Most major stamp collecting shows in the U.S. in March, if not all, have been postponed or canceled. Many events in April and even May have already been affected.
The international show in Britain this year, London 2020, has been postponed to 2022.
The American Philatelic Society headquarters and the American Philatelic Research Library in Bellefonte, Pa., have been ordered closed, as part of Pennsylvania’s shutdown measures.
U.S. first-day (launch) ceremonies for new issues have been postponed or canceled, although the stamps are still being released and put on sale on schedule.
If you know of other schedule changes, please post them here as “comments.”
Meanwhile, there are many online philatelic activities. The Virtual Stamp Club‘s Facebook group has seen a surge recently in new-member requests. Give a visit for a more unstructured discussion.
Added April 1st: NAPEX 2020, scheduled for June 5-7, has been canceled, because Virginia has banned all public gatherings through June 10th.
Also canceled PIPEX (Pacific Northwest) May 8-10, Plymouth (Michigan) April 25-26, ROPEX (New York State) May 15-16, Rocky Mountain May 22-24, Westpex (California) April 24-26, Wiscopex May 2-3, Gulfpex April 17-18.
Postponed: Philatelic Show (Massachusetts) May 1-3 postponed to July 24-26, St. Louis Stamp Expo May 27-29 to August 14-16.
The APS is maintaining a comprehensive list on its website here.
Added March 27th: Gulfpex 2020, scheduled for April 17-18, has been canceled. It may be rescheduled in October. (Thanks to VSC member Lefty Dundee.)
Added March 23rd:
The U.S. Postal Service has canceled three first-day ceremonies for four stamps:
- Contemporary Boutonniere and Garden Corsage (April 2, Crestwood, KY)
- Earth Day (April 18, Denver, CO)
- American Gardens (May 13, Winterthur, DE)
The stamps will still be issued (put on sale) on the first-day dates, listed above.
“Typically, Postal Service stamp events attract 200 or more attendees,” the USPS said in a press releae. “The Postal Service will try to reschedule the dedications at a later date.”
•
The American Philatelic Society is holding twice-daily live chats: 
•
Canada Post is making changes: “We will reduce hours of service, opening one hour later and closing one hour earlier to clean, restock and provide some relief to employees,” it said in a full press release, which you can find here.
Although I am not happy with the slowdown. I am delighted that the VSC Facebook page is getting more traffic
I typically spent the bulk of my philatelic budget at The St. Louis Stamp Expo, held in late spring. Of course like almost all shows, it was postponed and the August date just won’t work for me. so I decided to branch out a little in my spending habits. I have purchased from 2 online auctions, a facebook “dealer”, Hipstamp, The Stampnut, the USPS fullfillment service, the APS Stamp Store (before their closure), and even wound up trading a few duplicates to complete a White Ace American Revolution Bicentennial album. I have started an online course with the APS and watched a few APS Stamp chats. I was fortunate enough to strike up a conversation about Farley’s Follies with an experienced specialized collector and he shared some amazing material I had never seen. I even found this wonderful site when I searched for the Arnold Palmer Scott catalog number. I do miss spending hours at a show, but it has opened up a lot of wonderful avenues to enjoy stamps.