Canadian philatelist Charles Verge will receive one of the American Philatelic Society’s highest honours this year, the Luff Award for Exceptional Contributions to Philately.
Established in 1940 in memory of former APS president John N. Luff, the award recognizes meritorious contributions by living philatelists and remains one of organized philately’s most respected distinctions.
Three Luff Awards are presented annually for Distinguished Philatelic Research, Exceptional Contributions to Philately and Outstanding Service to the American Philatelic Society. This year’s recipients are Larry Lyons (Distinguished Philatelic Research), Charles J. G. Verge (Exceptional Contributions to Philately) and Elizabeth Hisey (Outstanding Service to the APS).
The awards will be presented during Boston 2026, May 23 to 30, where recipients will sign the Luff Award Scroll and receive an engraved ring and commemorative memento.
The recognition adds to Verge’s distinguished international record. In 2023, he received the Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Philately, becoming only the third Canadian in its history to earn that honour. In 2022, he signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in London and was Canada’s only living signatory at the time.
Verge has judged at more than 150 national and international exhibitions and has served as a lead trainer for the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie Jury Academy. In Canada, he held long-standing leadership roles with the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation and the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada.
The APS honour recognizes decades of work that have strengthened both Canadian and international philately.