This year’s Minnesota Stamp Expo was held at the Crystal Community Center in Crystal, Minn. July 18-20th. Members provided 6 of the 40 exhibits. And the winners were…

Vern Morris won the Multi-frame Grand, Multi-frame Large Gold, Multi-frame Large Gold and the USSS Statue of Freedom for his “Evolution & Impact of Blood’s Local Post: 1842 to 1862“.

Multi-frame Large Gold was also won by Robert Hohertz for “Revenue Imprinted Paper of the Spanish American War Tax Era” (also the Collectors Club of Chicago – Gold Medallion).

Larry Nix won Multi-frame Large Vermeil for “The Library of Congress 1800-1974” (also the APS – Gold Award of Honor).

Single-frame Gold and the USPCS Medallion were won by Alfredo Frohlich for his “Prisoner of War Mail – Fort Delaware 1862-1865“.

Dan Undersander won Single-frame Gold for “The First Issue U.S. Six Cents Postal Stationery Envelope” (also UPSS Porter Venn Single-frame Award.)

For his second exhibit, “Period Hand-Crafted First Day Covers of the Eagle Holding Shield Airmail of 1938“, Robert Hohertz won Single-frame Vermeil.

This year’s NAPEX show was held at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corners, June 6-8. The USPCS held its annual meeting at the show and many of our members exhibited.

Vernon Morris was the winner of the Multi-frame Reserve Grand with his “Evolution & Impact of Blood’s Local Post: 1842 to 1862” (also Multi-frame Large Gold; and the USPCS Medal).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Exhibits from four Society members won Multi-frame Large Gold:

• John Hotchner with “The U.S. CIPEX Souvenir Sheet of 1947: Development, Production, First Days and Contemporary Uses” (also the AAPE Award of Excellence of Treatment and the American First Day Cover Society Award).
• Daniel Ryterband with “The U. S. 1847 Issue: Post-Production Proofs”.
• Dawyne Littauer with “Pre-U.P.U. Mail Between the United States and Bremen” (also the APS Medal of Excellence Pre-1900).
• Chip Gliedman with “Imperforate Line Engraved Stamps of Great Britain from Plate Position “CG””.

Randy Smith won Multi-frame Large Vermeil for “Civil War Washington as Seen Through the Drawings of Charles Magnus, Lithographer”.
 
Gerry Oberst won Multi-frame Vermeil for “Jean-Michel Folon: Postal Artist” (also the AAPE Gold Award of Honor, the APS Medal of Excellence Post-1980 Material, and the NSDA Award for Outstanding Presentation).
 
Rounding out the multi-frame awards, Robert Toal won Multi-fame Silver for “American Souvenir Company Postcards: The Other Side of the Card” (also the Women Exhibitors Sterling Achievement Award).
 
 
Single-frame awards started off with Daniel Ryterband winning Single-frame Large Gold for “Steamboat Mail and the U.S. 1847 Issue”.
 
Three members won Single-frame Gold for their exhibits.

• Daniel Undersander for “The 5¢ Taylor Envelopes of 1875 to 1882” (also the UPSS Porter Venn Award).
• Thomas Lera for “Ship Island Postal Markings Used by Postmaster John M.G. Parker: 1862 – 1865” (also the Virginia Philatelic Federation Award for Excellence.
• Chip Gliedman for “Leominster, Mass. Provisional Postage Due and Instructional Labels ”.

Two members won Single-frame Large Vermeil.

• John Schorn for “Essays and Proofs of the 1967 UN Disarmament Stamps”.
• David Steidley for “Airmail Between the U.S. & Iraq, 1940-41”.

 
Rounding out this year’s Society winners at NAPEX is Robert Toal who won Single-frame Large Silver with “Colonial Heroes Patriotic Postcards – Anticipating the Semiquincentennial of the United States in 2026”.

EuroPhilEx was held in Birmingham, UK from May 7th through the 11th. Strong member participation at this international show resulted in a large number of awards for Society members. As a FIP show, medal levels are 5 points higher than in WSP shows. Thus it took 95 points at Europhilex to get a Large Gold, while the same medal at a WSP show would require 90 points. Congratulations to all Society members who took part in the show.

 
James Grimwood-Taylor’s “The 1839-1840 British Postal Reforms; their Origins, Milestones and International Results” was a FEPA Grand Prix Candidate.
 
In the category of Traditional Philately, three members won medals.

• Jan Hofmeyr won Multi-frame Large Gold for “Philatelic Invention in the United States: 1861-1881”. Jan’s exhibit was also a Grand Prix International Candidate.
• Vernon Morris, Jr. won Multi-frame Gold for “Evolution & Impact of Bloods Local Post: 1842 to 1862. Vern’s exhibit was also awarded Special Prize Material.
• Chip Gliedman won Multi-frame Gold for “My Victoria – Imperforate Line Engraved Stamps of Great Britain from the Plate Position ‘CG’ ”.

In the category of Postal History, seven members won medals.

• Vernon Morris, Jr. won Multi-frame Large Gold for “Evolution of American Mail 1685 to 1799” (also a Grand Prix International Candidate).
• Steven Walske won Multi-frame Large Gold for “La Debacle: Postal History of the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War”.
• Gary Diffen won Multi-frame Large Gold for “Transportation of Australian Colonial Mail to 1856”.
• Martin Camerer won Multi-frame Large Gold for “Postal relations between the United States and Germany via France 1828 1869”.
• Daniel Knowles won Multi-frame Large Gold for “Handling United States Domestic and International Mail 1860-1869”.
• Patricia Stilwell-Walker won Multi-frame Gold for “Baltimore Postal History: from Colonial Times until June 30, 1851”.
• Chip Gliedman won Multi-frame Large Vermeil for “A Postal History Map of the United States of America”.

Chery Ganz won Single-frame Gold in Aerophilately for “British Airship R100”.

In the category of Open Philately, Hal Vogel won Single-frame Large Silver for each of two exhibits, “Great Britain’s Greatest Irish Polar Expeditioner” and “1838-42 Wilkes Antarctic Expedition: Its many (often unfavourable) Facets”.
 
Members also won Literature awards.
> Nick Kirke won Large Gold for “New York City Foreign Mail 1845-1878 ” (also Best in Class).
> Ute & Elmar Dorr won Gold for “Hungarian Post Offices in Foreign Letter Service from 1900 to the Outbreak of World War ”.
> Ute Dorr won Vermeil for “The Orient-Express 1883–1914 ”.
> James Peter Gough won Large Silver for “A Special Study on First Trial Flight Between Shanghai and Tihwa by Eurasia Aviation Corporation from December 1931 to January 1932 ”.

The Rocky Mountain Stamp Show was held May 23 – 25 in Aurora, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. The show is held annually at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds.
 

Exhibits from three Society members won Multi-frame Large Gold:

• William Fort with “Wartime Pacific Airmail Routes 1939-1947” (also the APS 1940-1980 Medal; the APC Award for Writing Excellence; and the Postal History Society Award).
• Murray Abramson with Geographic Expansion of Commercial US Mail to Foreign Destinations via Airmail (1922-1941) (also the APS 1900-1940 Medal).
• William Johnson with James William Denver – The Man & His Times (also the USPCS Award; the AAPE – Award of Excellence Treatment; and the ATA Second Award).

Alfredo Frohlich had two exhibits win Multi-frame Gold. The first was SCADTA Airmail 1929-1931. The second was SCADTA Ecuador Airmail 1928-1930.
 
Michael Wilson won Multi-frame Large Vermeil for The Pan American Speed Test of 1946 (also the AAPE Novice Award).
 
Bruce Wasserman won Multi-frame Silver for Charles Dickinson, Founder of Dickinson Air Line and the First-Which was Their Second to Last-Day of CAM 9 Service from Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1926 (also AAMS Silver).

This year’s PIPEX theme was the 200th anniversary of the founding of Fort Vancouver. Despite its name, the fort is in the US. More info here. The show was held May 2nd-4th at the Monarch Hotel in Clackamas. The full set of exhibits can be seen here.

 
Ralph Nafziger starts off the list of Society winners. His The 3¢ 1936 Oregon Territory Issue won Multi-frame Large Gold and the AAPE Award of Excellence Treatment.
 
Gerry Oberst won for each of his two exhibits. Jean-Michel Folon: Philatelic Artist earned Gerry Multi-frame Large Vermeil (also the APS Award of Excellence Post 1980 and the ATA 2nd Award. Gerry’s 19th Century American Philatelic Images of Thomas Jefferson won Multi-frame Vermeil.
 
Marc Stromberg won Single-frame Vermeil for Blood’s Despatch 1845-1862 (also the AAPE Novice Certificate).