Announcement
April 27, 2017
(New York, NY) Two of this country’s leading philatelic institutions, The Collectors Club and The Philatelic Foundation, have entered into an agreement to share space in The Collectors Club’s classic Stanford White town house located on East 35th Street in New York City. The Collectors Club, with a storied history of almost 125 years, will join hands with The Philatelic Foundation on December 1, 2017, when the PF moves its office into two floors of the Club house from which it will conduct its expertizing services.
The Collectors Club, with nearly 800 members, a renowned research library, a monthly speakers’ program, and an award winning journal, The Collectors Club Philatelist, has had its home in the town house since 1937 where collectors have enjoyed the opportunity of meeting with each other, conducting research, attending auction sales and society meetings, sharing their collecting interests and developing life-long philatelic friendships.
The Philatelic Foundation has been this country’s leading expertizing service since its founding in New York in 1945 at the Club house. With a staff of in-house experts, a reference collection of over 240 volumes including the largest collection of U.S. fakes and forgeries, the PF is the only expertizing service in this country to use the latest hi-tech electronic equipment including both the VSC6000 and the Bruker XRF Spectrometer. Since its founding, the PF has issued over 500,000 certificates of authenticity which are available on-line for review, together with a broad array of research materials on its website: www.philatelicfoundation.org.
In joining together under a single roof, the heads of both organizations spoke of their shared interest in ensuring a strong and vibrant future for organized philately. Speaking for The Collectors Club, its president Mark E. Banchik stated that he is “looking forward to the steady stream of visitors to the PF’s offices who will see firsthand, our club house and the many benefits of membership in The Collectors Club as well the opportunity for our members to access the PF’s reference collections while conducting research activities. Speaking on behalf of the PF, its chairman Robert G. Rose, noted “how pleased the PF is to return to The Collectors Club which was its first home in 1945. We at the PF look forward to a growing synergy between our two organizations which we expect will benefit all of philately in this country.”
Source:
| Mark E. Banchik, President The Collectors Club 22 East 35th Street New York, NY 10016 Phone: 212-683-0559 |
Larry Lyons, Executive Director The Philatelic Foundation 341 West 38th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10018 Phone: 212-221-6555 |
Ashbrook Files Have Been Added to the PF’s Website
From the late 1930’s until his death in 1958, Stanley B. Ashbrook was recognized as a leading expert on classic United States stamps and postal history. Throughout that time period, he maintained an extensive correspondence with virtually all of the leading dealers and collectors of which he filed in scrap books. He prepared notes on index cards of both stamps and covers that had come to his attention through his correspondence with dealers and collectors, from auction catalogs, and from his own research and studies. Beginning in the 1950’s he made color slides of stamps and covers which he had examined in the course of his work. Following Ashbrook’s death, the PF acquired all of this massive collection. Carefully maintained over the years, this significant body of research was only available for study at the PF’s offices. Pictured below are the scrap books of correspondence and card files, and a close up of a drawer of index cards as they have been preserved by the PF for nearly 60 years.
In 2016, thanks to a generous grant from the David T. Beals III, Charitable Trust, the PF began the process of the digitization of all of these materials. Now completed, this massive collection has been posted on the PF’s website in support of its educational mission, and through the benefit of technology, made instantly available on-line to all students of philately. The volume of information contained in this collection is truly staggering: 43 scrap books containing over 10,000 images of letters, articles and other documents, 1,200 color slides, and 34 file drawers containing 35,000 3 x 5 index cards organized and arranged by subject. Enjoy the search!
John Fox Fakes and Forgeries Added to PF’s Website
The Philatelic Foundation was the recent recipient of a generous donation of the United States Philatelic Classics Society’s “S.C.R.A.P.” collection that includes a number of faked and fraudulent covers produced by the late John A. Fox and, sold by him to many prominent collectors from the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s. They have been added to the PF’s extensive reference collection. The entire S.C.R.A.P. cover collection can be viewed on the PF’s website. Two of Fox’s faked 1847 Issue covers, which fooled collectors for many years, are pictured below.
U.S. Revenue Rarities Added to PF’s Reference Collection
The Philatelic Foundation was the recent recipient of a generous donation from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum that included a number of rare United States revenue stamps, including those shown below. They have been added to the PF’s extensive reference collection.
Scott R687a $10,000 Revenue
Series 1954 Overprint
Booklet Pane of 4
Scott RE182F Wines
Scott RE165B Wines
Scott RJM4a
$100 Marihuana Tax
Booklet Pane of 4
112,000 Oldest Certificates Now on PF’s Website
One of the most popular features on the PF’s website is the PF Search program. That program permits a search of the data base of PF Certificates by Scott number. The image of each stamp or cover has been electronically digitized, permitting a visual review of the submission as well as the opinion rendered by the PF’s expert staff. Digitizing the older certificates with black and white photos as well as hand written and typed opinions, had a number of challenges, but that process has now been completed. A new program has been created that begins with the first PF Certificate issued in 1945 through number 112,000. In all, over 540,000 PF Certificates are now available on-line. This data base has already proven invaluable in developing accurate census data for both stamps and covers, describing condition issues, as well as providing an opportunity to visually assess the range of quality, margins and centering for any given stamp. No other expertizing service in the United States provides this service for the benefit of the entire philatelic community
The PF Brings Hi-Tech to the Authentication Process
The PF is the only expertizing body in the United States with the latest hi-tech equipment to assist in the authentication process. The VSC6000 uses high definition magnification, differing wave lengths of light, and the application of direct light in a variety of modes. This sophisticated forensic device assists the PF’s staff in confirming the existence of a variety of faults and repairs in both stamps and covers. In addition, the Bruker XRF (X-Ray) Spectrometer is used to determine the elements of the ink used in the printing of stamps. It has proved invaluable in correctly identifying certain stamp issues of similar color but with inks of very different elemental compositions. Other scientific equipment includes stereo and comparison microscopes, paper micrometers, as well as ultraviolet and infrared light sources.
Collect With Confidence – With a PF Certificate
With over 70 years of experience, and having issued over one-half million certificates, the PF has long been recognized as the leading expertizing authority in the United States. Its staff of in-house experts are lifelong collectors with years of professional experience, each of whom brings outstanding expertise to every submission. Our staff has ready access to the PF’s world-wide reference collection of over 240 volumes of stamps and covers, to a comprehensive research library, and to all of the PF’s on-line resources. The result is a panel of professional experts unequalled in knowledge and experience.
A PF Certificate is an opinion of authenticity that allows you to collect, buy, and sell stamps and covers with confidence whether you’re investing $100 or $1,000,000. For peace of mind, your stamps and covers deserve the very best, a PF Certificate. A recent survey by the American Philatelic Society found that 82.8% of its members selected the PF for its “Reputation,” the highest percentage of any expertizing service in the United States.