News

While this year’s session conflicted with a venerated Massachusetts show, next year everything should be back in synch with the show scheduled for the first weekend AFTER Labor day; e.g., September 5-7. Competition was fierce with Society members taking all the top spots.

Congratulations to Vernon Morris who won the Multi-frame Grand with his “Evolution of American Mail 1685-1799” (also Multi-frame Large Gold; APS Pre-1900 Medal of Excellence; Postal History Society Award; and the Ed Ruckle Award).

Mark Schwartz had 4 exhibits in the show and medaled with all of them. His “The New York Postmaster Provisional” earned the Multi-frame Reserve Grand (also Multi-frame Large Gold and the USPCS Medal). His plate reconstruction is truly worth seeing. “Leavitt Machine Cancels Used at Boston” also won Mark a Multi-frame Large Gold as well as the BPS’ – Best Two Frame.

Mark’s “Packet Mail Sent from Essex County, Mass: 1840 to UPU” won the Single-frame Grand and Single-frame Large Gold.

Multi-frame Gold was won by multi-members:

• David Mayo for “The U.S. 2¢ Columbian of 1893”.
• Robert Toal for “Mail Souvenir Cards by Wirths 1897 – 1904” (also AAPE Award of Excellence – Treatment; ATA Award 1st; and Best Exhibit by a BPS Member).
• Randolph Smith for “Coping with Adversity: How Southerners Adapted to Wartime Paper Shortages”.
• Marvin & Judith Platt for “The Columbian Envelopes of 1893”.
 

Gerry Oberst won two Multi-frame Large Vermeils for “Jean-Michel Folon: Postal Artist” (also the APS Medal of Excellence Post 1980) and “19th Century U.S. Philatelic Portrayals of Thomas Jefferson”.

 

Single-frame Large Gold was won by Mark Schwartz for “Use of Boston PAID in Grid Cancels 1851-1859”.

 

Dan Undersander won Single-frame Gold for “The 5¢ Taylor Envelopes of 1875 – 1882”. Robert Toal also won Single-frame Gold for “Origins of American Postcards: Lipman and the Early Years 1865 – 1873” (also the American Philatelic Congress Award).

INDXPEX 2024 was held 20-22 September 2024 at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds and Conference Complex in Danville, about a 35 minute drive from downtown Indianapolis.

Mike Ellington’s “The Pneumatic Machine Cancels of the United States 1898-1904” won Multi-frame Gold and the Robert H. Rhodehamel Memorial Indiana Showcase Award.

John Becker had two exhibits at INDYPEX and won two medals. John’s “Doremus Machine Cancels of Indiana, 1901-1919” won Multi-frame Large Vermeil; the AAPE Gold Award of Honor; and the US Stamp Society Statue of Freedom.
John also won Single-frame Vermeil with “Indiana Machine Cancel Sampler”.

Terry Hursh echoed John’s performance with two exhibits and two sets of awards. For “The Postal Issues of Faisal Il, the Last King of Iraq” Terry won Multi-frame Large Silver and the AAPE Woman Exhibitors Sterling Achievement Pin. “Art Deco Influence on European Philately” won Multi-frame Large Silver and the AAPE Gold Award of Honor for Terry.

John Hotchner’s “US Postal Counterfeits The Classic Period to Modern Times 1895-2004” was shown in the show’s Court of Honor.

The APS is providing 100 free exhibit frames at the 2025 Great American Stamp Show for a joint display of material from the USPCS and RPSL with each society filling half the available frames. This will be another first for the Society and the RPSL.
 

The display is to show an overview of the United States classic philatelic period in the traditional exhibiting format, that is stamp issues and usages. We will display much of the material shown at the very successful 2023 exchanges, but the exhibit can be improved by the addition of more 1850s, 1860s, and Banknote issues. Any member with collections containing good material in these areas should be showing it in this joint display!
 

The joint display will be shown twice. The first time at GASS in Schaumburg, Illinois August 14 to August 17, 2025. The second time at the RPSL’s premises in London October 23, 2025. More activities will be planned around this event similar to those in conjunction with the USPCS display at the Royal in 2023.
 

To make sure exhibitors are able to contribute to the joint exhibit AND compete at GASS 2025, copies of material that participants will be exhibiting in parallel to the display at GASS, will be allowed in the joint display.
 

If you have some great material that you would like to show in the exhibit, please contact Carol Bommarito; carolab212@aol.com

The Philatelic Foundation has announced that John Hotchner will receive the Neinken Medal for Distinguished Service to Philately. The award will be presented in a ceremony at the Collectors Club in New York Saturday 26 October 2024.

The press release for the award gives the following summary of John’s philatelic efforts.

“A collector since the age of five, John has been a devoted leader, writer and active participant in the advancement of organized philately at the international, national and local levels. Mr. Hotchner served on the Board of the American Philatelic Society for sixteen years including a term as its President, as a member of the National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists for twenty years, as well as a dozen years as a member of the Postmaster General’s Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee. A co-founder of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, he served as a Board member for 32 years including two terms as its President. Accredited as a national chief judge and international judge in both stamps and literature, Mr. Hotchner has served for many years on the APS’ Committee on Judging Accreditation including a term as its Chairman. In 2017, he was invited to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists. On the local level, he has served as president of the Virginia Philatelic Federation. He was a founder of national specialty societies for Auxiliary Markings, AMG Philately, Errors, Freaks and Oddities (EFO) collecting and for Mourning Stamps and Covers.

A prolific writer, Mr. Hotchner currently serves as a contributing editor of Linn’s Stamp News, responsible for its popular “U.S. Stamp Notes,” a weekly column, and as a monthly columnist for The American Stamp Collector & Dealer, as well as a quarterly columnist for a number of philatelic publications. As an exhibitor, his exhibits have garnered both national grand and reserve grand awards. He has served as an expertizer of 20th century United States stamps as well as a consultant to the Philatelic Foundation.”
Source: Robert G. Rose