on a peace mission to the Congo. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously that same year.
Miniature Sheet Details
- Commemoration: Nobel Peace Prize 1961 (Posthumous award to Dag Hammarskjöld).
- Catalog Numbers: * Scott: #413 (or #413a for the sheetlet)
- Michel: Bl. 7 (Block 7)
- Design: The sheet typically features a portrait of Dag Hammarskjöld alongside a map of the Congo or United Nations emblems. The stamps within the sheet often have a face value in Congolese Francs (e.g., 50f or a set of multiple values).
- Significance: This was one of the first major commemorative sheets issued by the newly independent Republic of the Congo, honoring the man who sacrificed his life trying to mediate the “Congo Crisis.”
Other 1961 Congo Sheets
Collectors sometimes confuse the Nobel issue with another sheet from the same year:
- 1st Anniversary of Independence (1961): A sheet featuring Joseph Kasa-Vubu (President) and Patrice Lumumba (Prime Minister).
- South Kasai (State of South Kasai): If your stamp says “Sud-Kasai,” it is a separate regional issue from the secessionist state led by Albert Kalonji, which also produced several ornate miniature sheets in 1961.
