Tim Bartsche, of Colorado, will head the jury for the competitive exhibition at Americover 2018, a World Series of Philately (WSP) show to be held Aug. 3-5 in Peachtree Corners, Ga.
He will be joined by Bill Schultz, of Pennsylvania; Douglas Clark, of Massachusetts; Roger Quinby, of Georgia; and William Fort, of Virginia.
The prospectus is now available on the American First Day Cover Society (AFDCS) website, afdcs.org; by regular mail from Kerry Heffner, 17656 K Street, Omaha, N.E.; or e-mail at exhibits@afdcs.org. The deadline for entering the exhibition is June 1 or whenever the 160 available frames are filled.
The emphasis at Americover is on first-day cover (FDC) exhibits, and about three-fourths of each exhibit should consist of FDCs and related material. All three types (postal, illustrated mail and display) of the general class of exhibits will be accepted, as well as one-frame and youth exhibits.
JURY MEMBERS
Bartsche specializes in the stamps of South Africa, revenues of Ecuador and officials of Guatemala, but he also has an FDC exhibit of the U.S. King Salmon issue of 1956.
Schultz has been exhibiting for more than 50 years. His specialties include illustrated mail and deltiology.
Clark is a longtime officer of the Mobile Post Office Society. He also collects FDCs of the 1903 Hartford envelopes and the 1971 revalued issue.
Quinby also collects postal stationery as well as postal history and censorship, focusing on Scandinavia. He has also exhibited FDCs of the Black Heritage series.
Fort is currently secretary of the American Air Mail Society and his primary collecting interest is airmail postal history, especially Pan American Airways and Second World War trans-Pacific airmail.
WORLD SERIES OF PHILATELY
As a WSP show, the winner of the Grand Award at Americover 2018 will participate in the Champion of Champions competition at StampShow 2019.
Charles J. O’Brien, III, winner of the 2017 Grand Award with “New York World’s Fair 1939,” will represent Americover this summer in Columbus, Ohio.
The Americover Grand Award is again a crystal pyramid provided by the AFDCS’ Claude C. Ries Chapter.
In addition, if six or more competitive single-frame exhibits are entered, the Curtis B. Patterson Award recipient for the best single-frame exhibit will be invited to enter the APS Single-Frame Champion of Champions competition at AmeriStamp Expo in 2019.
Besides its Grand Award and Reserve Grand Award, Americover offers special awards from both the AFDCS and other philatelic societies, including awards for best exhibits of foreign FDCs, topical FDCs and pre-1931 FDCs; best exhibits by a novice and a youth; and best single-frame exhibit.
The three-day WSP show will be held at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast, and there is a special Americover room rate of $99. There will also be two bourses (commercial dealers and cachet-makers), a banquet, meetings, a youth table, a hospitality suite, live and silent auctions, seminars, a pre-show tour of the area, a post-show evening dinner event and possibly a U.S. first-day ceremony. A forum by a postal official involved with first day covers is also on the schedule.
Unlike other WSP shows, Americover’s exhibit awards are not presented at its banquet (which is held Friday night) but at the AFDCS business meeting on Saturday morning.
For more information, contact the AFDCS at P.O. Box 16277, Tucson, Ariz. 85732-6277; email showinfo@afdcs.org; or visit www.afdcs.org/show.