Stamps In The Attic Program Scheduled For AMERICOVER 2010
Bob Lamb Will Staff Popular Quick Collection Evaluation Program At Suburban Chicago Show In August

There will be an edition of the "Stamp In The Attic" program at AMERICOVER 2010, the American First Day Cover Society's annual show and convention, held this year in Oak Brook, Ill., August 6-8.

Bob Lamb, former executive director of the American Philatelic Society, will staff the booth, where people who have inherited or found collections can bring them for a quick evaluation, and possible referral to one of the dealers at the show. The booth will be sponsored by the National Stamp Dealers Association. There is no charge for the service, and both stamps and covers, as well as first day covers, will be evaluated.

"Every time I've been at a show that has a Stamps In The Attic booth, it's been very popular," said Lloyd A. de Vries, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the AFDCS. "It's really a service to the community, and it’s good for the dealers at the show, too."

Lamb, who evaluates hundreds of collections a year, said that "most of the collections I see were put together by beginners. But at every show someone will bring in a collection which will knock your socks off."

Sometimes the owners have no idea what they have. Lamb estimates that over half of the collections he sees have commercial value and often can be sold to dealers at the show. "Chicago is a good collecting area and I expect to see some very good material there," Lamb added.

Help spread the word about AMERICOVER 2010, to be held at the Chicago Oak Brook Marriott, August 6-8, 2010. You can download this flyer and post or distribute copies at stamp club meetings, shows, libraries, community bulletin boards, or any other public place.

Each year our Society depends on support from members who volunteer to help at AMERICOVER. This year we are expanding our request to include additional jobs that have to be completed before our convention starts. Please consider devoting just a few hours of your time to help, either before or during AMERICOVER 2010. Volunteers are not required to help all day at the show. Many of the jobs can be done in two hour shifts.

To learn how you can help AMERICOVER 2010 become a success, click here.

AMERICOVER Again Holds The Line On Hotel Rate
In 19 Years, AFDCS Show Has Never Exceeded $100

For the 19th year in a row, the hotel room rate at AMERICOVER will be under $100.

AMERICOVER 2010, the World Series of Philately show and annual convention sponsored and organized by the American First Day Cover Society, will be held Aug. 6-8 in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Ill. The special AMERICOVER rate at the Chicago Marriott Oak Brook this year is $99.

”The AMERICOVER Committee is happy to once again have a hotel rate that our members can afford," said committee member and AFDCS Assistant Treasurer Foster Miller. "We hope that as many members as possible will stay at the show hotel."

"Part of the fun and enjoyment of attending a WSP show like AMERICOVER, is staying at the convention hotel to enjoy all the continuous philatelic activities packed into the three days of scheduled events," added AMERICOVER chairman Norman Elrod. "The American First Day Cover Society feels fortunate to have maintained such affordable room rates for this number of years, allowing cover and stamp collectors the opportunity to stay at the show hotel each year."

AMERICOVER 2010 will feature two bourses (commercial dealers and cachetmakers), a national-level exhibition of first day covers, a banquet, meetings, a youth table, a hospitality suite, an auction, seminars, a pre-show area tour and a post-show dinner event. A forum by a postal official involved with first day covers is also likely.

The Chicago Marriott Oak Brook features free parking, 32-inch LCD high-definition televisions in each room, a fitness center, indoor pool and whirlpool, a restaurant, and a Starbucks Cafe. It is across the street from the Oakbrook Center mall, 7-1/2 miles from the Brookfield Zoo, 9 miles from the Morton Arboretum, and 3 miles from the Graue Mill and Museum (a stop on the Underground Railroad, in addition to an operating grist mill with waterwheel).

The first AMERICOVER was held in 1992 in Columbus, Ohio. Since then, the show has been held in 12 states.

Entries are now being accepted for the American First Day Cover Society's annual cachetmakers contest, where the best FDC designs of 2009 will be chosen in 16 categories.

The deadline for entries is April 15, 2010. Those entering covers must be members of the AFDCS. (Youth cachetmakers need only be related to an AFDCS member.)

The entry fee for adults is $5 if the cover is donated to the Society, or $10 if the cachetmaker wants the FDC returned. A complete set of rules and entry form can be found in the Jan. 15, 2010 issue of First Days, or downloaded here.

Jay Stotts of Texas (right) will chair the jury at AMERICOVER 2010, which takes place at the Chicago Marriott Oak Brook Aug. 6-8. Joining him on the panel are Tim Bartshe of Colorado, Allison Cusick of Pennsylvania, Frederick Lawrence of Arizona, and Dominick Riccio of New York. All of the jurors are accredited American Philatelic Society national judges.

AMERICOVER 2010 is a World Series of Philately show dedicated to first day covers and the annual convention of the American First Day Cover Society. It will feature 160 frames of competitive philatelic exhibits, commercial and cachetmakers bourses, seminars and meetings. Admission to the show is free and open to the public.

“AMERICOVER is the preferred venue for exhibiting illustrated mail and first day covers," Alan Warren, chairman of the AFDCS Judges Accreditation Committee, observes. "Cacheted FDCs (illustrated mail) as well as earliest known or documented uses of postage stamps (postal history) are the features of this show."

The Grand Award winner at AMERICOVER is invited to enter the annual Champion of Champions competition held at the American Philatelic Society's StampShow the following August.

Stotts is a past president and current board member of the United States Stamp Society. He also served eight years on the APS Committee for the Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges (CANEJ). Jay exhibits 20th century U.S. and has received numerous awards for his articles and exhibits. Bartshe is currently president of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors and has held office in the United Postal Stationery Society, the Philatelic Society for Greater Southern Africa, and the Rocky Mountain Stamp Show. A prolific exhibitor, Tim has shown material in many different disciplines including first day covers, postal stationery, traditional philately, postal history, and picture post cards among others. Cusick is a past president, vice president, and board member of the American First Day Cover Society. He has written extensively in the Society’s journal First Days and also published a monograph, Linprint Photo Cachet Catalog. He chairs the Society’s expertizing committee and manages the Society’s archives at the American Philatelic Research Library.

Lawrence is an accredited national and international judge with expertise in British South Africa, Czechoslovakia, aero/astro philately, and thematics among others, especially on Scouting. He serves on the organizing committee of the ARIPEX shows, where he is responsible for awards and judges.

Riccio has been an accredited APS judge since 1987 and specializes in Eastern European countries, U.S. revenues, and Ryukyu Islands. He is past advertising manager and editor of The Czechoslovak Specialist.

The American Philatelic Society is offering the course “Expertizing FDCs and EDUs” as part of its continuing education series. The course will be held June 17–18, 2010 at the American Philatelic Center. The cost for is $149 for APS members; $249 for nonmembers.

Participants will learn the tools to authenticate first day and earliest-use U.S. covers and to identify faked and forged covers with confidence. Those who develop these skills may qualify to serve the hobby as expertizers for the American Philatelic Society’s APEX Service and the American First Day Cover Society (AFDCS). Use of published and archival references and online databases are essential skills for FDC/EDU experts, so the AFDCS Archives and American Philatelic Resource Library resources will be employed. Forensic analysis using the Crimescope CS-16 will be included. Students should be familiar with first day covers and/or postal history.

For more information, download this information sheet. Register for the course directly on the APS website via this link.

The exhibit Entry Form and Prospectus for AMERICOVER 2010 are now available for download on the AMERICOVER 2010 information page.

Here are some brief notes about exhibiting at AMERICOVER 2010.

• The maximum number of frames available at AMERICOVER 2010 is 160.
• The deadline to submit an exhibit entry form is June 1, 2010 or until all frames are filled, whichever comes first.
• Exhibits are accepted and judged according to the 6th Edition of the American Philatelic Society's Manual of Philatelic Judging. This edition may be found and downloaded from the APS website.
• Each exhibitor may enter a maximum of 2 multi-frame and 2 one-frame exhibits. (This is a change from the previous edition of the APS Manual of Philatelic Judging which allowed a maximum of 2 exhibits in any combination.) AFDCS does have the option of limiting a fewer number of exhibits per exhibitor.