03/26/2009 (P1637)
Contact: Dana Guyer

APS StampShow 2009 Visits
Pittsburgh August 6-9

Also available in pdf format

APS StampShow 2009 — the largest philatelic event in the U.S. this year — comes August 6-9 to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, in the heart of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The headquarters hotel for the show is The Westin Convention Center, at 1000 Penn Avenue. The show is co-sponsored by the United States Postal Service and the American Stamp Dealers Association, and supported by the National Stamp Dealers Association. Show hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free to all.

The four-day show will feature a bourse of more than 150 dealers from throughout the nation and abroad, as well as major public sales of U.S., British Commonwealth and foreign singles, covers and collections by two highly regarded stamp auction firms.

The USPS and United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) and other postal administrations will offer recent stamps and postal stationery at face value. In addition, in a first day ceremony on Thursday, August 6, the U.S. Postal Service will release the third ten-stamp installment in its coil-format commemorative series of Flags of our Nations stamps at the new 44-cent denomination paying the first-class letter rate. One stamp opictures a U.S. flag and “amber waves of grain, “ while the other nine picture state flags and images associated with the states of Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Missouri. The UNPA is currently also scheduled to issue six stamps on August 6.

The annual convention and exhibition of the American Philatelic Society will also be the occasion for get-togethers by many state, regional and national collectors’ organizations. If your group wishes to plan such a meeting, or a seminar or workshop, contact APS Director of Shows & Exhibitions Dana Guyer at 814 933-3803 extension 207, or email her at [email protected]

StampShow features 14,400 pages of exhibits. Crowning these displays will be the annual competition in which multiple-frame Grand Award-winners from 30 national-level World Series of Philately shows held throughout the country during the preceding year vie for the prestigious title of “Champion of Champions” --- a once-in-a-lifetime honor for the finest in philately.

Special Court of Honor exhibits at the show will include “C3a:

The Story of the Inverted Jenny,” and the discovery pane of the 1962 4-cent Dag Hammarskjold invert errors autographed by those who first recognized its rarity and significance.

Beginners and youth will find a warm welcome, with a booth for newcomers to the stamp hobby staffed by knowledgeable collectors. Another special area will guide youth through the basics of the hobby and include free stamps, puzzles, hands-on demonstrations, and games. Complete details of all opportunities for beginning collectors at the show are available.

If you register online by July 6, you can have a preprinted badge waiting for you when you arrive at the doors to the show, receive a discount coupon for show souvenirs and guarantee a seat and take advantage of advance ticket prices for the Awards Banquet.

For additional details, including Pittsburgh-area attractions, see the July issue of the American Philatelist, visit our website or call 814-933-3803.

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