After a month of voting, the second annual CSN Cover Contest has come to a close with the Calgary Philatelic Society (CPS) taking top honours in the club category!
The results are in—the Calgary Philatelic Society wins the first-place prize in the club category of the 2019 CSN Cover Contest!
FIRST PLACE, CLUB CATEGORY
The top cover in the club category was submitted by the Calgary Philatelic Society!
The CPS cover, which earned 112 votes, celebrates October’s National Stamp Collecting Month as well as the club’s annual fall show, Caltapex, which is also held in October.
“The CPS is proud and happy to have won the contest,” said CPS member and cover designer Dave Bartlet.
Inspired by the Calgary Zoo’s ongoing panda exhibit, CPS members decided to frank their cover with a themed Picture Postage stamp. After voting at the club’s monthly meeting this September, members chose one photograph for the customized stamp while two runners-up were chosen for the cachet.
“We felt the theme of pandas for the show was something that is attractive to all generations, young collectors and older collectors alike.”
The stamp is cancelled by a Calgary “Airways RPO” postmark dated Sept. 23, 2019.
“All hobbies these days often need to promote what they do as there is a lot of competition for the attention of people in the market. We were late in the game to create our cover this year since our show was not until the third week of October, but seeing your promotion in the electronic Canadian Stamp News and remembering last year when Kathy Hartley asked why we didn’t do an entry got me to rush this into production,” added Bartlet.
“Since we had our pictures selected already, it was a matter of creating a cover that put out the right message for the month in combination with our show. We will be more aware to do something similar next year for the promotion. It is the local clubs that are the grassroots and need to do the footwork for Stamp Collecting Month.”
The CPS will also receive $100 from CSN for taking the top spot in the club category.
The second-place cover in the club category was submitted by the Waterloo Region Stamp Club!
SECOND PLACE, CLUB CATEGORY
The second-place prize, which is worth $50, goes to the Waterloo Region Stamp Club, whose cover earned 61 votes in the club category.
It’s franked by Canada Post’s 2019 West Montrose Covered Bridge stamp. To the left, the cover depicts an old colour postcard featuring St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on 54 Queen St. N., in nearby Kitchener, Ont. The club’s logo is shown at the top of the cover, which also includes a Waterloo Post Office postmark dated Sept. 25, 2019.
THIRD PLACE, CLUB CATEGORY
The third-place cover in the club category was submitted by the Kelowna and District Stamp Club!
The third-place prize, which is worth $25, goes to the Kelowna and District Stamp Club, whose cover earned 52 votes in the club category.
It features a new “stamp-on-a-stamp” version of the club’s Ogopogo-themed Picture Postage stamp. The original Ogopogo stamp was franked on the club’s submission in last year’s inaugural CSN Cover Contest, which it won.
This year’s Kelowna cover also includes an image of the 2019 “stamp-on-a-stamp” version alongside the club’s first Ogopogo stamp, which was printed 29 years ago. The actual stamp at the top right was cancelled with a Sept. 17, 2019-dated Ogopogo postmark from Kelowna, B.C.’s Town Centre Post Office. The commemorative cancel, which is also dated Sept. 17, references National Stamp Collecting Month and covers the image of the “stamp-on-a-stamp” version.
TOP INDIVIDUAL COVER
Toronto collector Harvey Shuter wins the first-place prize in the individual category of the 2019 CSN Cover Contest!
Harvey Shuter’s cover invites people to collect stamps and join a stamp club.
Toronto’s Harvey Shuter won the first-place prize in the individual category with 60 votes and will take home $50.
Shuter’s cover celebrates National Stamp Collecting Month by encouraging people to not only collect stamps but also join a stamp club. The cover is franked with a customized Picture Postage stamp featuring a local post office. It’s cancelled by a Stamp Collecting Month postmark dated Oct. 1, 2019, while a stylized stamp design is featured to the left of the cachet.
Beginning earlier this year, individuals and organizations were invited to mail covers to CSN in celebration of National Stamp Collecting Month, which is recognized in Canada every October. For this year’s contest, CSN received 10 covers – seven from clubs and three from individuals – and voting was open through the month of October. On Nov. 1, CSN announced the top three club covers.
Please see below for all of this year’s listings in alphabetical order. Thank you to all of the clubs and individuals who submitted covers for the 2019 CSN Cover Contest, and good luck next year!
2019 CLUB COVERS
Calgary Philatelic Society
Calgary Philatelic Society (RPSC Chapter 66)
The Calgary Philatelic Society cover celebrates National Stamp Collecting Month alongside the club’s annual show, Caltapex, which is also held in October.
Inspired by the Calgary Zoo’s ongoing panda exhibit, the club’s members decided to frank their cover with a themed Picture Postage stamp. After voting at the club’s monthly meeting on Sept. 2, members chose the winning photograph for the stamp while two runners-up were chosen for the cachet. The stamp is cancelled by an “Airways RPO” postmark dated Sept. 23, 2019.
Cobourg Stamp Club
Cobourg Stamp Club (RPSC Chapter 106)
The Cobourg Stamp Club cover celebrates National Stamp Collecting Month as well as the club’s annual show, Copex, which recently marked its 50th consecutive outing in the southern Ontario town just east of Toronto.
In honour of the show’s half-century milestone, the club’s cover highlights 50 years of Cobourg history, including the local St. Peter’s Anglican Church and Salvation Army Citadel. It’s franked with a Picture Postage stamp and is cancelled by a commemorative Copex show postmark dated Sept. 28, 2019.
Kelowna and District Stamp Club
Kelowna and District Stamp Club (RPSC Chapter 90)
The Kelowna and District Stamp Club cover features a new “stamp-on-a-stamp” version of the club’s Ogopogo-themed Picture Postage stamp. The original Ogopogo stamp was franked on the club’s submission in last year’s inaugural CSN Cover Contest.
This year’s cover also includes an image of the 2019 “stamp-on-a-stamp” version alongside the club’s first Ogopogo stamp, which was printed 29 years ago. The actual stamp at the top right was cancelled with a Sept. 17, 2019-dated Ogopogo postmark from Kelowna, B.C.’s Town Centre Post Office. The commemorative cancel, which is also dated Sept. 17, references National Stamp Collecting Month and covers the image of the “stamp-on-a-stamp” version.
Merivale High School
Merivale High School
The Merivale High School cover commemorates National Stamp Collecting Month by honouring philately’s history with worldwide rarities alongside a graphic stamp featuring the letter “M” – for Merivale – as well as Canada Post’s logo.
The cover is franked with a pair of stamps from Canada Post’s 1982 “International Philatelic Youth Exhibition” series. The 35- and 60-cent stamps – showing earlier stamps from 1928 and 1929, respectively – are cancelled by a “BP Greenbank North PO” postmark dated Sept. 29, 2019.
North Toronto Stamp Club (RPSC Chapter 5)
The North Toronto Stamp Club (NTSC) cover encourages people to collect stamps and join the NTSC with a fun minion-themed design.
The cover, which was designed by NTSC member Harvey Shuter, is franked with a Picture Postage stamp celebrating the club’s 80th anniversary in 2018 and is cancelled by a commemorative National Stamp Collecting Month postmark dated Oct. 1, 2019.
Toronto Stamp Collectors’ Club
Toronto Stamp Collectors’ Club (RPSC Chapter 238)
The Toronto Stamp Collectors’ Club (TSCC) cover invites people to keep calm and collect stamps—a hobby dating back to the 1840s, soon after Britain issued the world’s first stamp, the “Penny Black.” Founded only half a century after the Penny Black was issued, the TSSC is among the oldest stamp clubs in Canada.
The cover franked with a Picture Postage stamp marking the club’s 125th anniversary in 2017 and is cancelled by a “Toronto PP.O” postmark dated Sept. 27, 2019. The TSCC logo is also shown in the bottom-left corner.
Waterloo Region Stamp Club
Waterloo Region Stamp Club (RPSC Chapter 247)
The Waterloo Region Stamp Club cover celebrates National Stamp Collecting Month with a cover franked by Canada Post’s 2019 West Montrose Covered Bridge stamp.
To the left, the cover depicts an old colour postcard featuring St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on 54 Queen St. N., in nearby Kitchener, Ont. The club’s logo is shown at the top of the cover, which also includes a Waterloo Post Office postmark dated Sept. 25, 2019.
2019 COLLECTOR COVERS
Apollo 11
François Brisse, of Beaconsfield, Qué.
Collector François Brisse’s ‘Apollo 11’ cover was originally designed as a souvenir cover for the Lakeshore Stamp Club exhibition in Dorval, Qué., this April.
The cover is franked with an Apollo 11-themed Picture Postage stamp, whose design is recreated to the left of the cachet. The stamp is also cancelled with an April 5, 2019-dated commemorative postmark from Lakeshore 2019.
D-Day
François Brisse, of Beaconsfield, Qué.
Collector François Brisse’s ‘D-Day’ cover was originally designed as a souvenir cover for the Lakeshore Stamp Club exhibition in Dorval, Qué., this April.
The cover is franked with a Picture Postage stamp marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which is also marked on the left side of the cachet. The stamp is also cancelled with an April 6, 2019-dated commemorative postmark from Lakeshore 2019.
Shuter
Harvey Shuter, of Toronto, Ont.
Collector Harvey Shuter’s cover celebrates National Stamp Collecting Month by encouraging people to not only collect stamps but also join a stamp club.
The cover is franked with a customized Picture Postage stamp featuring a local post office. It’s cancelled by a Stamp Collecting Month postmark dated Oct. 1, 2019, while a stylized stamp design is featured to the left of the cachet.