American Philatelic Society (APS) – the oldest and largest national organization of stamp collectors in the United States, founded in 1886.

Description

The American Philatelic Society is the largest non-profit philatelic organization in the world, with nearly 44,000 members as of 2007. The society is headquartered in Bellefonte[en], Pennsylvania. Both the society’s members and interests are scattered throughout the world.

History

The society was founded on September 13, 1886, in New York City under the name of the American Philatelic Association. The next day John C. Tiffany was elected the first president of the association. The association received its present name for a few months in 1897, but then reverted to its former name, and it was not until 1908 that it finally became what it is now called. The society’s membership exceeded 4,000 in 1940. Among them were U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes. The society became a member of the International Federation of Philately in 1947.

The society’s headquarters were located in State College, Pennsylvania, for a long time, beginning April 1, 1945. In 2002, it was decided to move the headquarters to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where the American Philatelic Center was organized in June 2004.

Society Members

Over the past decades, there has been a decline in the number of registered members of the society. By 1981, the society had more than 51,000 members living in the United States and in more than 100 other countries. In 2003, the society had more than 47,000 members; in 2007, it had about 44,000 members.

Many commercial philatelic dealers and about 700 local philatelic clubs are also members of the society. In addition, 200 specialty societies are affiliated members of the American Philatelic Society.

Philatelic Services

The American Philatelic Society provides a number of services to its members, including:

• “The American Philatelist,” a monthly magazine published by the society,
• The StampStore, an online stamp purchase service,
• the mail sales[en] circuit,
• use of the American Library of Philatelic Studies,
• insurance for stamp collections,
• the services of the American Philatelic Experts Service,
• accreditation of judges for philatelic exhibitions.