CSN celebrates 45 years with 450 FDCs, 45 of them signed by Trajan staff

Anniversary covers now available for $5.

By Jesse Robitaille

To mark its 45th anniversary, CSN has partnered with Canada Post to create a special philatelic commemoration celebrating Trajan’s long-running stamp magazine.

This May, CSN ordered 500 Picture Postage stamps (10 sheets of 50 stamps) marking CSN’s 45th anniversary. Created by Trajan production co-ordinator Jim Szeplaki, the stamps’ shared design focus on five past CSN covers, including the first – dated June 28, 1976 – plus others from April 1984, July 1996, June 2007 and this May.

“I wanted the stamp to portray how CSN has evolved over the 45 years, and how better than to show the changes in the cover since 1976? Having being involved with the publication since 1994, I have witnessed much of that evolution first-hand,” said Szeplaki, Trajan’s longest-serving employee, who has been with the company, working on both CSN and Canadian Coin News, for nearly three decades.

Of the 500 stamps ordered by CSN, only 450 of them will be franked to first-day covers and tied by a special pictorial postmark designed in partnership with Canada Post, which produced the physical postmark device this spring.

“Partnerships are, and have always been, a major aspect of philately, so I’d like to thank Canada Post for teaming up with CSN to help us celebrate our latest major milestone with our readers,” said CSN Publisher and Managing Editor Mike Walsh, who joined Trajan in 2013. “I’d also like to thank the readers for 45 years of philatelic fun, going all the way back to 1976, before Trajan bought CSN and CCN in 1989.”

CSN’s first issue is dated June 28, 1976.

THE STAMP & COVER

On the “CSN 45” stamps, the company name – “CANADIAN STAMP NEWS” – is shown at the top, complete with the publication’s iconic red maple leaf logo.

The phrase “CELEBRATING 45 YEARS” is also at the bottom left, alongside the stamp’s “P” symbol, noting its Permanent rate (one of three rates offered through the Picture Postage program). The word “CANADA” also runs alongside the stamp’s left side.

The special cancel, which is dated June 28, 2021, features a large “45” numeral in the centre with the word “YEARS” in a banner below. The double dates 1976-2021 and the city name “WELLAND, ON” are also shown near the central design. In an outlined edge, the 2021 cancel date is joined by the words “CANADIAN STAMP NEWS / POSTES CANADA / CANADA POST.”

The first-day covers, which are available for $6.50 (including shipping but plus tax), also feature a left-side cachet with the inaugural 1976 edition of CSN alongside another issue of the magazine published in June. The phrase “CELEBRATING 45 YEARS” is also shown in a banner above the covers.

Of the 450 covers available to the public, 45 of them are signed by Trajan’s current staff and are available for $9.50 (including shipping but plus tax).

All covers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. They can be purchased online via coinstampsupplies.com or by calling CSN at 1-800-408-0352 from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. (ET).

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