Category Archives: Top Story

Echoing issues from past years, membership and finances were among the main topics of discussion at the first virtual annual general meeting (AGM) hosted by the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) this December. A welcome sign to officials worried about a dwindling membership base, the RPSC gained 85 members last year, jumping from 1,460 in 2019 to 1,545 in 2020. More than 90 of those members attended the recent AGM, held via Zoom on Dec. 9. “It’s wonderful to scroll through the gallery and see everyone,” said RPSC President Ed Kroft, who also spoke about the “devastating” impact COVID-19 has had on the philatelic community and country at large. Continue reading →

Along with some dealer sales – mostly for sellers with a strong online presence – auction results have also held their own during the pandemic. In 2020, the hobby’s natural ebb and flow continued, with certain collecting areas outperforming others in terms of general interest if not outright value. Among the major trends – a continuation from previous years – is the increased interest in the Elizabethan period, including modern errors and varieties. “I think collectors are just starting to notice there are some bargains to be had, and they are picking up some of those things they need in the modern era,” said auctioneer Gary Lyon, the owner of Gary Lyon (Philatelist) Ltd. and its sister company Eastern Auctions, who added prices for modern material were previously “depressed a bit.” Continue reading →

Looking ahead to 2021, the “Edmonton Spring National” in March and Orapex in May – Canada’s first two national-level shows of the year – are already cancelled. The June Royal Convention originally slated for Peterborough, Ont., before the host Kawartha Stamp Club withdrew as the host, is also up in the air. The only remaining 2021 national shows include the Postal History Society of Canada Symposium in July and Canpex in October. All five of Canada’s national-level shows in 2020 were cancelled due to COVID-19. What’s certain is these national-level cancellations limit exhibitors’ chances to qualify for CAPEX 22, the first World One-Frame Stamp Championship scheduled for June 9-12, 2022, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto. Continue reading →

With pandemic-related show cancellations continuing into next spring, collectors across Canada have begun to wonder about the 2021 Royal Convention. This year marked the first time since 1950 the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) – and its predecessor Canadian Philatelic Society, which earned its “Royal” prefix in 1959 – did not host a convention. Now, with winter lockdowns looming and about a year until a critical mass of Canadians will receive a COVID-19 vaccine, concerns are swirling about next year’s Royal Convention – especially after the Kawartha Stamp Club withdrew as the event’s host. Continue reading →

The Canadian Stamp Dealers Association (CSDA) has unveiled its new board for the upcoming term that begins on Dec. 1. Long-time CSDA president Rick Day, of Burlington, Ont., has stepped down from the helm after nearly two decades. He’s set to assume the vice-president’s role previously filled by incoming President Angelo Komatsoulis, of Montréal, Qué. “I’ve enjoyed the time, and I’m wishing Angelo all the best,” said Day, the owner of Medallion Stamps, who added, “We’ve all come a long way.” Continue reading →

After being certified as genuine by a U.S. expertization service, a 94-year-old block of four “Admiral” provisional stamps with an unlisted inverted surcharge has been deemed fake by the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation. The mint block of four 1926 two-cent-on-three-cent carmine “Admiral” provisional stamps (Scott #139) was apparently first discussed in 1978, when Montréal philatelist George Marler showed it to a few fellow collectors, Carl Mangold, Hans Reiche and Ariel Hasid. Hasid recalled the meeting 42 years ago in a two-page article, “Potential new Admiral variety reappears after 42 years,” published this April in Maple Leaves, the quarterly journal of the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain. Continue reading →

At the helm of Toronto’s post office during its incorporation and subsequent population boom, James Scott Howard oversaw mail delivery from July 1828 until his dismissal nearly 10 years later. About a decade after the city incorporated in 1834, its population more than doubled to 21,000. While an excellent postal service was necessary, mail delivery in and around Toronto was “slow and sometimes tragic,” according to Zoé Delguste-Cincotta, curator of the Town of York Historical Society, which manages Toronto’s First Post Office (TFPO). “Roads in and around Toronto, when they would finally be built, were notoriously poor and waterlogged for three seasons of the year,” she said. Continue reading →

James Scott Howard became York’s fourth postmaster in 1828, about a decade after arriving in the bustling capital of Upper Canada from Fredericton, N.B. Six years after Howard came to the helm of York’s postal service – a role that also pegged him, albeit unofficially, as Upper Canada’s deputy postmaster general – the capital incorporated as the City of Toronto. Upper Canada’s first city – and its largest settlement after surpassing Kingston in 1832 – Toronto boasted a population of more than 9,200, including many immigrants who had recently left behind family and friends in their home country. “But the new city was remote and isolated, and if these residents wanted to communicate further than shouting distance, there was only one way to do it,” said Zoé Delguste-Cincotta, curator of the Town of York Historical Society, which manages Toronto’s First Post Office (TFPO). Continue reading →

Now derided by some Canadians as the sarcastic “centre of the universe,” present-day Toronto served as the heart of the fledgeling Province of Upper Canada soon after its establishment in 1791. Two years later, with Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) still serving as the British colony’s first capital, Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe made his first visit to the site of the “Toronto Purchase” (also known as Treaty 13). First negotiated in 1787, revisited in 1805 and finally settled in 2010, the Toronto Purchase saw the local Indigenous community – the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – surrender about 250,000 acres of land to the British crown. The deal was made in exchange for “149 barrels of goods and a small amount of cash” – £1,700 altogether – according to the 1986 book Toronto Observed. The goods included 2,000 gun flints, 120 mirrors, 24 brass kettles, 24 laced hats, a bale of flowered flannel and 96 gallons of rum. Continue reading →

After nearly four months with no new issues, Canada Post released its five-stamp “Medical Groundbreakers” set honouring medical physicians and researchers on Sept. 10. Available in 10-stamp booklets with two of each design, the set is Canada Post’s first issue since May 20, when it released a pair of stamps marking 100 years of radio history. The brief hiatus was triggered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which caused some delays in new issues as the stamp program schedule was shuffled. Continue reading →