There are five major shows on the radar this week.
Today is the final day of Richpex 2017, Vancouver’s largest stamp show, which is being held at the Executive Suits Hotel Burnaby on 4201 Lougheed Hwy., in Burnaby, B.C. The show features “17 of the top Western Canada dealer tables” and the Ron Leith Annual Auction, which begins today at 1 p.m.
LEVIS, QUE.
Also being held today is Le Salon du collectionneur de Lévis, being held at La maison des aines de Lévis on 10 rue Giguère in Lévis, Que. Hosted by l’Association des collectionneurs de monnaie du Grand-Lévis, the show’s bourse will feature both numismatic and philatelic dealers, and admission is free.
KITCHENER, ONT.
Today is also the Kitchener-Waterloo Cambridge Postcard Memories Show and Sale, which is being held at Bingemans on 425 Bingeman Centre Dr., in Kitchener, Ont. The show will be open from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., and admission is $5 (although children are free with an adult). This show features postcards with “an unlimited array of interests,” according to organizers, who list off specialties such as: “Royalty to racecars, rock stars to heavenly stars, libraries, main streets, post offices, trains and stations, politicians and popes, cats, dogs, birds, butterflies, sports, statues, steamships, militaria, Santa and all holiday festivities, breweriana, fantasy, farming, cartoons, skyscrapers and of course … stamps.” With thousands of cards from pre-1900 to the present day, this show is Southern Ontario’s largest postcard expo. Parking is free on site.
EDMONTON, ALTA.
Later this week, on March 25 and 26, the 2017 Spring National Stamp Show will be held at Central Lion’s Recreational Centre on 1113-113 St., in Edmonton, Alta. Hosted by the Edmonton Stamp Club, the show will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, March 25, and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free.
The biennial National Postage Stamp and Coin Show will be held March 25-26 and Oct. 28-29 this year.
MISSISSAUGA, ONT.
Also coming later this week is the National Postage Stamp and Coin Show hosted by Trajan Media, publisher of CSN and CCN. Being held at a new location—the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale on 6750 Mississauga Rd., in Mississauga, Ont.—the two-day show will take place March 25 and 26.
It will be held in the hotel’s 9,000-square-foot Graydon Hall, located on the main floor. Members of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA) will be familiar with the hotel, which was the venue for the RCNA Convention in 2014, when it was called the Delta Mississauga. Hilton acquired the hotel a few years ago and has since made many renovations.
The hotel is located near Highway 401 and Highway 407 and is only 20 minutes from downtown Toronto. A special room rate of $115 a night is available to dealers and show-goers.
The show will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on March 25 and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on March 26. Admission is $3 on March 25 but free on the final day, March 26. Parking is also free.
30-PLUS DEALERS
More than 30 coin and stamp dealers will fill Graydon Hall this weekend. Among the gamut of interesting material coming to the bourse is a selection of Dinosaur Provincial Park souvenir sheets and booklets from Burlington, Ont.’s Rick Day, a long-time philatelic dealer and owner of Medallion Stamps. The stamps were withdrawn by Canada Post in 2015.
Also the current president of the Canadian Stamp Dealers’ Association, Day specializes in U.S. stamps but also carries a “good stock of modern Canada, coils, booklets, souvenir sheets,” and more. At the upcoming show in Mississauga, he will also have mint sets of the current Canada Post computer-vended “kiosk” stamps. What’s more, he will also have a limited stock of the 2014 U.S. Circus souvenir sheet for sale as a stand-alone item.
Items of similar significance will be available across the bourse. This includes scores of Canadian and worldwide stamps, souvenir sheets and first-day covers; boxes of postcards; a variety of Canadian and foreign coins and banknotes; Royal Canadian Mint products; medals; tokens; militaria; bullion; and coin and stamp supplies available at the show.
74th ANNUAL NTSC EXHIBITION
The 74th Annual Exhibition of the North Toronto Stamp Club (NTSC) will also be coming to Mississauga this March in conjunction with the National Postage Stamp and Coin Show.
NTSC Exhibition Committee Chair John Wilson, who’s also the club’s immediate past-president, said the national-level exhibition will feature 60 competitive exhibit frames by NTSC members in addition to several court of honour exhibits that previously won medals at the national level.
“These wouldn’t have been seen in Toronto area,” said Wilson, of the court of honour exhibits.
As for for competitive exhibits, Wilson said an array of philatelic material is expected to be displayed.
“North Toronto has a good reputation as an exhibiting club, and the show serves as a vehicle to show off members’ talents and specialties as well as to promote the hobby to the general public,” he said. “We have topicals, we have postal history, we have traditional, we have social philately, and we have a couple other things we do to encourage beginning exhibitors.”
EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS
Three educational seminars will also be hosted at the upcoming show in Mississauga.
On March 25 from 1 p.m.-2 p.m., Canada Post Director of Stamp Services Jim Phillips will give collectors a “sneak peek” at the remainder of the 2017 stamp program while shining a light on the issuing process used by the 12-person Stamp Advisory Committee. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.
Earlier in the day, at 11:30 a.m., CCN Columnist and Consulting Editor Jeff Fournier will lead two 30-minute presentations – one for children and another for adults – about how to explore local numismatics.
Lastly, on March 26, a “meet the editors” session will be hosted by the editors of CCN, CSN and Nummus Canada with a focus on how to promote local clubs.
Leading the seminar will be Mike Walsh, publisher and editor of CCN and CSN; Jeff Fournier, CCN consulting editor; Serge Pelletier, editor-in-chief of Nummus Canada; and Sean Isaacs, Trends editor.
COIN & STAMP AUCTION
The Toronto-based auction house Auction Network will also be hosting a combined numismatic and philatelic sale at the show this weekend. The sale will begin on March 25 at 6 p.m., following lot viewing at 11 a.m., and will feature a range of coins, banknotes and stamps.
For more information about the biennial National Postage Stamp and Coin Show, which will be held this March as well as on Oct. 28-29, visit stampandcoinshow.com.