Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to everyone who voted in the 2021 CSN Cover Contest!
We’re happy to announce the winners of the 2021 CSN Cover Contest!
This year, we received 12 submissions—three in the new National Stamp Collecting Month category, another three in the Club category and six in the Collector category. The submission period closed on Sept. 25.
People were then invited to vote online through October for their favourite submissions in each of the three categories. The voting deadline was Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. (ET). CSN announced the winners online the following day.
Record voting: The 2021 CSN Cover Contest drew 1,428 votes in the National Stamp Collecting Month category, 2,676 votes in the Collector category and 757 votes in the Club category.
Prizes: The winner of the National Stamp Collecting Month category – the main focus of this year’s contest – receives $150, the highest amount awarded in CSN Cover Contest history. The second- and third-place winners in this category receive 12- and six-month digital CSN subscriptions (or subscription extensions), respectively. Like last year, the other two categories – one for individuals (the Collector category) and another for organizations (the Club category) – each have a top prize of $100. The two runners-up of both of these categories will also win 12- and six-month digital subscriptions to CSN, respectively.
And the winners are…
NATIONAL STAMP COLLECTING MONTH CATEGORY
- 1st: Calgary Philatelic Society, 619 votes.
- 2nd: Kevin O’Reilly, 591 votes.
- 3rd: Robert Hadley, 218 votes.
COLLECTOR CATEGORY
- 1st: Shawn Agsalud, 1,493 votes.
- 2nd: Trevor Ashman, 1,088 votes.
- 3rd: Cheryl Grantham 75 votes
CLUB CATEGORY
- 1st: Medicine Hat Coin & Stamp Club, 390 votes.
- 2nd: Peace Arch Stamp Club, 260 votes.
- 3rd: Waterloo Region Stamp Club, 107 votes.
The results will also be published in CSN Vol. 46 #16 (dated Nov. 23).
In addition to being displayed below, each of the covers was also published in CSN Vol. 46 #14 (dated Oct. 25).
NATIONAL STAMP COLLECTING MONTH COVERS
The three entries in the National Stamp Collecting Month category include:
- the Calgary Philatelic Society;
- Robert Hadley; and
- Kevin O’Reilly.
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- Calgary Philatelic Society
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- Robert Hadley
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- Kevin O’Reilly (front)
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- Kevin O’Reilly (back)
The Cover Contest polls closed on Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. (ET)! Thank you for voting!
CLUB COVERS
The three entries in the Club category include:
- the Medicine Hat Coin & Stamp Club;
- the Peace Arch Stamp Club; and
- the Waterloo Region Stamp Club.
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- Medicine Hat Coin & Stamp Club (front)
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- Medicine Hat Coin & Stamp Club (back)
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- Peace Arch Stamp Club (front)
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- Waterloo Region Stamp Club
The Cover Contest polls closed on Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. (ET)! Thank you for voting!
COLLECTOR COVERS
The six entries in the Collector category include:
- Shawn Agsalud;
- Trevor Ashman;
- Cheryl Grantham; and
- Derwin Mak, who submitted three covers.
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- Shawn Agsalud (front)
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- Shawn Agsalud (back)
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- Trevor Ashman (front)
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- Trevor Ashman (back)
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- Derwin Mak (1/3)
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- Derwin Mak (2/3)
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- Derwin Mak (3/3)
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- Cheryl Grantham (front)
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- Cheryl Grantham (back)
The Cover Contest polls closed on Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. (ET)! Thank you for voting!
2021 COVER CONTEST DETAILS
Since its inception in 2018, the CSN Cover Contest has promoted National Stamp Collecting Month, which takes place each October.
This year, however, in response to readers’ suggestions, we placed the month-long philatelic celebration as the contest’s cornerstone.
For the first time, the top prize in 2021 was given to the winner of the new National Stamp Collecting Month category, which was open to both individuals and organizations. Individual collectors and philatelic organizations were invited to submit their custom-designed covers for the National Stamp Collecting Month category. These covers had to celebrate National Stamp Collecting Month in some way; whether it’s an abstract or straightforward design, the month-long celebration had to be the focus.
For the Club and Collector categories, the covers’ designs were unrestricted with no specific focus.
While both individuals and organizations could submit covers for the National Stamp Collecting Month category, only individuals could compete in the Collector category and only organizations were accepted into the Club category.
Altogether, there were nine prizes (three for each category) in the 2021 contest. The three monetary prizes totalled $350 while the six subscription prizes were worth about $115 altogether.