American Philatelic Society
(APS)
The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest
non-profit philatelic organization in the world. As of 2018, they have
about 30,000 members in approximately 110 countries. Both the
membership and the focus of the society are Worldwide.
The society was founded in September 1886, in New York City, as the American Philatelic Association, and the first president was John K. Tiffany. Their early membership roster read like a who's who of the giants of philatelic history that we recognize today. In 1908, the name was permanently changed to the American Philatelic Society. By 1940, there were over 4,000 members, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt! In 1945, the headquarters of the APS moved from New York City to State College, Pennsylvania, and in 2004, the headquarters was again relocated to nearby Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
The products and services available to APS members are:
The American Philatelist - Monthly Journal
APS StampStore - An online venue, via their website, with stamps for sale by members.
Sales Circuits for most specialties, via mail
American Philatelic Research Library - books and research materials available for loan to members, via mail.
Insurance for stamp collections
American Philatelic Expertizing Service
Accreditation of Philatelic Judges
Educational opportunities
Member Code of Ethics and a Complaint Process
Website (www.stamps.org) with news and information for all levels of stamp collectors.
I
have been a member of the APS since 1982, and in the time since then, I have
used almost all of their services many times. There is a wealth of
information in the APS monthly journal, The American Philatelist, which
is now printed in full color. I have also found the American
Philatelic Research Library to be an outstanding source of information
over the years.
A few years ago, I began researching 19th Century
Austrian Imperial postmarks for my Austrian Empire collection. It was a huge
undertaking, encompassing postmarks from over 11,000 post offices,
covering most of Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Many of the most
important publications on Austrian Imperial postal history and
postmarks are German language books that have been out of print for
decades. A couple of them were last published at the beginning of the 20th
Century! The APS had all of them, and I was able to borrow them, digitize them for future reference, and use them
in the configuration of my postmark collection.
I also subscribe to several sales circuits. The circuit books usually contain nice, reasonably priced material that is submitted by other members. Other than the internet or the occasional philatelic exhibition, they have been one of the principle sources of quality material for my classical stamp collections since the 1990's.
You can go directly to the APS website, by clicking on any of the APS logos on this page. If you use the web interface to the APS website, or download their membership form to mail to them, please remember to enter my NAME and APS NUMBER on the "SPONSOR" line at the bottom of the form.
Membership Sponsor:
David Aeschliman
Owner: Stamp-Collecting-World
APS #129225
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