The 2008 Annual Meeting is fast approaching.  The United States Stamp Society meeting will be held in conjunction with NOJEX, the annual stamp show sponsored by the North Jersey Federated Stamp Clubs.

The USSS will gather during the weekend of May 23rd through 25th, at the Meadowlands Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2 Harmon Plaza, Secaucus, NJ.  The hotel is offering special rates of $115 for a single room and $125 for a double room.  To obtain these room rates contact the hotel at (201) 348-6900, ext. 7130 or 7104 and request the special NOJEX rates under group code NS8 (or online).

The show will include an American Philatelic Society World Series of Philately exhibit competition which will include more than 100 frames of United States and related material presented by USSS members.  In addition to the normal range of awards available at all WSP shows, eligible exhibits will also compete for the prestigious Southgate and Hopkinson Trophies, which are presented only at the show hosting the Annual Meeting of the Society.  

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Here are the United States Stamp Society medal winners that have been reported from recent shows:

USSS AWARDS PROGRAM

The USSS Gold Statue of Freedom Medal is sent automatically to all APS World Series of Philately shows.

The USSS Silver President’s Award medal is available upon request to all local and regional shows.

For more information, or to request an award, please write to Denise Stotts, P.O. Box 690042, Houston, TX 77269-0042 or by e-mail.

NOTE: Awards were sent to Sandical and the Redding, CA Stamp Show, but no reports were returned – if you have information about who won the award, please let me know.

—Denise Stotts, Awards Committee

The USSS fellowship dinner will be held at NOJEX on Friday at 7:00pm May 23rd, at the Iberia Peninsula Restaurant, 63-69 Ferry Street in Newark. This will be a joint social of the USPCS, the USSS, and the Carriers & Locals Society.

Transportation by bus and local member’s cars will be provided both ways. The Portuguese menu features many roasted meat courses that are served right off the cooking skewers, called Rodizio. They include many styles of beef, pork, chicken and sausages. A green salad will be served along with Seafood Paella, which is a shellfish and saffron rice dish, native to the Iberian Peninsula.

Wait, it gets even better! It is an “All You Can Eat” dinner and the price is $45 per person. This price includes house wines, bottled beer (domestic and imported), sangria, soft drinks, coffee and tea. Cheesecake, a fruit basket, flan and house desserts are also included in the price.

To make a reservation, please mail your check to:

Nick Lombardi
USSS Dinner
P.O. Box 1005
Mountainside, NJ 07092

Seating is limited , so please send your check in today. Make checks payable to United States Stamp Society.

Please gather at the lobby of the show hotel at 6:15pm prompt.

The Prexie Era Committee of the United States Stamp Society now has a website where members and others interested in this fascinating era of U.S. philately can visit for information and news of the Committee.  The Fifth Bureau Issue, Presidential Issue of definitive stamps, was issued in 1938 but used right up until 1954 when the Liberty Series began replacing them.  Our membership consists of Prexie collectors but also includes those who collect other stamps of the era such as the Transport Airmails, Famous Americans, Skymaster airmail, and Win The War.

Information on these stamp issues can be found on the site.  News about the Committee’s activities can also be accessed on the site.  For those wishing to join the group, contacts are listed there as well.  This site will be updated regularly.  The website address is http://prexie-era.org.

 —Steve B. Davis
Webmaster

Wallace Cleland continues to keep the 1-20,000 checklist up to date and is willing to send anyone a full list of corrections and updates by email, or by mail if he is sent a self addressed 9” x 12” envelope with postage for 2 oz. Send e-mail or regular mail to Wallace Cleland, 1710 University Ave., Madison, WI 53726.

The 2008 edition of the Durland Standard Plate Number Catalog is in production. The USSS plans to introduce the book at the Society’s Annual Meeting at NOJEX in May of 2008. The exciting news is that the new Durland will be unlike any previous edition. In addition to an all-color presentation, we have changed the traditional two-column 6” x 9” format to a three-column 8½” x 11” format that will be available both perfect and spiral bound. The larger size will make the catalog easier to handle as the numbers of postage stamp and back of the book listings continue to grow.

All of the illustrations have been created in digital format that will produce high-quality printed images; and there will be lots more to see. In fact, the 2008 Durland will have over five times the number of illustrations than appeared in the last edition.

The new 2008 Durland is the most comprehensive research source for plate number information on United States postage, special service, revenue stamps and other back of the book stamps listed in the Scott Specialized Catalogue. The new edition will include plate number information for the last three years of new issues along with scores of previously unreported numbers for pre-Bureau and back of the book issues, which were introduced in the 1997. The catalog also includes plate number information on all Confederate issues, overprinted Possessions postage, Carriers, and WW II American Military Government stamps and is the most comprehensive reference for marginal markings.

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Every year, we do a very good job recruiting new members into the Society. We have a Society booth at major shows, we talk to collectors whom we meet at other functions, and our Membership Chairman sends out scores of letters. However, once we have signed up a new member, we have tended to forget about him or her and have hoped that the many benefits of membership will be enough to retain them. However, in February, the Board of Governors voted unanimously that the Society should express its appreciation to our long-term members by awarding a special USSS lapel pin to those who have been members for 15, 25 and 50 years.

Luckily, The Specialist always lists which membership numbers are assigned each month. By referring to the December issues, which indicated the ending membership numbers for the years 1959, 1984, and 1994 (corresponding to 50, 25, and 15 years of membership, respectively, as of 2008), our Executive Secretary determined the range of membership numbers for each category and how many members are currently in each category. The results are as follows:
- For 50 years, those numbers before #4974 – 31 members
- For 25 years, between #4974 and #10962 – 370 members
- For 15 years, between # 10963 and #13715 – 446 members
- Total = 847 members

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Robert G. Rufe has been selected to receive the Walter W. Hopkinson Memorial Award for the best article or series of articles published in The United States Specialist during 2007. The award is given annually by the United States Stamp Society and consists of an engraved plaque and an honorarium. The award will be presented at the Society’s Annual Meeting at NOJEX at the end of May.

Rufe’s articles on “The U. S. Special Handling Issues” appeared in three parts in the October, November, and December issues of The United States Specialist. These articles described, in detail, the many complexities and challenges faced by collectors of this “back of the book” issue, which is only given a half page of coverage in the Scott’s Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers.

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The Spring Mega Show was once again held in Madison Square Garden in the heart of Manhattan. The show floor was occupied by 72 dealers, four postal administrations and eleven societies, including the United States Stamp Society. Our booth was staffed throughout the four days of the show and served as both a meeting place for current members as well as a means of attracting show attendees, resulting in four new members. Our Society banner along with a display of our current books, reprints and past copies of The Specialist made an attractive showing, resulting in good publication sales figures.

A special thanks goes out to Roger Brody, Tim O’Shea, Jerry Davis, Jacques Schiff, Jr., Steve Belasco and Jim Kloetzel for helping man the booth at different times. As always, we are deeply grateful to Tom Jacks of Mountainside Stamps for hauling all of our booth supplies to and from the show.

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Just a reminder to start making plans to attend our next Annual Meeting, which be held at NOJEX in Secaucus, New Jersey during the weekend of May 23 to 25, 2008.  The venue for the show will be the Meadowlands Crowne Plaza Hotel at 2 Harmon Plaza in Secaucus.  Reservations can be made by calling either the toll free national number, 877-227-6963, or the hotel directly at 201-348-6900.

Since my message last month, NOJEX has announced that the APS Committee on Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges (CANEJ) has approved the Jury of Roger G. Schnell, Chief Judge (FL), Jay B. Stotts (TX), Martin D. Richardson (MI), Matthew W. Kewriga (MD), and Dr. Edward J. Andrews (PA).  This is a well-rounded group with a strong background in judging U.S. material.  If you intend to exhibit at the show, I’d urge you to submit your application now since the frames should fill up early.  The Prospectus and Application can be found on the NOJEX website, which we have linked to our website under “Meetings & Events.”  You can also obtain copies by writing to Glenn Spies at P.O. Box 1740, Bayonne, NJ 07002.

One especially noteworthy occurrence at this year’s Annual Meeting will be the release of the 2008 Durland Standard Plate Number Catalog.  This edition will be very different from the previous ones – all in a good way.  There will be many more illustrations, all of which will be in color.  The size will change to an 8½ x 11 format because of the increased number of pages and, for the first time, the book will be available in both the usual perfect bound version as well as a spiral bound version to make it easier to leave open on a desk or at a show.  The price of each version has yet to be finalized but will be announced in The Specialist prior to the Annual Meeting.

Over the years, the Society has earned a reputation of providing a strong slate of presentations covering a wide range of topics at our Annual Meetings.  We would like to continue this at NOJEX, so please contact me if you would be willing to share some of your expertise with others.  Also, if any of the committees or study groups would like to hold a meeting at the show, please let me know so I can schedule it with the show committee.

—Nick Lombardi
President