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The Nation's Stamp Club

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

There are hundreds of stamp collecting clubs and organizations throughout the U-S, but one 
central umbrella group that includes most of them: The American Philatelic Society.

"It's a group of almost 40-thousand stamp collectors from all 50 states, and we have a union 
among us that we love stamp collecting."  :08

Membership chair Steven Rod says the A-P-S offers a monthly magazine, insurance for 
collections, courses, and other services, and it sponsors and sets standards for stamp 
ollecting shows.

"The main celebration is every August called StampShow, and we sponsor that for 5 days in 
different cities around the United States." :07

These stamp collecting shows -- and there are about three dozen big ones a year -- are as much 
social events as anything else.

"There's a lot of stereotype out there that stamp collecting is a very lonely hobby, that 
people lock themselves in a room and collect stamps. But we're speaking, you and I right now 
from the floor of the National Postal Stamp Show here in New York, and most collectors love 
coming out to events such as this." :19

But you can attend shows and collect stamps without belonging to the APS. Rod calls joining an 
investment.

"The APS, as the nation's stamp club, works very, very hard to promote stamp collecting 
throughout the land, and get the message out about how much fun and how educational stamp 
collecting is.  .... It's not only an investment for your own enjoyment of the materials and 
services we offer, it's an investment in the future of the hobby" :18

You can find out more about the A-P-S at stamps-dot-org.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamps collecting, visit 
virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.		 

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