Category Archives: Top Story

“NEVER mark on the back of a stamp ‘FAKE’. This is a requirement by eBay for sellers that even ‘might’ believe their item is a fake. Problem is that sellers very often cannot tell if their item is a fake or not. They often do not have the specialized knowledge that would make them 100% sure,” reads Pugh’s post, which can be found at at facebook.com/groups/CollectingCanadianStamps. Continue reading →

Weeks before the cauldrons are lit for the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in South Korea, Canada Post unveiled five stamps honouring some of Canada’s most accomplished athletes. Dubbed “Women in Winter Sports,” the new issue commemorates six female athletes across five Permanent stamps, including Sharon and Shirley Firth (cross-country skiing); Sonja Gaudet (wheelchair curling); Danielle Goyette (hockey); Nancy Greene (alpine skiing); and Clara Hughes (cycling and speed skating). Continue reading →

The New York reporter who investigated and authored a book on the intriguing story surrounding the world’s most famous stamp – the British Guiana one-cent magenta – will be speaking at the National Postage Stamp and Coin Show on April 7. James Barron is author of The One-Cent Magenta: Inside the Quest to Own the Most Valuable Stamp in the World and a journalist at The New York Times, where his articles have appeared in virtually every section of that paper. Continue reading →

The John Smallman Collection of the Admiral Issue of Canada will be offered in a 646-lot sale by New Brunswick’s Eastern Auctions this February. Described by auctioneers as “spectacular,” the Smallman Collection was assembled throughout four decades and includes extensive examples of strong lathework and imprint multiples. “Looking at famous Admiral collections of the past and where this would rest, I think it’s certainly in the top three, and I think the lathework is the best that’s ever come to market at one time,” said auctioneer and owner Gary Lyon. “John was at it for 40 years, and it was a real passion for him. He had a few other collections, but the Admirals were his main focus. He particularly liked lathework, and he always tried to get the strongest impression of lathework that he could find for each variety. He has some extremely rare and even unique things.” Continue reading →

Later this year, The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) will be returning to St. Catharines, Ont. for its 90th convention. Hosted by the St. Catharines Stamp Club, the 2018 convention of The RPSC will be held June 22-24 at the Holiday Inn and Suites Parkway Convention Centre on 327 Ontario St. It will mark only the second time the convention has been held in the “Garden City”; in 2009, it was held at the same location. Continue reading →

After more than 12 years at the helm of Canada Post’s Stamp Advisory Committee, Robert Waite announced he will resign from his post in February 2018. Waite, who said he viewed his role as “that of a facilitator and a consensus-builder,” recently informed Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra of his intention to resign. “Chairing this committee has been a great privilege and has brought me into contact with some of Canada’s pre-eminent designers, historians and collectors. I was especially fortunate to have (Canada Post Director of Stamp Services) Jim Phillips and his team supporting me through my 12-plus year tenure,” said Waite, who also served as vice-president of the Crown corporation from 2005-10. Continue reading →

Barrie philatelist Dave Hanes is researching Canadian letters from Santa Claus for a forthcoming book slated to be published by the British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS). Hanes is compiling a listing of letters from Santa sent via iconic Canadian retailers T. Eaton Company (commonly known as Eaton’s) and the Robert Simpson Company (known as Simpsons since 1972). “It’s history that a lot of people have seen, but they’ve never taken any great interest in it,” said Hanes, who has been a member of the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada (PSSC) for about a decade. “I’m getting older now, and I’d like to see this stuff recorded for posterity.” Eaton’s Toyland, which was the retailer’s fifth-floor Christmastime toy section, began writing letters from Santa as early as 1909. The earliest known letter – “so far,” added Hanes with cautious optimism – was written on Eaton’s letterhead. Continue reading →

The day after being unveiled in Toronto, and only one day before it was slated to go on sale across the country, the new Hanukkah stamp issued by Canada Post was removed from display and returned to head office because of what the Crown corporation called “a design issue” with the stamp booklet and first-day cover. Initially slated for release on Nov. 14 as a booklet of 10, the Hanukkah stamp was unveiled on Nov. 12 at the Starry Nights event held at the Toronto Reference Library’s Bram and Bluma Appel Salon. However, according to a Canada Post memo sent to all dealer post offices on Nov. 13, entitled “IMPORTANT: Stop selling Hanukkah stamp products immediately,” the booklet (product code “414066111”) and official first-day cover (product code “414066131”) were ordered to be “immediately removed from display and returned.” “These products are not to be sold to customers and they are also no longer available through mail order or online,” reads the memo, which also explains “the reprinted version” of the stamp booklets and OFDC would “be back on sale in the next coming weeks.” The products were to be returned no later than Nov. 22. Post offices were also requested to remove the November 2017 issue of Details magazine, which featured the original Hanukkah products on page 10. Continue reading →

The biannual National Postage Stamp and Coin Show returned to the Greater Toronto Area this October for its fourth showing since 2015, when Trajan Media took the reigns of what was then known as the National Postage Stamp Show. Nearly 1,000 collectors attended the Oct. 28-29 show, and they were greeted by a familiar 9,000-square-foot bourse located in the Hilton Mississauga’s Graydon Hall, which has been the show’s home since last spring. “I liked that there’s a mix of postal history and postcard vendors,” said collector and award-winning exhibitor Leon Matthys about the bourse, which included 25 dealers of all kinds of philatelic material as well as about two dozen numismatic dealers. “If I had more time, I bet I’d have ventured into uncharted territories and browsed the coin merchants for non-philatelic ephemera such as medals, badges, pins and tokens.” Matthys added the event was “a breeze for drivers” with free on-site parking at the hotel, which is located directly off Highway 401 on Mississauga Road. Continue reading →