Commemorating the Penny Black with pen and paper

The earliest known Penny Black, the beginning of a more than 150-year communications revolution, crossed the block but failed to sell at a U.K. auction in 2021. Photo via Sotheby’s.

As the world’s first postage stamp, the Penny Black turns 185 this May, collectors and letter writers alike are honouring its legacy in a unique, heartfelt way. The U.K.-based Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society (HLAS) is encouraging thousands of its members—across 38 countries including Canada—to mark the occasion by simply writing and mailing a letter. Continue reading →

Dealers navigate tariff turmoil

As sweeping new U.S. tariffs ripple through global trade, Canadian stamp dealers are bracing for serious consequences. The latest measures—announced on April 2 under the “Reciprocal Tariff Policy”—impose a 10 per cent duty on imports from nearly every country in the world, along with additional duties of up to 50 per cent on goods from... Continue reading →

New stamp dictionary speaks collectors’ language

The Illustrated Philatelic Dictionary, featuring some 500 definitions, is the first updated reference on Canadian philatelic terms in 50 years. Published and printed by Canadian Stamp News, the book is available for purchase online or by calling the CSN office.

Collectors now have a fresh, all-Canadian reference to help decode the language of philately. Trajan Publishing has released its Illustrated Philatelic Dictionary, a nearly 100-page, full-colour softcover book packed with terms both traditional and modern—available now at CoinStampSupplies.com. Continue reading →

Parama’s Alberta Collection leads postal history auction

An April 1899 registered cover mailed to Toronto farmer and seed merchant William Rennie from MacLeod, Alta., then a district of the North-West Territories, carries an estimate of $750-plus as Lot 151.

Collectors and postal historians alike will find much to admire in Eastern Auctions’ upcoming sale, slated for April 9-12, where a remarkable 1,150 lots of Canadian and colonial stamps and postal history will cross the block. The four-session sale opens with a standout offering—what’s believed to be the most comprehensive collection of Alberta postal history... Continue reading →

Canadian makes philatelic history

A Canadian philatelist has made history, earning international recognition for his outstanding contributions to the world of competitive stamp exhibiting. Presented at a prestigious global exhibition, this honour marks a first for North America and cements his legacy in philatelic circles. His decades of dedication, leadership, and expertise have shaped international exhibitions and left a... Continue reading →

Discover Canada Post’s forgotten Stamp Club in the latest Canadian Stamp News

In 1997, Canada Post issued an official membership kit for the Stamp Travellers’ Club with a range of beginner supplies, books and stamps.

During the 1980s, as philatelic interest soared to record highs, Canada Post launched a bold initiative to inspire the next generation of collectors. With millions of letters passing through the mail each year, the Crown corporation capitalized on this momentum by creating the Stamp Travellers’ Club, a mail-based program that, at its peak, attracted more... Continue reading →

CBC paved philatelic path with ‘first network stamp club’

The CBC Stamp Club partnered with Trans-Canada Airlines (now Air Canada) to produce first-day covers featuring four stamps issued in 1951, in conjunction with CAPEX, to commemorate the centenary of Canadian postage stamps.

The venerable Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the country’s oldest continuously operating national public broadcasting network, once had a stamp club. Established 88 years ago, in November 1936, the CBC includes distinct English-and French-language service units known as CBC and Radio-Canada, respectively, reflecting Canada’s official languages. Canadian officials based their Crown corporation on the British model,... Continue reading →

Major Newfoundland, Canada airmails on offer in February

A mint example of ‘the key of Canadian semi-official airmails,’ according to auctioneers, will be offered as Lot 567. In VF condition, the 1927 London-to-London flight stamp is catalogued at $100,000 but is estimated at $40,000-plus.

Nearly 175 lots will cross the block as part of Eastern Auctions’ third sale of the Denninger Collection on Feb. 22 with this portion offering airmail rarities from Newfoundland and Canada. The sale, which offers Lots 501-674 in a single session, contains “most of the major” Newfoundland airmail rarities, including errors, varieties, overprints and surcharges,... Continue reading →

‘Great opportunity’ for bidders in first Hobart sale

An 1853 cover franked with the finest known New Brunswick one-shilling heraldic stamp, in Extremely Fine condition, is expected to realize at least $15,000 as Lot 15 of the first Hobart Collection sale, which Eastern Auctions will offer on Feb. 21.

The first portion of the Hobart Collection, featuring New Brunswick and Nova Scotia proofs, stamps, and postal history, will cross the block on Feb. 21. The Maritime provinces issued 10 different designs between 1851, when they were still British colonies, and 1867, when they joined Canadian Confederation. The consignor has “methodically and carefully assembled” the... Continue reading →

Canada issued 75 different stamps in various formats in 2024

Canada Post issued nine new ‘Far and Wide’ definitive on May 6, to correspond with an increase in postal rates.

With last year’s production increased, collectors’ albums will require more space for all versions of 2024 Canadian stamps. For one in every format – totalling 75 – the pre-tax cost was $77.14, compared with $52.28 for all 2023 definitives and commemoratives, $91.02 for the 2022 stamps. With one exception, all of last year’s stamps were... Continue reading →

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