American Philatelic Society show Aug. 4-7 in Portland

The American Philatelic Society will present Stampshow, the nation’s largest annual postage stamp show and exhibition, Aug. 4-7 in the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland, Ore.

This is the society’s 130th convention. The event will include approximately 100 stamp dealers, 125 exhibits in more than 700 exhibit frames, first-day ceremonies, auctions, stamp society meetings and seminars.

In addition, the show features the Champion of Champion exhibition, which gathers the grand-award winners from the national-level World Series of Philately shows over the past year to compete for the title of 2016 Champion of Champions.

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Stampshow will be open to the public 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

The APS anticipates approximately 5,000 attendees from throughout the United States and abroad. These visitors will have an opportunity to see a few of America’s rarest postal items.

The recently recovered United States 1918 24¢ Inverted Jenny error, position 76, will be displayed with position 65 from the McCoy block for the first time at Stampshow in 61 years.

Also on display will be the earliest known United States presidential free frank from 1789, and the 1962 4¢ Dag Hammarskjold invert pane.

The U.S. Postal Service will issue four Songbirds in Snow stamps during a ceremony at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, in room C123-124. On Friday, Aug. 5, the Marshall Islands will issue Peace Doves stamps at noon, followed by a special dedication ceremony recognizing the U.S. Columbia River Gorge Priority Mail Express stamp at 1 p.m. This $22.95 Priority Mail stamp was issued Jan. 17.

The National Stamp Dealers Association will lead the “Stamps In your Attic” program, a free on-site service to identify and evaluate philatelic items. The public is encouraged to bring collections of stamps or old family correspondence.

In the youth area, children can learn about stamp collecting, design stamps, play games, and pick up items for their collections.

Adults interested in learning about the hobby’s tools and its language, as well as stamp preservation and storage can attend the free beginning collector’s series or visit the beginners’ area. A free starter album with places for U.S. stamps related to Oregon is available for download online.

The dealers in the bourse will offer items for sale covering a wide range of collecting interests and budgets. Included will be booths where items will be sold for $1 or less. At Stamps by the Bucket, youth (under age 16) can pick through thousands of stamps, filling a bucket for only $1, while adults pay $5 per bucket.

The Harmer-Schau Auction Gallery will conduct auctions Aug. 4-6, and Regency-Superior Auctions will conduct auctions Aug. 6-7.

A themed postmark will be used daily for items mailed from the show, and featured speakers will present on related topics.

The Oregon Convention Center is located on the Blue, Green, and Red Lines of the MAX light rail. Parking is available on-site for $10 per day, or in nearby parking garages. For more details, visit the show website, or contact the APS show office by phone at 814-933-3803, extension 217; by email at stampshow@stamps.org; or by mail at 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823.

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