Category Archives: Top Story

As Canada’s COVID-19 caseload continues its downward trend, and with more than 35 per cent of the country’s population fully vaccinated, stamp collectors are eying a return to the bourse later this summer. As of July 9, more than 25.8 million Canadian adults (67.9 per cent of the population) have received at least one shot of an approved COVID-19 vaccine. More than 13.6 million adults (27.5 per cent) are also fully vaccinated. A few days later, on July 12, Canada reported a seven-day average of 496 new cases, down from a high of 6,730 on April 17. On July 12, health officials across the country reported only 277 new cases, including 114 in Ontario, 52 in Québec and 30 in Alberta, where the majority of the in-person stamp shows still slated for this summer and fall will take place. Continue reading →

To outsiders and newcomers, the world of international exhibiting can at first glance appear complicated. Exhibitions are generally held locally, regionally, nationally or internationally, the latter of which is overseen by the Swiss-based Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP). Also known as world shows, these international exhibitions focus on either general or specialized collecting interests. But what exactly is the difference between world, international, general and specialized exhibitions? “Exhibitions classified as world exhibitions are those which have obtained FIP patronage,” said David McLaughlin, chair of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) international liaison committee. Continue reading →

Canada’s seven-stamp set marking the 100th anniversary of the Group of Seven’s first exhibition topped the 2021 CSN Stamp Survey as respondents’ favourite issue of 2020. Released on May 7, 2020, the Group of Seven set earned 31 of 149 votes (20.8 per cent) as the overall favourite Canadian issue from the 2020 stamp program. The responses came in from across the country this spring, when CSN revived its annual stamp survey for the first time in a decade. The survey was announced in March (“Announcing the 2021 CSN Stamp Survey,” Vol. 45 #23) and then extended until April 18 to increase the response volume. Continue reading →

Canada Post fulfilled the latest chapter in a long tradition on June 7 with the issue of a single stamp commemorating former prime minister John Turner, who died last September. Chosen by Turner’s family, the stamp’s design shows the former leader in a different light – as an enthusiastic outdoorsman – with him at the helm during a 1985 sailing trip through Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off British Columbia’s west coast. His Montréal Gazette obituary recalls Turner sharing a memory on his 77th birthday about being “out on the water” for 70 summers. Continue reading →

Long-time Toronto exhibitor Sam Chiu took home the Grand Award at Pipex 2021, a U.S. World Series of Philately (WSP) show held virtually this year due to COVID-19. Chiu’s 10-frame postal history exhibit, “Hankow, China, 1891-1919,” earned 94 points – a large gold – as the exhibition’s best-judged entry. In it, he highlights the postal history of the central Chinese city Hankow, which Chiu called the “second most important city” on the Yangtze River, behind only Shanghai. The material dates as far back as 1891 – considered the city’s postal history beginnings, before which time “close to no items had been recorded,” Chiu said – through the end of the First World War. “The jury found it to be an outstanding exhibit,” said chief judge Liz Hisey, of Florida, who’s also the chair of the U.S.-based Committee on Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges (CANEJ), an America Philatelic Society (APS) affiliate. “There were several candidates for the Grand, but the jury voted for ‘Hankow.’” Continue reading →

The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) has launched a committee to expand its French-language presence in not only Québec but across Canada and francophone countries worldwide. The six-person committee includes: • Mario Chevrette, the president of Montréal’s Lakeshore Stamp Club; • Stéphane Cloutier, the auction manager of Ottawa’s Sparks Auctions; • Hugo Deshaye, an RPSC director and long-time Québec dealer; • George Pepall, a long-time RPSC official and past president from Kitchener, Ont.; • RPSC Secretary Jane Sodero, of Halifax; and • Grégoire Teyssier, another Québec-based RPSC director with deep roots in “Organized Philately.” Continue reading →

After reporting unexpectedly high interest in the recent commemorative “Snow Mammals” issue, Canada Post added another 100,000 booklets to the original print run. The Ottawa-based Canadian Bank Note Company (CBNC) was originally ordered to print 300,000 booklets of 10 stamps, with two of each of the set’s five designs. Featured on the cover of Canada Post’s February-March Details magazine, the stamps drew interest from both collectors and consumers, according to a statement from the Crown corporation. “These adorable animal stamps have attracted a lot of media attention and, thanks to popular demand, we’ve increased our print run from 300,000 to 400,000 booklets to make sure everyone can get their paws on them,” Jim Phillips, Canada Post director of stamp services, wrote in the latest edition of Details, published in early April. Continue reading →

Eastern Auctions’ next major sale, slated for April 30-May 1, will take place across three sessions, but many bidders will have their eyes locked on the Canada section. In addition to a highly anticipated Admiral offering, described by auctioneers as one of three “standout areas,” the sale’s Canada section also includes a significant section of “Small Queen” postal history plus the Daniel Cantor Collection of King Edward VII material. “If you do collect or have even the slightest interest in these areas, we do welcome anyone to study the lots, read the descriptions, learn something and hopefully be successful in acquiring an item or two for their collection,” Yohann Tanguay, a stamp specialist and chief describer with the New Brunswick-based auction house, told CSN. Continue reading →

A comprehensive 215-lot section of “Admirals,” named after the King’s Admiral of the Fleet uniform, will offer collectors the finest selection of examples in recent years on May 1. Several major rarities and high-quality mint never-hinged (NH) stamps from the long-running 20th-century series are slated to cross the block that day in the third and final session of Eastern Auctions’ next major sale. “The beauty of the Admiral series is that a collector can search a lifetime and never really complete his collection as the field is vast and opportunity of findings still in its infancy,” said Yohann Tanguay, a stamp specialist and chief describer with the New Brunswick-based auction house. “What makes this current offering stand out from the rest is that it has a bit of everything, with a focus on major Admiral rarities and superb-quality mint NH stamps.” Continue reading →

With show organizers forced to close their doors to stem the spread of COVID-19, an Alberta collector has created a series of special mourning covers to mark this past year’s slew of cancelled conventions. Since March 2020, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, show organizers in Canada have either postponed or outright cancelled virtually all shows, big and small. But with their large crowds and entrenched social mingling, major conventions bear the brunt of the risk. In 2020, Canada’s five national-level exhibitions – the Edmonton “Spring National,” Orapex, the annual Royal Convention, the Postal History Society of Canada (PHSC) Symposium and Canpex – were all cancelled. BNAPEX, another large gathering serving as the annual convention of the British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS), also met the same fate. The latter convention hosts a competitive British North America-focused exhibition rather than an official national exhibition accredited to participate in the World Series of Philately (WSP). Continue reading →