OSIRIS-REx (U.S. 2023)

Posted on March 18, 2023 by VSC

Announced by the USPS on March 14^th. No issue date was given. (See May 31 entry.)

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
OSIRIS-REx Stamp Announced

The Postal Service has announced an additional stamp to its 2023 stamp program honoring NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to deliver asteroid samples to Earth. OSIRIS-REx — a collaboration between NASA, the University of Arizona, and Lockheed Martin — exemplifies American ingenuity, perseverance, and teamwork. Details of the issue date and location are forthcoming.

With this new stamp, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates NASA’s seven-year OSIRIS-REx mission to study and map the asteroid Bennu and deliver a sample of the surface to Earth in September 2023. The sample will help scientists learn how the solar system formed.

OSIRIS-REx is an acronym for the mission’s goals: Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer. More simply, “Origins” refers to the study of the pristine carbon-rich material the spacecraft collected. “Spectral Interpretation” means measuring the composition of the asteroid. “Resource Identification” is assessing potential fuel, oxygen, water, and minerals on the asteroid. “Security” relates to scientists’ calculating the odds that Bennu might collide with Earth. The final part of the mission’s name, REx, is short for “Regolith Explorer,” and it refers to studying the regolith—or layer of loose material on the asteroid’s surface.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which is the size of a large passenger van, left Earth aboard a rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on September 8, 2016. Once released from the rocket, it orbited the Sun for a year until it passed by Earth again. At that point, our planet’s gravity helped propel the spacecraft toward Bennu, which also orbits the Sun but at a different angle than Earth. Our planet and the asteroid come closest to each other every six years. After OSIRIS-REx arrived in the asteroid’s orbit, in December 2018, it got to work. With its special cameras and spectrometers, it began photographing and mapping Bennu’s surface to determine the best site from which to collect samples. [Below left] Scientists were surprised to learn, from the photographs the spacecraft sent back, that the asteroid’s surface was much different from what they had expected. Instead of being relatively smooth, it was rocky and cratered, so finding a sample-collection site posed challenges. Eventually they chose a site about the size of a tennis court, located in a crater.

OSIRIS-REx stowing samples. (Courtesy NASA)

collection device, which then closed and retracted into the spacecraft. Even though this seems like a miniscule amount considering the effort involved, it’s the largest sample ever collected from an asteroid, and the first asteroid sample by the United States.

On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx began its flight back toward Earth. Its container of asteroid dust and rocks, enclosed in a special capsule, is expected to parachute down to the Utah desert on Sept. 24, 2023.

The OSIRIS-REx pane of 20 stamps will be issued as Forever stamps. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1 ounce price. News of the OSIRIS-REx stamp is being shared with the hashtag #OsirisRexStamp.

The latest information will be posted below the line, the most-recent at the top.

Updated November 7:
The Scott catalogue number for this issues is 5820.

Updated September 8:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.57″ x 1.20″The Pictorial Postmark measures 2.75″ x 1.24″

Updated August 19:
[ceremony details] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
U.S. Postal Service to Issue OSIRIS-REx Stamp

What: The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and the samples of the asteroid Bennu that it will deliver to Earth in September 2023.

The first-day-of-issue event for this Forever stamp is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #OSIRISRExStamp.

Who: Robert Raines, Business Solutions vice president, U.S. Postal Service

Lori Glaze, Planetary Science Division director, NASA

Michael Puzio, Engineering student who named the asteroid Bennu in 2013 at age 8.

When: Friday, Sept. 22, at 11 a.m. MDT

Where:
Clark Planetarium
110 S 400 W
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

RSVP: Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at usps.com/osirisrex

Background: This new 20-stamp pane from the U.S. Postal Service celebrates NASA’s seven-year OSIRIS-REx mission to study and map the asteroid Bennu and return a sample of the surface to Earth in September 2023. This is the first pristine sample of an asteroid collected by the United States, and it will help scientists learn how our solar system formed.

The stamp artwork shows the capsule containing the sample parachuting to the Utah Test and Training Range, a U.S. Department of Defense facility in the desert. A depiction of Bennu’s surface appears at the bottom of the pane’s selvage with outer space above — deep blue and dappled with celestial bodies. A view of the asteroid is in the upper right corner.

OSIRIS-REx left Earth aboard a rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, FL, on Sept. 8, 2016, then orbited the sun for a year before passing close to Earth for a gravity assist. The spacecraft arrived in the asteroid’s vicinity in December 2018 and got to work. With its special cameras and spectrometers, it began photographing and mapping Bennu’s surface to determine the best site from which to collect samples.

The time for the rendezvous arrived in October 2020. To carry out its task, the spacecraft did not actually land on the asteroid but instead slowly descended toward the surface and extended a robotic arm. A collection device at the hand-end of the arm then released a sudden puff of nitrogen gas that sent up a cloud of dust and rocks from Bennu’s surface. More than 2 ounces of these materials were captured in a special container in the collection device, which then closed and retracted into the spacecraft. On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx began its flight back toward Earth. Its container of asteroid dust and rocks, enclosed in a special capsule, will parachute to the Utah desert on Sept. 24, 2023.

Alan Dingman illustrated the stamp and pane, basing his work on images supplied by NASA. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp and pane.

The OSIRIS-REx stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp, which will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate.

From the Postal Bulletin:

On September 22, 2023, in Salt Lake City, UT, the United States Postal Service® will issue the OSIRIS-REx stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 484200). This stamp will go on sale nationwide September 22, 2023, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

This new stamp celebrates NASA’s 7-year OSIRIS-REx mission to study and map the asteroid Bennu and return a sample of its surface to Earth in September 2023. The sample will help scientists learn how our solar system formed. The stamp artwork shows the capsule containing the sample parachuting to the Utah Test and Training Range in the desert. A depiction of Bennu’s surface appears at the bottom of the pane’s selvage with outer space above. A view of the asteroid is in the upper-right corner.

Along the left side of the pane are four images that illustrate crucial milestones in OSIRIS-REx’s mission. On the reverse side of the pane is text courtesy of NASA that describes the OSIRIS-REx mission and explains each image. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp and pane with illustrations by Alan Dingman, who based his work on images supplied by NASA.

No automatic distribution.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at store.usps.com/store/home. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – OSIRIS-REx Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by January 22, 2024.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: OSIRIS-REx Stamp
Item Number: 484200
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: September 22, 2023, Salt Lake City, UT 84199
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Artist: Alan Dingman
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 18,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tagged
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Pantone Warm Grey 2
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.84 x 1.42 in / 21.336 x 36.068 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 0.98 x 1.56 in / 24.892 x 39.624 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.50 x 8.50 in / 109.50 x 215.90 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 23.00 x 26.00 in / 584.20 x 660.40 mm
Plate Size: 180 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by five (5) single digits in two corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: “OSIRIS-REx” • Mission to Asteroid Bennu and Return to Earth • Plate number in bottom 2 corners
Back: ©2023 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (484200) • Plate position diagram (9) • Promotional text • Verso text

Updated May 31:
This stamp will be issued Friday, September 22nd, in Salt Lake City.

Typically Dutch: Flower Fields

Posted on March 12, 2023 by VSC

[from PostNL’s press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Typically Dutch – Flower Fields

Date of issue: 20 March 2023
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in six identical designs
Item number: 430361
Design: Adam Lane and Edwin van Praet, Total Design, Amsterdam

On 20 March 2023, PostNL will publish the Typically Dutch – Flower Fields stamp sheet. This issue is the third in the Typically Dutch series this year. The multi-annual series started in 2020 and, in 2023, will be dedicated to a variety of sights and attractions that are significant for and typical of the Netherlands. The six identical postage stamps will be marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands. A sheet of ten stamps costs €6.06. The Typically Dutch – Flower Fields issue was designed by senior graphic designer Adam Lane and creative director Edwin van Praet from Total Design in Amsterdam. As part of this stamp series, stamps featuring museums (2 January) and mills (13 February) were published earlier this year. Stamps featuring cheese markets (15 May) and the wadden mud flats (14 August) will follow later this year.

The first flower fields were created between Leiden and Haarlem on geest lands at around 1850. Geest land soil consists of sand mixed with clay or peat, a type of soil that proved very suitable for growing flower bulbs. Such bulb fields can also be found elsewhere in the Netherlands, including in northern Noord-Holland, near Venlo, on Texel, in north-western Friesland, in the Noordoost Polder and on the Zeeland and Zuid-Holland islands. The flowering of the fields annually attracts around 2 million tourists. After the crocuses in February, tulips, daffodils and hyacinths bloom from March to May. In late summer, gladioli, dahlias, carnations and asters take over for the next colourful period.

Flowers may be lovely, but really, cultivation is all about the bulbs themselves multiplying underground.

The floriculture of flowers and plants is an important economic sector in our country, with an export value of €7.3 billion in 2021. The Netherlands also plays an important role in the trade of flowers grown elsewhere. 52 percent of the world trade in cut flowers, both home grown and imported from other countries, passes through Dutch hands. The FloraHolland cooperation is the world’s largest flower auction, handling over 90 per cent of Dutch trade. The history of Dutch flower culture dates back to the 16th century, when the tulip first arrived in the Netherlands. The famous flower originated in the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey) and was first planted by Carolus Clusius in the hortus botanicus in Leiden. Its name, tulip, also comes from the East. Ottoman sultans wore the flower on their turban – dūlbend in Persian – which is what the word tulip is derived from, meaning white tulip.

Design: The Typically Dutch – Flower Fields stamp sheet features colourful illustrations of stylised tulips. Each stamp features three tulips side by side. The stem and leaves of the tulip on the left and right continue on the stamp below. The iconic shapes of the tulips are grouped in a tight pattern across the stamps. The pattern is interrupted on the sheet edge. The background of the stamp sheet and stamps is a soft shade of green. The other colours match the background: purple, yellow and pink for the tulips’ flowers, dark green for the stem and leaves. Along the bottom of each stamp runs a white strip containing the sorting hook, the year 2023, the country (Nederland) and the denomination (1). The logo for the Typically Dutch series is printed above each stamp, with a folded Dutch banner on the left and right. The Typically Dutch logo appears once more on the top edge of the sheet, while the right edge features a short explanatory text. The title of this issue on flower fields in the Netherlands is printed in dark green on the sheet border between the large pictorial logo at the top of the stamp sheet and the stamps.

The choice of the tulip as the flower on the stamps of Typically Dutch – Flower Fields was pretty obvious, stamp designer Edwin van Praet believes. ‘It is a typically Dutch flower. In fact, you won’t find a flower that’s more Dutch than the tulip. Moreover, it is pretty easy to turn the tulip into an iconic shape. Tulips are at their most beautiful when you see them outside together. I often travel along the geest lands by rail, from The Hague to Amsterdam and back. In spring, you can admire the flower fields with their gorgeous colours through the train window. You really get the best views from the train.’

The other stamp designer, Adam Lane, has also got to know the Dutch flower fields. ‘I cycled there once, from Amsterdam to Lisse. In England, where I come from, flowers are a lot less important than they are here. And when you see flowers in England, they usually come from the Netherlands. For the design of the flower field stamps, I used the simplest geometric tulip shape. It is the art of leaving things out – the balance between slightly too much and too little detail. When you put multiple tulip shapes in a pattern, they become easily recognisable. It also helps that the colours remind you of a bouquet. Or rather, of a field full of flowers.’

The Typically Dutch – tulips stamps are available while stocks last at the post office counter in Bruna shops and through the webshop. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Technical Details:

Stamp size: 40 x 30mm:
Sheet size: 122 x 170mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Print run: 75,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 6 stamps in 6 identical designs
Design: Adam Lane and Edwin van Praet, Total Design, Amsterdam
Printer: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé-La Loupe, France
Item number: 430361

China Society Backs Boston 2026 Show

Posted on March 10, 2023 by VSC

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
China Stamp Society Joins Boston 2026

Boston 2026 World Expo is pleased to announce that another major society will be participating in the international exposition.

The China Stamp Society plans on holding its annual convention and additional seminars for those interested in philately of the region according to H. James Maxwell, show liaison and editor of the group’s award winning bi-monthly publication, “The China Clipper.”

Formed in 1936 the CSS is the world’s largest English-speaking philatelic society specializing in China and related regions, including Hong Kong, Macau, Manchukuo, Tibet, Shanghai and the Treaty Ports, Foreign Offices in China and the Japanese Occupation of China. It is the oldest affiliate of the American Philatelic Society. Their web site is at chinastampsociety.org.

President of Boston 2026 Yamil Kouri and Executive Director Mark Butterline both welcomed the news. “We are happy organizations continue to choose our exhibition as their society’s destination of choice for meetings and conventions. An additional thanks to those, including the CSS, that are able to financially support us as well,” said Kouri.

Philatelic groups from around the world are encouraged to contact Mark Schwartz, Boston 2026 Society Chair, as soon as possible by email at Mark.Schwartz@Boston2026.org to make their show interests known, whether it be for a society table or meeting space.

Boston 2026 World Expo takes place May 23-30, 2026, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Full show details may be found at boston2026.org and on Twitter and Facebook.

Current U.S. Postal Rates (as of July 2023)

Posted on March 7, 2023 by VSC

These are the current basic rates, as of July 9, 2023:

Product
Letters (1 oz.)
Additional ounces
Letters (metered 1 oz.)
Domestic Postcards
International Postcards
International Letter (1 oz.)
Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope
Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope
Large Envelopes (flats) (1 oz.)
Ground Advantage, starts at

Prices
66¢
24¢
63¢
51¢
$1.50
$1.50
$28.75
$9.65
$1.35
$4.75

Scott Catalogue U.S. Update (March 2023)

Posted on March 7, 2023 by VSC

5745 (60¢) Love – Kitten and Heart
a. Imperforate
5746 (60¢) Love – Puppy and Heart
a. Imperforate
b. Horiz. or vert. pair, #5745-5746
c. Imperforate horiz. or vert. pair, #5745a-5746a

5747 (48¢) Two Sailboats, serpentine die cut 11¼x11
5748 (48¢) One Sailboat, serpentine die cut 11¼x11
a. Horiz. or vert. pair, #5747-5748
5749 (48¢) One Sailboat coil stamp, serpentine die cut 9½ vert.
5750 (48¢) Two Sailboats coil stamp, serpentine die cut 9½ vert.
a. Pair, #5749-5750

5751 $9.65 Florida Everglades
5752 $28.75 Great Smoky Mountains

5753 (63¢) Ernest J. Gaines

Flying Scotsman (UK 2023)

Posted on March 4, 2023 by VSC

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Royal Mail Marks Flying Scotsman’s Centenary with a Set of Special Stamps
The Final Set Of Special Stamps Featuring Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Silhouette

Steam locomotive Flying Scotsman celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2023
The 12-stamp set features the National Railway Museum’s Flying Scotsman in various locations across the UK:
- Pickering Station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
- In the Yorkshire Dales National Park
- Crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales National Park
- Steaming through the town of Blyth in Northumberland
- In a blizzard at Heap Bridge on the East Lancashire Railway
- Crossing the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick-upon-Tweed
- At London’s Victoria Station
- In close-up at Shildon, County Durham
A further four stamps presented in a miniature sheet show images of Flying Scotsman and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) poster artwork from the 1920s and 1930s
These will be the final Special Stamps to feature Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s silhouette
The stamps are available to pre-order now at www.royalmail.com/flyingscotsman and by telephone on 03457 641 641
All 12 stamps in a Presentation Pack go on general sale from 9 March and are priced at £17.70

Royal Mail and the National Railway Museum are marking the 100th anniversary of steam locomotive Flying Scotsman with a set of 12 Special Stamps.

The images feature Flying Scotsman in various locations across the UK:

Pickering Station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The ‘Christmas Dalesman’ steam special in the Yorkshire Dales National Park
The ‘Cathedrals Express’ crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales National Park
Steaming through the town of Blyth in Northumberland
In a blizzard at Heap Bridge on the East Lancashire Railway
The ‘Cathedrals Express’ excursion crossing the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick-upon-Tweed
At London’s Victoria Station
In close-up at Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham

A further four stamps presented in a miniature sheet feature images of Flying Scotsman and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) poster artwork from the 1920s and 1930s.

‘Scotland by the Night Scotsman’ poster, artwork by Robert Bartlett, 1932
‘LNER train service to and from Scotland’ advertisement, designed by HL Oakley, 1923
‘Edinburgh: Mons Meg’ poster, artwork by Frank Newbould, 1935
‘Refuelling the Flying Scotsman’ poster, artwork by Frank Newbould, 1932

David Gold, Director of External Affairs & Policy, Royal Mail, said: “Flying Scotsman is a national treasure of engineering and design that conjures up the golden age of steam travel. This remarkable locomotive epitomises the romance of rail travel and is loved all by people over the world. We are honoured to mark this landmark milestone with a set of Special Stamps.”

Royal Mail worked closely with Bob Gwynne, Associate Curator at the National Railway Museum, (part of the Science Museum Group), to select the images featured on the stamps that were chosen from amongst hundreds of period photographs.

About Flying Scotsman:
The steam locomotive Flying Scotsman left the LNER’s Doncaster Works in February 1923.

It was named the following year after the principal express which ran between London and Edinburgh. In 1928, it hauled the first regular non-stop service from London to Edinburgh.

Built as an ‘A1’ class engine with a boiler pressure of 180psi (pounds per square inch), it was rebuilt in 1947 as an ‘A3’, with a higher boiler pressure of 220psi.

The engine ushered in an era of big locomotives, and its long history of operation has included several ‘firsts’, such as being the first steam locomotive to achieve a speed of 100mph (161kmh).

Over a 40-year career on British rails, Flying Scotsman travelled over two million miles (3.2 million km) and became the first steam locomotive to reach a speed of 100mph (161kmh).

After Flying Scotsman’s retirement from scheduled service in 1963, it was bought by businessman Alan Pegler and given a1920s LNER livery and the number 4472. Pegler was ambitious, and in 1969 he took his loco on a ‘Buy British’ tour of the United States. The journey attracted big crowds, and over several years the engine steamed from Texas to Canada and then over the Rockies to San Francisco, garnering publicity but losing Pegler his fortune.

The locomotive was rescued from an uncertain fate by British millionaire Sir William McAlpine, who returned it to the UK in 1973, determined that this national treasure would never again be threatened with exile. In 1988, Flying Scotsman went to Australia for the country’s bicentenary and visited Sydney, Melbourne, Alice Springs and Perth. The tour ‘down under’ was a triumph, with the return journey via Cape Horn ensuring another ‘first’: the locomotive had circumnavigated the globe.

Since 2004, Flying Scotsman has been part of the collection of the National Railway Museum in York, following a global public campaign to save the engine for the nation. As the oldest operating steam locomotive on the main line, it remains a potent symbol of the steam age and an inspiration to many.

Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s silhouette:
Flying Scotsman’s stamp issue will be the last to feature the silhouette of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

The silhouette has been in constant use on Special Stamps since 1968 (55 years).

The first version of Queen Elizabeth’s silhouette to appear on Special Stamps was adapted from a 1953 design by sculptor and medallist, Mary Gillick, used on coinage from 1953 to 1967. It was first used on the Landscapes stamp issue in May 1966.

Stamp illustrator, David Gentleman, re-worked the Gillick Head silhouette. The updated design was first used on the British Bridges issue in 1968 and has remained in use until today.

The only occasion on which the silhouette has not featured on a Special Stamp is when an actual image of The Queen was used in the design of the stamp.

Future Special Stamps will feature a silhouette of His Majesty King Charles III.

The stamps are available to pre-order now at www.royalmail.com/flyingscotsman and by telephone on 03457 641 641. A Presentation Pack including all 12 stamps in the set is available on general sale from 16 February and priced at £17.70.

VSC adds:

There are 32 philatelic products available for this issue, including three different first day covers, each available with one of two postmarks (Doncaster and Tallents House). The third cover above is a “Prestige FDC.” There is also a set of postcards:

Thematic Exhibiting Workshop March 4 & 11

Posted on February 22, 2023 by VSC

[press release]
ATA Offers Thematic Exhibiting Creativity Workshop, March 4 and 11

The American Topical Association will offer a two-session workshop titled Thematic Exhibiting: Connecting Through Creativity on consecutive Saturdays, March 4 and 11, beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern Time via Zoom.

This how-to workshop on developing the thematic exhibiting storyline through creativity is taught by exhibiting multi-award winner Dr. Jean Wang.

In the first workshop session, Wang will show examples from her Blood: A Modern Medicine exhibit to demonstrate how thematic exhibitors can use creativity and draw on all branches of philately to illustrate a non-philatelic story. After the first session, participants may send a scan of a potential exhibit item for her review and comment. Participants also have the option to outline a point they want to make in their non-philatelic story to garner Wang’s advice on exhibit items to seek.

Session number two provides discussion, sharing and brainstorming opportunities for participants based on details from the first session. This high-engagement workshop will maximize participants’ planning options by capitalizing on live interaction with Wang.

Dr. Jean Wang is a hematologist and leukemia researcher in Toronto, Canada. She has received 19 awards and myriad accolades for her thematic exhibiting, including Grand Awards for her Blood exhibit in CANPEX 2019 and ORAPEX 2022. Wang’s philatelic expertise includes receiving Royal Philatelic Society of Canada’s Long-time Contribution Award. She is a member of the Canada Post Stamp Advisory Committee.

The workshop series costs $25 for ATA members and $45 for non-members. If non-member participants choose to join ATA at the time they register for the workshop, the cost for both the workshop and annual membership is $60 for US residents and $70 for international residents, which are discounted rates. Registration is quick and easy on the ATA website. For more information and to register for the workshop, go to the ATA website [direct link].

AFDCS Zoom Feb. 26: GW Bicentennial

Posted on February 22, 2023 by VSC

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
GW Bicententennial FDCs Zoom Talk on February 26

The next American First Day Cover Society educational Zoom presentation will be held on Sunday February 26, 2023 at 8PM EST/7PM CST/6PM MST/5PM PST. Tricia Richmond will provide a presentation on first day covers and event covers of the 1932 US George Washington Bicentennial issue.The presentation is free to all. AFDCS membership is not required.

Here is the Zoom information for the presentation:
Click here for the link

Meeting ID: 856 4348 9109
Passcode: 215959

Tricia Richmond produces McIntosh Cachets along with her daughter Darcy. Tricia is a member of the Fred C. Sawyer North Texas Chapter and the Art Cover Exchange.

APS Offers Cancellations Course in Cleveland

Posted on February 22, 2023 by VSC

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
GASS ’23 Pre-Show Learning Event – All About Cancellations

The APS is again hosting a pre-show learning event prior to the Great American Stamp Show ’23 in Cleveland, Ohio: “All About Cancellations”

Date: Wednesday, August 9th, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (lunch on own)

Instructor: Gary Wayne Loew

Location: Westin Downtown Cleveland, OH

Cost: $50 APS member / $100 non-members

Registration Deadline: July 21, 2023

Whether you are a postal historian or a marcophilist, postal cancellations are central to the understanding of the postal artifacts that we collect. This course is designed to provide you with a very thorough background about cancellations. Collectors of every country and every specialization will want to attend this in-depth course.

The course is limited to ONLY 30 PARTICIPANTS so register now!

The course will include three major topics:

- Classification & Categorization Systems
- Types of devices
- Uses

The presentation materials will be profusely illustrated with cover examples of each topic.

While primary emphasis will be on U.S. and British Empire materials, worldwide examples will broaden your understanding of philately from every continent. You will return home with a robust package of course materials to give you a firm foundation for additional personal research.

About the Instructor
Gary Wayne Loew is a philatelic researcher and postal historian. He is the retired APS Director of Expertizing and Editor-in-Chief of The American Philatelist and the Philatelic Literature Review. He is also the author of over 80 philatelic articles and book reviews. His two-volume book, Fundamentals of Postal History, is scheduled for publication in early 2026. Gary has lectured widely on many topics about postal history. His proudest philatelic accomplishments include the numerous roles he has played in digitizing journals for the USPCS, USSS, and the complete run of the U.S. Postal Bulletin. An APS life member, he is a member of over thirty philatelic societies and clubs.

Great American Stamp Show 2023 Update (February)

Posted on February 22, 2023 by VSC

A few updates on Great American Stamp Show 2023, which will include the American First Day Cover Society’s Americover 2023:

The show hotel block is 72% booked. A sellout appears likely; don’t dawdle! At $139 a night (show rate), you’re not likely to do much better in downtown Cleveland.
Function tickets (banquets, etc.) are now on sale on the website.
A pre-show learning course has been scheduled: “All About Cancellations,” taught by Gary Loew, on Wednesday, August 9th. Click here for more information. The course is limited to 30 participants.