Held the usual weekend before Thanksgiving, November 22nd – 24th this year, CHICAGOPEX had it all. Exhibits. Dealers. Philatelic Presentations. And messy winter weather on the setup day.
As the culmination of the annual Single Frame Champion of Champion competition, this year saw 11 Society members competing to be the best of the best. But “there can only be one” and that one, this year, is Dan Knowles, the 2024 AAPE Single-frame Champion of Champions with his “United States Demonetization and Transition to the 1861 Design Stamps.” The other society members in the running were:
- James Cate with “General Banks Division”
- Stephen Chaffin with “The 1851/57 One Cent Franklin of Plate One Late”
- Tony Dewey with “The Postal Stationery of the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) for Netherlands New Guinea”
- Chip Gliedman with “Leominster, Mass. Provisional Postage Due and Instructional Labels”
- James Milgram with “Abraham Lincoln Illustrated Stationery 1860-1865”
- Vernon Morris with “World’s Third Producer of Stamps: Philadelphia Local Post Fee Reduction, 1842-1861”
- Peter Schwartz with “The Earliest Black Portrayals on US Stamps 1864-1872”
- Timothy Wait with “2¢ Blue Liberty Tax Stamp 1875-1883”
- Doug Weisz with “New Orleans 5 Cent Provisional. The War Rate: United States Postal Rates and Fees from February 1, 1815 through March 30, 1816”.
Member multi-frame exhibits generally did well. Jan Hofmeyr won the Multi-frame Grand with his “Philatelic Invention in the United States: 1861-1881” (also the USPCS Medal and the American Philatelic Congress Award).
Multi-frame Large Gold was won by Tony Dewey for “The U.S. Alphabet-Denominated Rate-Change Series, 1978-1998” (also the APS Post 1980 Medal and the US Stamp Society Medal) and Chip Gliedman for “Imperforate Line Engraved Stamps of Great Britain from Plate Position “CG” – My Victoria”.
The Single-frame Grand went to Dan Knowles for “Trans-Mississippi River Mail Services by the Confederate States of America Post Office Department and Private Individuals During the American Civil War” (also Single-frame Large Gold). This sets up Dan for a potential repeat in ’25.
Three Society members won Single-frame Large Gold.
- Wayne Farley for “Soldier Due Uses from West Virginia during the Civil War” (also Auxiliary Markings Club Award)
- Cheryl Ganz for “Basel Zeppelin Posts” (also Best Exhibit by a Chicago Philatelic Society Member).
- Tony Dewey for “The United Nations 20¢ “World Unity” Stamp, 1951-1965”.
Mark Schwartz won a Single-frame Gold for his “The Barr-Fyke Cancels of Chicago”.
Three members won Single-Frame Large Vermeil:
- Kenneth Nilsestuen for “Contemporary Hand-Crafted First Day Covers of the Eagle Holding Shield Airmail of 1938”
- Bob Hohertz for “The London Numbered Maltese Cross” (also American First Day Cove Society Award)
- Dr. Bruce Wasserman for “The Rapid Censorship of Civilian Mail in World War II”.
And Dan Undersander’s “Letters Carried Outside the Mail in the 20th Century” won Single-frame Large Silver.
A great show and great competition.
