Author Archives: VSC

Wisconsin Statehood Book Wins AFDCS Writing Award

Posted on by
Reply

[press release]
The 1948 Wisconsin Statehood Centennial Issue: Making, Celebrating and Using the Stamp, by John A, Paré and Ralph H. Nafziger, is the 2025 winner of the American First Day Cover Society’s annual Philip H. Ward, Jr., Memorial Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature.

The 154-page book, published by The Collectors Club of Chicago, begins with a short history of Wisconsin, followed by the development of the stamp (Scott 957) from an idea to the finished product. It then traces the activities surrounding the first day in Madison and six cachetmakers whose first or only cachets were for this issue. It also includes a list of all known cachets for this issue and price ranges of their values, biographies of the cachetmakers and color illustrations of most of them.

Nafziger is a retired research chemist/research supervisor at the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Mines. He lives in Oregon and is Executive Vice President of the AFDCS. Paré is a retired U.S. Navy captain and high school vice principal who lives in Wisconsin.

The book, which won a Vermeil award at the Chicagopex 2025 literature competition, is available from the Collectors Club of Chicago, 1029 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60610 for $45 (hard copy) or $15 (eBook). Visit www.collectorsclubchicago.org The book is also available on Amazon.

Mark Thompson’s book Women of the Black Heritage Series: from the Fields of Slavery to the Halls of Congress was the 2025 runner-up for the Ward Award. It is available from Amazon.

Philip Henry Ward, Jr., began servicing first day covers in 1909. An electrical engineer by trade, he wrote on new issues for The American Philatelist, Mekeel’s Weekly Stamp News and The Weekly Philatelic Gazette in the early 20th century.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit educational organization. In addition to publishing its journal First Days, the AFDCS also publishes handbooks and catalogues, and promotes the collecting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets, as well as exhibiting FDCs. It offers awards for outstanding first day cover exhibits and an annual contest for cachetmakers, and is a co-host of the annual Great American Stamp Show.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 57, Somerset, WI 54025-0057.

Revolutionary War Book Wins Smithsonian Award

Posted on by
Reply

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
National Postal Museum Announces 2026 Professional Prize Award for Scholarship in Postal History

The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum has awarded Alec Zuercher Reichardt the 2026 Professional Prize for Scholarship in Postal History for his book Roads to Power, Roads to Crisis: The War for the American Interior and the Infrastructural Routes of Revolution. In Roads to Power, Roads to Crisis (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025), Reichardt untangles the mid-18th-century British and French efforts to expand and secure their empires in the North American interior and the ramifications for Indigenous nations, the colonists and the empires themselves.

The book’s historical and specifically created maps illustrate that the ability of authorities in London and Paris, and of their armies and representatives in North America, to communicate as securely and as quickly as possible was essential. Reichardt emphasizes that communication was first and foremost a physical undertaking that altered the landscape—messages and news had to be carried, roads had to be laid, defenses had to be built and support for soldiers and travelers had to be provided. Examples of private letters and reports illustrate these challenges and the steps taken to accomplish these changes, while the discussion of public news and messaging demonstrates print culture to have been an important, if problematic, source of information, hearsay, and propaganda. The British Empire, Reichardt argues, defeated the French because it developed an infrastructure, managed and subsidized by the state, which laid claim to the landscape and through which the Empire could gather intelligence and shape public opinion. In its efforts to control the interior, the British Empire knit the colonies more closely together. In the period after the Seven Years’ War, colonists would effectively use elements of the infrastructure to challenge the British Empire, creating alternative networks and fomenting revolution. Well researched and well written, Roads to Power, Roads to Crisis is an excellent addition to the histories of early America, communications and the post.

[The book, $55 for the hardcover or ebook versions, is available for purchase here. — VSC]

Reichardt [right] is an associate professor in the Department of History and the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri.

The National Postal Museum congratulates Reichardt and thanks all those who submitted material. Their diverse work advances postal history scholarship in new and exciting directions that demonstrate the centrality to American history of the postal system and the mail it carries.

About the National Postal Museum Awards for Scholarship in Postal History
The National Postal Museum sponsors biennial prizes for recent scholarship on the history of the postal system in the United States and its territories, and their antecedents. The U.S. Postal Service started the awards in 2007 to honor its first historian, Rita Lloyd Moroney. These prizes—now the National Postal Museum Awards for Scholarship in Postal History—are designed to recognize scholarship on the history of the American postal system and to raise awareness of the significance of the postal system in American life. They comprise a Graduate Prize, a $1,000 award for scholarship written or published by graduate students; a Professional Prize, a $2,000 award for work by scholars and professionals (faculty members, independent scholars and public historians); and a Digital Public History prize, a $1,000 award for scholarship presented online.

The museum will begin accepting submissions for the next Awards for Scholarship in Postal History after Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6, 2027. Additional information about the awards is available on the museum’s website.

About the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum
The National Postal Museum is devoted to presenting the colorful and engaging history of the nation’s mail service and showcasing one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of stamps and philatelic material in the world. It is located at 2 Massachusetts Ave. N.E., Washington, D.C., across from Union Station. For more information about the Smithsonian, call (202) 633-1000 or visit the museum website at postalmuseum.si.edu.

AFDCS Seeks Board Candidates

Posted on by
Reply

Self-nominations are now open for the Board of Directors of the American First Day Cover Society, the largest not-for-profit FDC organization in the world. Each year, the membership of the AFDCS elects four people to serve on its board for three-year terms.

podium with microphone – vector illustration. eps 10

Those running for the board must be members in good standing and are expected to submit a statement of no more than 300 words and a photo. There is no other “qualifying process” for nominations: No 10-member petitions, minimum tenure in the AFDCS, nor the ability to recite cachet catalogue numbers from memory. Reasonable proficiency with email is expected.

Once elected, Directors are expected to attend the one in-person meeting a year (held the night before the convention, which in 2027 will be held at Great American Stamp Show in Albuquerque, NM) and ad hoc online meetings, participate in email discussions and vote electronically on matters that come before the board. The ballot and the candidates’ statements are mailed to members in the fall. The terms begin on January 1.

Bobby Liao of California is chairing the AFDCS 2026 Nominating Committee, aided by Steve Ripley of Florida and Chris Calle of Connecticut. Those wish to run, or who would like more information, should contact Bobby at bottlingcachet@yahoo.com.

The AFDCS Board of Directors consists of 12 elected members, plus three ex-officio members: the president, editor, and general counsel. (The Society’s complete bylaws are available at www.afdcs.org/bylaws). Directors are not compensated in any way for serving on the board, although they may receive reimbursement for expenses not related to serving on the board or attending meetings.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization, established in 1955. It publishes the award-winning bimonthly journal First Days, as well as handbooks and catalogues, maintains a YouTube channel, and promotes the collecting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets, as well as the exhibiting of FDCs.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 57, Somerset, WI 54025-0057.

Linda McCartney (U.S. 2026)

Posted on by
Reply

Announced August 24the:

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Postal Service to Honor Photographer and Activist Linda McCartney
Stamps feature nature and still-life photos

What: The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate the art and life of Linda McCartney (1941–1998), a pioneering photographer and animal rights activist who was a pivotal figure in the vegetarianism movement, at a first-day-of-issue ceremony for stamps featuring her photography. All attendees must RSVP to attend the ceremony at the museum.

Who: Program participants to be announced.

When: Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, at 11 a.m. ET

Where: The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St.
New York, NY 10019

RSVP: All attendees must RSVP to attend the ceremony at the museum. Register for the event at: usps.com/lindamccartneystamps

Background: Linda McCartney rose to prominence by capturing some of the most memorable musicians of the 1960s in photographs that felt relaxed, intimate and full of life. Her 1968 portrait of Eric Clapton made her the first female photographer to have their work featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Among McCartney’s favorite subjects to photograph were her husband — musician Paul McCartney — and their children and animals, as well as small moments of everyday life. McCartney’s photographs have been exhibited throughout the United States as well as at the Royal Photographic Society and the Victoria and Albert Museum in England.

The pane of 20 stamps showcases five different photographs. The selvage features a black-and-white self-portrait of McCartney behind her camera. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps and stamp pane.

News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #LindaMcCartneyStamps

Additional information will be posted below the lines, with the most recent at the top.

Updated September 22nd:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark for this issue measures 2.80″ x 0.97″The Pictorial Postmark for this issue measures 2.69″ x 1.07″ The “Special” (local) postmark for this issue measures 2.74″ x 1.22″

Updated August 24th:
The Virtual Stamp Club has confirmed that these stamps and the Squirrels & Chipmunks issue will be released on the same day.

Basic U.S. Postal Rates

Posted on by
2

As of July 12, 2026:

Product
Letters (1 oz.)
Letters (metered 1 oz.)
Additional Ounces
Domestic Postcards
International Postcards
International Letter (1 oz.)
Priority Mail Express Flat-Rate env.
Priority Mail Flat-Rate env.		 Current Prices
82¢
78¢
29¢
65¢
$1.75
$1.75
$35.90
$12.90

NYC-Area Swapfest in November?

Posted on by
Reply

Received in email:

As a member of the Collectors Club Board of Governors, I am coordinating an in-person event to be held sometime in November (exact date to be determined). Receipt of this message means that you are listed as the contact person for one or more philatelic clubs or organizations in the Tri-State area.

The event will be held on a Saturday. Its purpose is to gather collectors who are interested in selling, trading, or gifting excess material from their collections. We will set up tables for people to examine material, and the Club will provide refreshments.

Many of us enjoyed such engagements at traditional stamp clubs when we were young, and I suspect that some of you are involved in local clubs that do the same today. This is an opportunity to meet new people and make friends, enjoy an afternoon at the Club (and possibly a dinner afterwards), and potentially dispose of and acquire some nice material.

If all goes well, we’ll plan to have periodic “garage sales.”

Please pass this message along to members of your club/group and have them send me an email if they are interested. I’ll build a database of potential attendees and, once the details are determined, the Club will send a blast email to all members as well as non-members who express interest.

I’m available for questions and hope to receive lots of interest. Thank you,

Daniel Ryterband, danryterband@gmail.com

Ecological Importance of Wolves in Canada

Posted on by
1

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New stamps highlight the ecological importance of wolves in Canada
Stamps feature striking, close-up images of wolves found in different parts of the Canadian wilderness

WHITNEY, Ont. – Canada Post issued on August 13 new stamps highlighting the role wolves play as a keystone species.

Wolves contribute significantly to the health and biodiversity of the ecosystem. The intelligent hunters are often associated with the North and remote Canadian landscapes, and they also figure prominently in many Indigenous cultures.

These social animals use co-operative hunting and share responsibility for raising their young – a behaviour seen in only a small percentage of mammals. With sharp senses that help them detect prey almost two kilometres away, wolves hunt small and large animals, including caribou, deer, elk, moose, bison and evenmuskoxen.

Stamps feature wolves in different regions of the country
The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is the largest and most widespread wolf in Canada, found everywhere except the Maritimes.

Only slightly bigger than an eastern coyote, the eastern wolf (Canis sp. cf. Lycaon) is a federally listed species at risk that lives mainly in Algonquin Provincial Park in central Ontario and in southwestern Quebec. It has an estimated population of 200 to 1,000 mature wolves.

The Arctic grey wolf (Canis lupus arctos) is a nomadic hunter well adapted to the northern climate, while the coastal grey wolf (Canis lupus crassodon) is a strong swimmer that lives along Canada’s Pacific coast and near-shore islands.

About the stamps
Each stamp presents a close-up view of wolves in Canadian landscapes. The booklet cover and interior contain additional photographs of coastal grey wolves on Vancouver Island. The stamps are designed by Andrew Perro, featuring photography by Michelle Valberg (Canis lupus crassodon), John E. Marriott (Canis lupus, Ejaz Khan (Canis lupus arctos), Michael Runtz and Steve Dunsford (Canis sp. Cf. lycaon). This issue is printed by Lowe-Martin and includes a booklet of eight Permanent™ domestic rate stamps, an Official First Day Cover (OFDC), a souvenir sheet and four postage-paid postcards that can be sent worldwide. The location of the cancellation mark on the OFDC is Whitney, Ontario, near the east gate of Algonquin Provincial Park. [The OFDC and postcards are shown below.]

Stamps and collectibles are now available at canadapost.ca and at select postal outlets across Canada.

[en Francais pour les médias d’information]
De nouveaux timbres mettent en vedette les loups au Canada et leur importance pour l’environnement
Les timbres présentent des images saisissantes en gros plan de loups vivant dans différentes étendues sauvages canadiennes.

WHITNEY, Ont. – Postes Canada a émis de nouveaux timbres qui mettent en vedette une espèce clé : les loups.

Les loups contribuent de façon importante à la santé et à la biodiversité de l’écosystème. Chasseurs intelligents souvent associés au Nord et aux vastes étendues sauvages du Canada, ces animaux occupent également une place prépondérante dans de nombreuses cultures autochtones.

Animal social, le loup coopère de façon organisée pour chasser et élever ses petits, un comportement observé chez seulement un faible pourcentage de mammifères. Grâce à ses sens aiguisés qui lui permettent de repérer les proies à près de 2 km de distance, le loup chasse de petits et de grands animaux, y compris le caribou, le cerf, le wapiti, l’orignal, le bison et même le bœuf musqué.

Des timbres qui présentent des loups dans différentes régions du pays
Le loup gris (Canis lupus, le plus grand et le plus répandu au Canada, se retrouve partout sauf dans les Maritimes.

À peine plus gros qu’un coyote de l’Est, le loup de l’Est (Canis sp. cf. lycaon) est inscrit sur la liste fédérale des espèces en péril et vit principalement dans le parc provincial Algonquin dans le centre de l’Ontario ainsi que dans le sud-ouest du Québec. On estime sa population à entre 200 et 1 000 individus adultes.

Le loup gris de l’Arctique (Canis lupus arctos est un chasseur nomade bien adapté au climat nordique, tandis que le loup gris côtier (Canis lupus crassodon) est un bon nageur qui vit sur la côte canadienne du Pacifique et ses îles côtières.

À propos des timbres
Chaque timbre présente une image en gros plan de loups dans des paysages canadiens. La couverture et l’intérieur du carnet comportent des photos supplémentaires de loups gris côtiers sur l’île de Vancouver. Les timbres ont été conçus par Andrew Perro à partir de photos de Michelle Valberg (Canis lupus crassodon), de John E. Marriott (Canis lupus, d’Ejaz Khan (Canis lupus arctos, de Michael Runtz et de Steve Dunsford (Canis sp. cf. lycaon). Imprimée par Lowe-Martin, cette émission comprend un carnet de huit timbres PermanentsMC au tarif du régime intérieur, un pli Premier Jour officiel, un bloc-feuillet et quatre cartes postales port payé. Le lieu d’oblitération est Whitney (Ontario), près de la porte est du parc provincial Algonquin.

Les timbres et les articles de collection sont en vente sur postescanada.ca et dans certains comptoirs postaux partout au pays à partir d’aujourd’hui.

The Official First Day Cover:

The postpaid picture postcards:

Linn’s Returns To Print

Posted on by
Reply

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Linn’s Stamp News Returns to Weekly Print Publication Beginning October 5
Scott Stamp LLC announces the return of America’s premier philatelic newspaper during National Stamp Collecting Month

TROY, Ohio — August 2026 — Scott Stamp LLC announced today that Linn’s Stamp News will return to weekly print publication beginning with the October 5, 2026, issue, marking one year since the company acquired the Linn’s and Scott brands and launching a new era for the publication during National Stamp Collecting Month.

The return to print follows a hiatus that began in August 2024 and represents a significant milestone for one of philately’s most recognized publications.

“Linn’s has long been the newspaper of record for the stamp hobby,” said Jay Bigalke, President and CEO of Scott Stamp LLC. “When we acquired the publication one year ago, our goal wasn’t simply to preserve its legacy—it was to restore and strengthen it for future generations of collectors. Returning to print is an important step in fulfilling that commitment.”

“One of the number one questions I’ve been asked constantly, like everywhere, is ‘When are you bring Linn’s back into print?'” Bigalke told The Virtual Stamp Club. “I think it’s more meaningful for people when they get a print issue delivered to their mailbox and I think this will really make a big impact on the hobby.”

“It wasn’t just the collectors that were asking for it,” Bigalke adds, “the advertisers were really asking for it, because they saw a drop in sales” when the newspaper went digital-only.

Since acquiring the Scott and Linn’s brands in October 2025, Scott Stamp LLC has focused on rebuilding the company’s publishing operations while continuing uninterrupted publication of Scott Stamp Monthly and releasing the 2027 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, including the return of larger stamp illustrations throughout the six-volume set.

The October 5 print relaunch coincides with the beginning of National Stamp Collecting Month and reflects the company’s continuing investment in serving collectors through trusted editorial coverage, hobby news, market reporting, expert columns, and worldwide new issue information.

Founding Subscriber Offer
To commemorate the return of Linn’s to print, Scott Stamp LLC is introducing a special Founding Subscriber offer.

Collectors may reserve one year of weekly print delivery for $99, beginning with the October 5, 2026, issue.

The first 2,500 print subscribers will receive a numbered Commemorative Founding Subscriber Certificate, recognizing their support in helping return Linn’s Stamp News to print.

Reservations may be made at Linns.com.

A Community Achievement
The return of Linn’s to print has been made possible through the confidence of collectors, advertisers, dealers, auction firms, and the broader philatelic community.
“We are grateful to every reader who continued supporting our publications and to every advertiser who believed in this vision,” Bigalke said. “Their confidence has made it possible to once again place Linn’s in collectors’ mailboxes each week.”

Scott Stamp LLC also encourages collectors to support the advertisers featured in Linn’s Stamp News. Their investment in the publication helps sustain independent philatelic journalism and strengthens the hobby as a whole.

About Linn’s Stamp News
Founded in 1928, Linn’s Stamp News has served generations of collectors with timely reporting, expert editorial coverage, market analysis, new issue reporting, auction news, and hobby features. The publication returns to weekly print publication beginning with the October 5, 2026, issue while continuing to expand its digital offerings.

About Scott Stamp LLC
Scott Stamp LLC is a collector-owned publishing company dedicated exclusively to philately. The company publishes the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers, Scott Stamp Monthly, Linn’s Stamp News, and other books and resources serving stamp collectors around the world.

Volunteeers Needed for Americover @ BALPEX

Posted on by
Reply

[press release]

The planning and preparation are nearly done, but we need people to help out during the show, which is being held August 7-9 at the BWI Airport Marriott in Maryland. Specific “volunteer opportunities” are:

  • AFDCS Promotion/FDC Information (2-hour shifts at the table in the bourse area)
  • AFDCS Sales (2-hour shifts at the table in the bourse)
  • Affixing Stamps to Covers (one person for each of the 3 days)
  • Hospitality Suite (one person to open, one to close each night, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, with some overlap)
  • Silent Auction Closeout (2 needed, Saturday night only, 10 pm to midnight)

The Hospitality Suite opens each evening at 8 pm and closes at midnight. Besides keeping an eye on things, the volunteer will put out additional snacks and supplies as needed. The AFDCS table will be in the foyer outside the bourse and exhibit area. The Hospitality Suite is just across the hall: No long hikes as at GASS! No need to use GPS as at some other shows!

If you are available to help — just two hours! — please email coordinator Ralph Nafziger now at nafzigerralphh@gmail.com and tell him when and for what you are available.

Bid in Americover Silent Auction From Home

Posted on by
Reply

[press release]
Now you can participate — and win — in the Americover Silent Auction even if you can’t make the 2026 show, which is being held August 7-9 at the BWI Marriott (at Baltimore-Washington Airport) in conjunction with BALPEX 2026. All 105 lots can be seen online by downloading the file and submitting a bid via email.

The lots include FDCs from the 1930s to the present, and cachets ranging from typed to hand-painted. The cachetmakers represented include Dave Bennett, Kendal Bevil, Judith Fogt and many other familiar names. (Shown here is Lot #42 by Chad Green.) And the minimum bids for all of them is just $5.

Collectors “playing at home” have until Saturday August 8 at 10 p.m. Eastern time to email their bids to dalux2041@gmail.com, putting “silent auction bids” in the subject line. Multiple bids may be listed in a single email, but all bids must include the bidder’s name, address, telephone number, and, of course, the lot numbers and amounts of the bids.

The lots will be on display in the American First Day Cover Society Hospitality Suite at Americover/BALPEX, where additional bids likely will be made. The emailed bids will form the basis for the opening bids, and those in the Hospitality Suite will know what the highest at-home bids are, so if you really, really want an item, bid generously.

The Silent Auction operates differently than a traditional auction: The lots are on display, and bidders at Americover write their bids on public lists — silently. Bids are not knocked down to an increment above the next-highest bid, so the winning bids are the actual maximum amounts collectors are willing to pay. Bids must be in even-dollar amounts. (Fractional bids make no cents!)

This is the first year that at-home bidders can see scans of the lots, by downloading the PDF file. (If you prefer, the link to the file is https://tinyurl.com/mrbryya4 )

All the lots were donated to the AFDCS and all proceeds will go to help cover Americover expenses.