This year’s WESTPEX theme was California’s 175th birthday. No cake was on hand, but lots of medals were won.
The gold rush was started by Cheryl Ganz whose “Basel Zeppelin Posts” won the Single Frame Grand Award as well as Single-frame Large Gold, the American Helvetia Philatelic Society (AHPS) – Best Single Frame and the AHPS – Gold for Highest Point Total.
Alfredo Frohlich won the WESTPEX Chairperson’s Award for his Colombia – Last Classic Issue – 1866 (also Multi-frame Large Gold and Donald Dretzke Memorial Award – Best Used Stamps).
Multi-frame Large Gold was won by
- Albert Briggs for Domestic Rates and Uses of the United States Presidential Series (also APS Award of Excellence – 1940 – 1980 and the USSS – Statue of Freedom Award)
- Lawrence Haber for The Half-Penny (decimal) Machin (also the Collectors Club of Chicago Gold Medallion Award – Award of Merit)
- Ed and Pat Laveroni for The Evolution of Early California Mail (also San Francisco Pacific Philatelic Society – Margaret Munda Memorial of Merit).
Multi-frame Gold was won by Mark Horne for U.S. Inverts and Select World Rarities Under 100 Extant and by Bob Crossman for Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company (also the AAPE – Novice Award).
Multi-frame Large Vermeil was won by John Schorn for The 21c Giannini Definitive of 1973 and Thomas Richards for Mary Pickford (America’s Sweetheart) (also PSE Award – It’s Not Just Stamps).
Multi-frame Vermeil was won by Dr. Bruce Wasserman for Charles Dickinson, Founder of Dickinson Airline and the First-Which Was Their Second To Last-Day of CAM 9 Service From Chicago to Minneapolis-St Paul in 1926 and John Kofranek for “All Together Now” The First Swiss Issued Stamps 1850-1854.
