First Days in Mail

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After a series of unfortunate production delays, we’re pleased to report the September/October issue of First Days entered the mailstream on Friday, December 1. Members should see the magazine in their mailboxes soon. Getting the issue out even made Executive Secretary Doug Kelsey smile!

When the issue arrives, members will want to check out Auction 85 (also available online), which closes December 31 (extended from December 17), and the ballot for the board of directors election (also available online). Ballots must be postmarked by December 29 to be valid.

We’re hard at work on the November/December issue of First Days, which we hope to have out by the end of December. We aim to get the journal back on its regular production schedule beginning in 2018.

De Vries Presenting FDC Course

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AFDCS President Lloyd de Vries will be presenting an APS On-the-Road course entitled "Collecting First Day Covers" on January 25, 2018 prior to the start of Southeastern Stamp Expo 2018 in Peachtree Corners, Georgia (suburban Atlanta).

The course will be beneficial to all collectors from the beginner to the advanced collector, expanding your understanding of First Day Cover collecting in the following ways:
  • Begin with an introduction to the fascinating hobby of First Day Cover collecting
  • Trace the history of FDC collecting
  • Develop the skills to identify the components of a FDC
  • Appreciate the many different types of First Day postmarks, including unofficials, errors, and predates
  • Learn about the wide variety of cachets found on FDCs and how to identify cachet production methods
Cost is $45 for APS members and $95 for non-members (it would be cheaper for non-members to join the APS). Course information can be found on the APS website.

DOWNLOAD COURSE DESCRIPTION

Board Election Open, Ballot Online

The annual election for members of the board of directors of the American First Day Cover Society is now underway.

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AFDCS members will elect four candidates for 2018-2020 three-year terms on the board. Five candidates are seeking election: Gary Denis, James Hogg, Ron Klimley, Foster Miller and Mark Thompson.

The ballot appears in the September/October 2017 issue of First Days, official journal of the AFDCS. Because that issue will be delivered later than usual due to production delays, members may download and print the ballot to cast their votes. Click this link to access the ballot and candidate statements.

All ballots must be postmarked by December 29, 2017, and received at by the AFDCS Election Committee at the address found on the ballot by January 8, 2018.

The board meets in person once each year, in a meeting preceding Americover, the society's annual show and convention, and throughout the year via mail and e-mail. Members of the board of directors are not compensated nor reimbursed for their expenses.

AFDCS Office Holiday Hours

The American First Day Cover Society Central Office in Tucson, Arizona will be closed during the following periods in 2017 and early 2018:
  • November 20 to November 26 (Thanksgiving holiday)
  • December 21 to January 3 (Christmas and New Year’s holidays)
The phone will not be answered during these periods, and emails will not be monitored.

New memberships, membership renewals, and merchandise orders via the website will continue without interruption, but some book titles may not ship until the Central Office reopens.

Except as indicated above, the Central Office is normally open six days a week, Thursday to Tuesday (closed Wednesdays).

Anniversary Drive A Huge Success

On October 15, the American First Day Cover Society marked its 62nd anniversary. We were founded on October 15, 1955, in New York City. In honor of our 62nd anniversary, the AFDCS held a 62-hour pop-up fund raising effort (a pop-up fund raiser is one with a limited duration and targeted donation amounts).

Members were asked to donate either $19.55 (in honor of the year of our founding), $62.00 (for our 62nd anniversary), or any other amount of their choosing.

And our members responded. During the 62-hour period, 49 individuals and three chapters donated

$2,916.45!

A special thanks to the Claude C. Ries Chapter #48 in Southern California for their donation of $480.00 (in honor of being Chapter #48).

Funds will be used to provide new and more modern services to AFDCS as the AFDCS continues to grow in the 21st century.

We thank these members and chapters for their generosity:

Ron Allen
Dave Bennett
Kenneth Blevins
John Byrnes
William H. Carson
Basil Copeland
Lloyd de Vries
Gill Daoust
Andrew C. Doback
Norman Elrod
Tris Fall
Rev. Raymond Feyes
Bonnie Fuson
Allison Gallaway
Dennis Gelvin
Catharine Genaw
Mark Gereb
Rick Gibson
Mark Goodson
Tamsie Goyer
Eugene Grecheck
Rev. Harold Hand
Jim Hering
Richard Hoffman
William Keleher
A. Francis Kohut
D.A. Lux
John Martin
Bruce Mattheiss
Peter R. McClure
Foster Miller
Eldon Mohler
Ralph Nafziger
Rhett Nilsen
Catherine O'Connor
Terry Ogletree
Tom Peluso
Keith Phillips
Diann Pinkowski
Albert Raddi
Cynthia Scott
Cathy Shenkle
Patricia Walters
Alan Warren
Norman Way
Wesley Westmeyer
John White
Eric Wile
David Zubatsky
Robert C. Graebner Chapter #17
Claude C. Ries Chapter #48
Fred C. Sawyer North Texas Chapter #56

AFDCS Needs Auction Material

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The AFDCS is in dire need of FDCs and other philatelic items. Donations have been minimal this year, and the Auction Committee is very concerned that future auctions, especially the next journal/website auction (2018 Spring Auction 86), will not have the usual number of lots for bidders. The need is greatest for collections and accumulations of large quantities of covers with a variety of cachetmakers. Other material, however, is always welcome.

The auctions are one of the two major sources of funding the AFDCS. With this funding, the AFDCS is able to continue to provide the many benefits to its members.

Please consider making a large or small donation to the AFDCS by sending it to Michael Litvak, Auction Chair, at 1866 Loma Vista St., Pasadena, CA 91104-4005. Upon receipt, Michael will mail a letter acknowledging your donation, which you may use for tax purposes. Remember that, if your donation exceeds a value of $50, you will receive a special “Thank You” FDC designed by Dave Bennett, award winning cachetmaker and member of the Auction Committee.

Journal Back Issue Sales End

The AFDCS is no longer selling printed back issues of First Days.

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Jeff Bennett, who for many years has handled these sales, has moved to a smaller home and no longer has room to store more than 60 years of magazines.

Back-issue sales of First Days have largely been supplanted by the Digital Archives created by Todd Ronnei: A single DVD or USB flash drive can contain every back issue and is much easier to search for a particular subject or author. Between January 1, 2016, and October 1, 2016, only a total of 14 physical copies of First Days back issues were sold!

Sales and replacement of recent issues will be handled by the AFDCS Central Office.

The Digital Archive presently contains all issues from 1955 through 2014. The DVD version costs $79 postpaid, the flash drive version, $89. It can be purchased online (click this link) or by mail from AFDCS Central Office, PO Box 16277, Tucson, AZ 85732-6277.

Sol Koved, 1922-2017

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Sol Koved, former editor of First Days, died on August 23, 2017 in Lantana, Florida at the age of 95.

He edited the journal for thirty years from 1960 to 1990, during which time it expanded significantly in frequency of publication and number of pages.

He expanded First Days from six issues per year of thirty-two pages per issue to eight issues per year with about one hundred and forty-eight pages per issue.

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Sol also served as AFDCS executive director from 1986 to 1990. He received the Distinguished Service Award in 1975 and was awarded Honorary Life Membership 10 in 1985. In 1990 he was elected to the APS Writers Hall of Fame.

His son, Lance, recalled in an article in the March/April 2017 First Days, attending AFDCS conventions in the late 1950s and early 1960s, adding that in those days family trips were based around the convention. He also said that his father continued to look forward to each issue of the journal.

Lance also recalled that his father began a stamp collection that he expected would pay for his son’s college education. Although this did not work out, he still enjoyed the hobby.

Sol also edited the United States Specialist for the Bureau Issues Association, now the United States Stamp Society, from 1978 to 1981.

He served in the United States Army’s European Theatre during World War II.

With a degree in chemistry from City College of New York he joined Montrose Chemical Company in 1943, where he held various positions including production chemist, pilot plant operator, and assistant plant manager. He left the firm in 1971.

Sol took extension courses in industrial wastewater treatment, loss prevention control, industrial safety, pollution control, and toxicology. He worked in the environmental field and nuclear energy industry, and edited and published a six-volume emergency preparedness and response manual.

After retiring, he and his wife, Harriette S. Koved, moved to Florida in 2002. She died on November 10, 2016, at the age of 90.

Sol is survived by his brother, Fred, and sons Lance Koved and Alex Wisch, together with five grandchildren, and thirteen great grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at Beth Israel Memorial Chapel in Boynton Beach, Florida, on August 27, followed by entombment at the Eternal Light memorial gardens in Boynton Beach.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American First Day Cover Society or the American Heart Association.

— Alan Warren

Peter McClure Receives DSA

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Peter McClure (left) receives the DSA from Foster Miller


Peter McClure of Iowa Falls, Iowa is the 2017 recipient of the American First Day Cover Society’s Distinguished Service Award.

The Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is presented in recognition of outstanding service to the AFDCS. The award is presented from time to time and is not given each year. The award recognizes those individuals who have truly contributed an outstanding effort on behalf of the society. Only living AFDCS members in good standing and who have not previously received the DSA are eligible to receive the award.

Peter McClure is exactly what any organization wants in a volunteer. He doesn’t say why a job shouldn’t be done. He doesn’t tell you how the job should be done. He just does what is needed to be done. He doesn’t look for recognition beyond an occasional Bud Light. He just gets the job done.

For the past five years, without recognition or acclaim, Peter has cacheted thousands of CEC/FM AFDCS cachets for the AFDCS Cachetmaker Series, producing new cachets for almost every US stamp issue. The sale of these covers has brought much needed revenue to the AFDCS, allowing the organization to maintain financial stability. Since 2013, he has produced the annual AFDCS Youth Scholarship first day cover.

Peter has staffed AFDCS recruitment and sales tables at APS shows since 2008. He was the primary staffer for the AFDCS tables at AmeriStamp Expo 2015 and 2017. Peter does this at his own expense and seeks no recognition for his efforts. He has staffed the AFDCS table at multiple Americover shows and at cachetmaker bourses. He assists with the setup of the annual Americover Live Fund Raising Auction and is the runner for the auction. And he will help anywhere else he is needed.

Peter started as a cachetmaker in the 1990s, producing first day covers first for his own use and then later (1999-2006) for sale on eBay. He cachet lines have included Cuv Evanson Cachets (frequently shortened to CEC), Sheky (for covers produced by his “evil twin”), and Bing (covers done in the style of Crosby cachets). The cachets he produces for the AFDCS Cachetmaker Series are labeled either CEC AFDCS or CEC/FM AFDCS.

Peter collects Iowa related first covers, including Scott #838 (Iowa Territory), Scott #942 (Iowa Statehood Centennial), Scott #3088-3089 (Iowa Statehood Sesquicentennial), UX123 (Iowa Territory Sesquicentennial), and the 2002 Greetings from Iowa stamps. He is especially interested in first day covers of the 2010 Roy Rogers stamp (Scott #4444) and the 2014 Janis Joplin stamp (Scott #4916). In addition to first day cover collecting, he is an avid gardener.

O'Brien 1939 Exhibit Takes Grand

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AFDCS President Lloyd de Vries presents Chuck O’Brien (right) with the Claude C. Ries Chapter Grand Award

Charles J. O'Brien, III of Georgia received the Claude C. Ries Chapter Grand Award at Americover 2017 for his exhibit New York World's Fair 1939. This year marks the third time O’Brien has claimed the award since it has been sponsored by the Ries Chapter, and the seventh overall Grand he has received at Americover this century. His exhibit becomes eligible for the Champion of Champions competition at the 2018 APS Stampshow.

The Reserve Grand and the Richard B. Thompson Award went to James S. Hering, M.D. for The Two Cent Hardings, Their First Day Usage And the Birth of Modern Cacheted First Day Covers. He also received the AFDCS Lawrence S. Fisher Award for Best Research Exhibit 1847-1931 and the United States Stamp Society Award.

The Curtis B. Patterson Single Frame Grand Award and a Vermeil went to APS President Mick Zais for Hand-Crafted First Day Covers for the 1937 West Point 5-cent Commemorative. He also won the AFDCS Robert C. Graebner Award for Best FDC Exhibit by a First Time Exhibitor and AAPE Novice Award.

A complete palmares is available here. Congratulations to all exhibitors!

The AFDCS thanks the jury of Chief Judge Ken Nilsestuen, Mark Banchik, Chris Dahle, Tony Dewey and Tom Fortunato.

AFDCS.org is Gold Again

AFDCS Website Wins Top Award In APS Competition

2017 Web Comp Gold Medal
For the fourth time, the American First Day Cover Society's website, AFDCS.org, has received a Gold award in the American Philatelic Society's Chapter and Affiliates Web Awards competition.

The AFDCS website previously won Gold awards in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The site was not entered in competition in 2015 and 2016.

The AFDCS webmaster is Todd Ronnei, a paralegal in Minnesota. He has been webmaster since 2009. From 2009 to 2016 he was also a member of the Board of Directors, serving as its chairman for five years.

The website includes a "News Blog” with the latest news about the AFDCS; digital downloads, including the latest issues of the Society journal First Days; membership applications and renewals; a "marketplace" where first day cover collectors can purchase both FDCs and AFDCS publications; the results of the annual Cachet Contest; and basic information about FDC collecting.

"Congratulations and thanks to Todd for his excellent work,” said AFDCS President Lloyd de Vries. De Vries was a judge for the 2017 competition, but he recused himself from judging the AFDCS site.

Show Event Covers

At Americover, we have a cover for just about everything we do.

A long-standing tradition is to give a souvenir cover to everyone who attends a ticketed event. This year, the covers for the Thursday tour and the Friday night President’s Banquet were designed by AFDCS board member and cachetmaker Tom Peluso. His cachet designs are pictured below.

AMERICOVER  2017  PRE  SHOW  TOUR  COVER

AMERICOVER  2017  PRESIDENTS  BANQUET  COVER

Other show events that will be commemorated with a limited-edition cover are the Saturday night “Moonlight Meal” after the cachetmakers bourse (cover by Dave Bennett), and the Sunday night post-show dinner at Melt Bar & Grilled.

How do you obtain these covers? It’s easy--just attend the events! Tickets remain available for just a little while longer, so don’t delay. Order your tickets here.

2017 Show Cachet and Cancels


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The theme of Americover 2017, to be held August 11, 12 and 13 in Independence, Ohio, is Ohio’s Halls of Fame.

In conjunction with the show theme, the show cachet (above) and special postmarks will feature the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The postmark designs, shown below, will differ each day.


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Paul Johnson, who designed the AFDCS Court of Honor cover for 2014, created the cachet and all three postmarks.

A set of three show covers AND an Azulillo stamped card FDC is $10 and will be available at the show.

Can’t make it to the show? Order a set of convention covers online. Click here, then scroll down to the bottom to purchase a set of convention covers and/or a show program bearing stamps postmarked with all three of the show postmarks.

Hospitality Suite Silent Auction

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The Ries and Graebner Chapters are once again conducting the Hospitality Suite Silent Auction at Americover. This year's auction consists of 128 lots of covers, programs, and other philatelic material to pique the interest and bidding of our conventioneers.

Click here for the complete list of auction lots.

If you cannot attend Americover this year, but wish to bid upon one or more of the lots, you will need to get someone who is attending to "do your bidding" for you. As in past years, Foster Miller will accept "proxy" bids - either by email at fmillerfdc@gmail.com or via snail-mail to Foster Miller, Box 44, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0044. Email bids can be accepted until 9AM Saturday, August 10; U.S. Mail bids must be received by Monday, August 7. Winning proxy bidders will be asked to pay via credit card on the AFDCS website.

Note from First Days Editor

Al Starkweather, editor of our journal First Days, reports that he has had a computer failure, resulting in a loss of all emails sent to him since December 2016. The failure also caused him to lose his emails contacts.

Al asks that if you have submitted material for First Days in the last six months, please contact him to resubmit your articles and other information for publication.

Al can be reached at editor@afdcs.org.

Americover 2019 in Middle America

s_gatewayarchAFDCS SETS AMERICOVER 2019 FOR SAINT LOUIS
Show Hotel Rate Around $100 For Yet Another Year


The American First Day Cover Society, the world's biggest non-profit organization of FDC collectors, has chosen Saint Louis for its 2019 show and convention.

Americover 2019 will be held at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel July 26-28, 2019. The hotel’s address is 9801 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO, 63134.

The AFDCS has already set Atlanta for Americover 2018, which will be held August 3-5, 2018.

The official hotel rate for the 2019 stamp show will be $104, good from Wednesday through Sunday nights. Parking is free, as is a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport. All Americover guests will also receive free Wi-Fi in their rooms.

Although Americovers run for three days, there will be a special tour on the preceding Thursday and a post-show dinner event Sunday evening.

Americover was last held in Saint Louis in 1996.

All Americovers are World Series of Philately shows dedicated to first day covers and the fun of stamp collecting. Locations move around the country: 2017's show will be held in the Cleveland area and 2016’s show was held in Falls Church, Va., near Washington, D.C. Other recent shows have been held in Somerset, N.J., Oak Brook, Ill., Irvine, Calif., and Indianapolis, Ind.

Americover 2018 Site Selected

hiltonAFDCS SETS AMERICOVER 2018 FOR ATLANTA AREA
Show Hotel Rate Around $100 For Yet Another Year

The American First Day Cover Society, the world's biggest non-profit organization of FDC collectors, has chosen Atlanta, Georgia, for its 2018 show and convention.

Americover 2018 will be held at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast August 3-5, 2018. The hotel’s address is Hilton Atlanta Northeast, 5993 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092.

The official hotel rate for the stamp show will be $99, good from Wednesday through Sunday nights. Parking is free, as are the hotel's breakfast buffet (for up to two guests per room per morning) and a complimentary shuttle to nearby areas.

Although Americovers run for three days, there will be a special tour on the preceding Thursday and a post-show dinner event Sunday evening.

This is the same venue used each January by Southeastern Stamp Expo.

"Many of you have attended our yearly AFDCS Regional Meetings at the Expo and know what a great facility this location offers," said Southeast Federation of Stamp Clubs president Charles O’Brien, III, a gold-medal winning first day cover exhibitor. "Please join us for a great time, some fun with friends and first day covers and our Southern hospitality."

All Americovers are World Series of Philately shows dedicated to first day covers and the fun of stamp collecting. Locations move around the country: 2017's show will be held in the Cleveland area and 2016’s show was held in Falls Church, Va., near Washington, D.C. Other recent shows have been held in Somerset, N.J., Oak Brook, Ill., Irvine, Calif., and Indianapolis, Ind.

Americover 2017 Jury

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Ken Nilsestuen (left) is Chief Judge of the Americover jury. He is treasurer of the American Philatelic Research Library and the Institute for Analytical Philately, and president of the France and Colonies Philatelic Society. His main focus is Algerian postal history. He also collects and exhibits the 1949 Minnesota Territorial Centennial issue and its first day covers.

Mark Banchik is an international (FIP) judge and current president of the Collectors Club of New York. He is past president of the American Philatelic Congress, the Mexico Elmhurst Philatelic Society International (MEPSI), and the American Air Mail Society. He exhibits Mexican military postal history.

Chris Dahle is vice president and webmaster of the Scandinavian Collectors Club. He has served as secretary/treasurer and associate editor of the Biology Unit of the American Topical Association, and is treasurer of the United Nations Philatelists. Chris has been secretary of the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Stamp Club for many years.

Tony Dewey is past president of the United Nations Philatelists and is active with the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors where he has promoted exhibiting and coordinated the team competitions at AmeriStamp Expo. He has exhibits about the International Education Bureau and its service to prisoners of war, United Nations issues, and four different first day cover exhibits among others.

Tom Fortunato is past president of the Rochester (NY) Philatelic Association and has chaired and been the driving force for the annual ROPEX show. He is past chairman of the APS Chapter Activities Committee and managed the marketing and public relations for both Washington 2006 and World Stamp Show New York 2016—a role which he will reprise for Boston 2026. Tom’s collecting and exhibiting focuses on thematics and modern philately.

Americover 2017 Thursday Tour

FROM FIRST LADIES TO FOOTBALL TO FUN FOOD:
AMERICOVER 2017 TOUR COVERS HALLS OF FAME


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The American First Day Cover Society's pre-Americover 2017 tour will include visits down the Hall of Fame Corridor (Interstate 77) to the First Ladies National Historic Site and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as a stop at Harry London’s Chocolate Factory.

Americover 2017 will be held August 11-13 at the Embassy Suites Cleveland-Rockside in Independence, Ohio, just outside Cleveland — just down Interstate 77 from the city, in fact. The tour bus will depart from the hotel Thursday morning, August 10. Tickets include transportation and all admission fees. Participants will be able to purchase lunch at the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Tailgating snack bar.

The price for the tour is $58 if purchased on or before June 30, and $63 after that date, if space is still available.

Tickets may be purchased online or by mail, using the order form in the March-April issue of First Days, the official journal of the AFDCS. Non-members are welcome on the tour and can use the website or request a copy of the Americover 2017 event order form by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to the AFDCS, PO Box 44, Annapolis Jct., MD 20701-0044.

Americover 2017 is the AFDCS' annual show, convention and celebration of first day cover collection. Each year, it is held in a different part of the country. In 2016, it was in the Washington, D.C. area; in 2018, it will be in Atlanta. Americover is part of the American Philatelic Society's World Series of Philately, and the winners of its competitive exhibitions are automatically entered in the annual Champion of Champions competitions.

There is also a Sunday evening event involving dinner; this year, it will be in a private room at Melt Bar & Grilled, famous for its grilled cheese sandwiches and craft beers.

There is a special Americover room rate of $102 at the Embassy Suites Cleveland-Rockside, which includes Wednesday and Sunday nights. There also will be two bourses (commercial dealers and cachetmakers) at the show, a banquet, meetings, a youth table, a hospitality suite, live and silent auctions, seminars, a first day ceremony for the U.S. Postal Service's Azulillo stamped card, and a forum by a postal official involved with first day covers.

AFDCS Phillip H. Ward Award

Nominations Open for FDC Writing Award;
Doug Weisz Won 2015 AFDCS Philip H. Ward Citation


Nominations will be accepted through May 1 for the Philip H. Ward Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature, presented annually by the American First Day Cover Society. All works published in 2016 are eligible.

All articles published in First Days, the AFDCS journal, are automatically considered. Others may be submitted to the Ward Award Committee chair, Mark Goodson, 202 W. Temperance Street, Ellettsville, IN 47429, bgdsn@comcast.net.

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Douglas S. Weisz, Len McMaster and Alan Warren were the winners of the 2015 Philip H. Ward Award. Dorothy Knapp: Philately And Family, a book by Weisz, a well-known first day cover dealer, received first place. (Weisz is pictured at left with a copy of his book.)

McMaster received the first runner-up prize for “The 1898 One-Cent Green Franklin, Scott 279; The Issue Date and EDUs,” which appeared in the March-April 2015 issue of First Days, the official journal of the AFDCS. Warren, a charter member of the AFDCS, wrote a five-part series in First Days, “Denmark Birth Certificates: Commemorative First Day Covers,” which concluded in the September-October 2015 issue.

Back issues of First Days are available for $4.00 each postpaid within the U.S. from Jeffrey Bennett, 1601 River Farm Drive, Alexandria, Va. 22308. A searchable electronic archive of every issue of First Days from its inception in 1955 through 2014 is available on DVD for $79 postpaid. In addition, AFDCS members also can download back issues since 2011 for free on the AFDCS website.

The awards are presented each year at Americover, the annual show and convention of the AFDCS. Americover 2017 will be held August 11-17 in Independence, Ohio.

The award is named in honor of Philip H. Ward (1890-1963), the distinguished Philadelphia stamp collector, dealer and journalist who was a pioneer in the field of first day covers. The award was instituted by the AFDCS in 1964.

First Day Ceremony at Americover

AMERICOVER 2017 PLANS AZULILLO CARD FIRST-DAY CEREMONY
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The American First Day Cover Society plans to hold a first-day ceremony at its Americover 2017 show and convention for the Azulillo stamped card, which will be issued on the opening day of the show in the same city, Independence, Ohio. Americover 2017 will be held August 11-13 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Cleveland-Rockside in the Cleveland suburb.

Americover is the annual World Series of Philately show dedicated to first day covers and the fun of stamp collecting. It is held in a different location each year. The American First Day Cover Society is the world's biggest non-profit organization of FDC collectors.

"Azulillo" is one of the common names for the Chilean blue crocus (Tecophilaea cyanocrocus). Loosely translated from Spanish, "azulillo" means “little blue thing.” Native to Chile, it was believed to be extinct in the wild until its rediscovery in 2001. Although it resembles one, it is not actually a crocus. This flower does best in frost-free mild climates, and is most likely to be found in the Independence, Ohio, area in greenhouses.

“I’m excited that Americover is able to hold a first day ceremony this year at our show in Independence, Ohio,” said Americover 2017 chair Chris Lazaroff. “We will definitely be putting together a ”first class" ceremony for everyone who attends.”

The official hotel rate for the stamp show will be $102, good from Wednesday through Sunday nights. Parking is free, as is a cooked-to-order breakfast, evening reception, and in-room Wi-Fi service. There is also a complimentary shuttle to the airport and to other attractions within three miles of the hotel.

Although Americovers run for three days, there will be a special tour on the preceding Thursday and a post-show dinner event Sunday evening.

Exhibits Sought For Americover 2017

Americover Seeks Exhibits for 2017 Show in Ohio

The American First Day Cover Society is seeking exhibits for Americover 2017, a World Series of Philately show to be held Aug. 11-13 in Independence, Ohio. Ken Nilsestuen will head the jury.

The prospectus is now available on the AFDCS Web site by clicking this link, by regular mail from Kerry Heffner, 17656 K Street, Omaha, NE 68135-3491, or e-mail at exhibits@afdcs.org. The deadline for entering the Americover 2017 exhibition is June 1, 2017, or whenever the available frames fill up, as happened last year.

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The emphasis at Americover is on First Day Cover exhibits, and about three-fourths of each exhibit should consist of FDCs. Multi-frame, one-frame and youth exhibits are welcome.

As a WSP show, the winner of the Grand Award at Americover 2017 will be part of the Champion of Champions competition at Stampshow 2018. Ronald J. Klimley, winner of the 2016 Grand with "The 1964 New York World’s Fair Commemorative," will represent Americover this summer in Richmond, Virginia.

The Americover Grand prize 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 2018.

Besides its Grand and Reserve Grand awards, Americover offers special awards from both the AFDCS and other philatelic societies, including ones for best exhibits of foreign FDCs, topical FDCs, pre-1931 FDCs, best exhibits by a novice and a youth, and best single-frame exhibit.

The three-day World Series of Philately show will be held at the Embassy Suites Cleveland-Rockside, and there is a special Americover room rate of $102. There also will be two bourses (commercial dealers and cachetmakers), a banquet, meetings, a youth table, a hospitality suite, a live auction a silent auction, seminars, a pre-show tour of the area, and a post-show evening dinner event. A first day ceremony is being sought.

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 Saturday morning.

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