uspcs medallion

Our Annual Meeting is going Virtual!

 
Our Annual Meeting was scheduled to be held at Aripex the weekend of February 20-21, 2021. Unfortunately, since the pandemic precludes our meeting there in person, we decided to hold the meeting virtually on Zoom on the same weekend.
 
As in previous Annual Meetings, we will have a Board Meeting, a General Meeting and a series of talks.

Schedule of Events

Saturday, February 20  
2:00 PM (EST) General Meeting
3:30 PM (EST) Talk: “Freight Money Letters: Who, What, When, Why and Where” by Cliff Alexander
 
  
Sunday, February 21  
1:00 PM (EST) Talk: “U.S. Domestically Mailed Circulars to 1900” by Scott Steward
2:00 PM (EST) Talk: “The Great Sanitary Fair – Philadelphia” by Mike Plett.

We look forward to seeing you there!

USPCS Awards Round Up: Schwartz wins Single Frame Champion of Champions

The first page of Mark Schwartz’s Champion single frame exhibit. The exhibit can be viewed in its entirety on the USPCS website.

Philatelic and Literature Awards

 
Despite the pandemic, our hobby has found many ways to keep up activity and recognition.  In November, the AAPE conducted AmeriStamp Expo, the annual Single Frame Champion of Champions Competition. Two virtual Literature Competitions were also hosted at Sescal and at ChicagoPex.
 
The AAPE has taken over responsibilities for the Single Frame Championship from the APS.  All single frame exhibits that won a Grand Award at “live” WSP shows during the 12 months before the pandemic hit competed virtually for the top single frame award of the year.  There were 29 entries and the Champion of Champions was awarded to Mark Schwartz for “Boston’s Use of the 1847 Issue“.  

A literature competition was held under the auspices of Sescal in October.  Winning Gold Medals were Ralph H. Nafziger for “Civil Censorship of U.S. First Day Covers During the Prexie Era”; Francis J. Crown, Jr. for two entries “The 10¢ Red ‘Southern Confederacy’ Danville, Va. Provisional Envelope” and “Dr. H. H.Green: An Early ‘Junk Mailer'”.  A Large Vermeil Medal was won by Charles J. DiComo for “From the Front Lines: LT. Col. William G. Belknap’s First Hand Account of the Battle of Monterrey During the Mexican-American War in 1846”.
 
A second literature competition was sponsored by ChicagoPex in November.  John Hotchner won the Reserve Grand Award for “The Development and use of Consular Bicentennial Postal Stationery 1990–1994”.  A Gold Medal was awarded to Diane DeBlois and Robert Dalton Harris for the “Postal History Journal”.  Large Vermeil Medals were won by  Robert L. Toal for “The Lipman Postal Card: Forerunner from Philadelphia”; and Bill Schultz and Jasmine Smith for “Scarce Postal Rate of 6 1⁄4 Cents”.

United States Mails: Its First 80 Years Without Stamps

Rose VSS 2020The USPCS presents a talk on US stampless mail by Robert G. Rose, hosted at the APS Virtual Stamp Show! The talk will be held on Tuesday, August 18 from 4:00 to 5:00 through the APS Virtual Stamp Show site.

Rose will talk in depth about the development of the postal system in the United States, from the establishment of the Congressional Post in 1775 to the end of the “Stampless Period” in 1855.

What did the mail look like before the use of stamps? Rates were determined by the distance traveled and indicated by handstamp or notation. This presentation will include examples of these handstamp devices, and a display of early postal markings in a variety of colors and designs.

Even after the first US postage stamps were issued in 1847, stampless mail was still permitted until 1855. The presentation will discuss this transitional period and include covers featuring both the 1847 and 1851 stamp issues.

Please plan to attend this USPCS event, as it promises to be an interesting look at the early postal history of the United States.

Rose is a Regional VP for the USPCS, Chairman of the Board for the Philatelic Foundation, an award winning exhibitor, and holds positions in other stamp societies including the Collectors Club, United States Stamp Society, and New Jersey Postal History Society.

 

USPCS Members Present with the Collector’s Club

USPCS Members on The Virtual Philatelic Program Series®

With the social distancing restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, club meetings and stamp discussions have moved online.  The Collector’s Club of New York is hosting a series of virtual presentations over Zoom, a video chat and live streaming program.  These presentations are hosted by four fine USPCS members: Mark Schwartz, Gordon Eubanks, Wade Saadi, and Bill Schultz.  You can learn more and sign up to attend [here] on the Collector’s Club website.

Member’s Access

Lost your password?

Don't have an account? Sign up

Quick Nav

Top