AMERICOVER 2020 TO BE HELD WITH APS STAMPSHOW

Most Fun Stamp Collecting Show in North America Joins with the Country's Biggest

The American First Day Cover Society, the world's largest non-profit organization of FDC collectors, will hold its Americover 2020 stamp and cover show in conjunction with the American Philatelic Society's StampShow 2020 in Hartford, Conn., August 20-23.

All the familiar features that make an Americover show special will be included: A strong emphasis on first day cover exhibits, dealers specializing in FDCs, a pre-show tour of sites and attractions in the Hartford area, a post-show dinner, the AFDCS President's Banquet, announcement of the annual cachet contest winners, a hospitality suite, a cachetmakers bourse, FDC auctions, and a busy program of meetings and seminars.

"The AFDCS hopes to share the fun of Americover with the larger audience that attends StampShow, while taking advantage of all that a large convention center show has to offer," said Americover programming chair Foster Miller. "We look forward to a successful joint show in 2020."

"I hope the AFDCS will bring a unique social experience [to StampShow] that we don't usually get at a stamp show," said APS executive director Scott English.

For the past decade, the Americover show has often been held the weekend before or after StampShow, allowing collectors to take a "road trip" between the two events. However, some could not afford the time or money to go to both shows. This arrangement solves that problem for 2020.

The agreement between the AFDCS and APS, to be formally announced at the APS General Membership Meeting at AmeriStamp Expo in Birmingham, Ala., on February 24, 2018, is only for 2020. It is similar to the one between the APS and the American Topical Association for 2018, when StampShow and National Topical Stamp Show are held jointly in Columbus, Ohio, August 9-12.

The AFDCS has been holding its own standalone show and convention continuously since 1992. The event's name was changed to "Americover" the following year. It is held in a different part of the country each year. Americover 2018 is being held in the Atlanta area; 2017 was near Cleveland, and 2019 will be held in Saint Louis.

The Americover exhibitions have had full World Series of Philately status since 2005, and emphasize exhibits with predominantly first day covers.