Author: Pat Morgan
Prexie Award Winner: 2022

Pope Award: Penney Kols

Pope Award: Penney Kols

Posted on by Pat Morgan

The creativity of Penney Kols was clear and evident the moment your St Louis Stamp Expo (EXPO) Show Program showed up in the mailbox or you picked up at the registration desk. Penney was responsible for the program from 1993 through 2016 at which time Thomas Minor took over the creation of the show program. I think that it is safe to say that the impression of EXPO being a “premier” show was in the hands of Penney Kols and she made sure that the EXPO achieved that goal.

Penney Kols, is a St Louis native, started her professional career in the theatre as an actress.  After marrying David Kols, she became his partner in all his endeavors.  While most of the establishment and vision of the STL Stamp Expo goes to David, without Penney the execution and image of the show would not have been what it is.  Penney put the first-class stamp on this show.  She was the conductor of the orchestra to David’s compositions.  She brought the vision to life and the creativity that attracted attendees to the show. 

1994 Event Cover by Penney Kols

In 2010, after USPS stopped designing the show buttons, the button creation came back to Penney until her retirement from the show in 2018.  She also created the 1994 show cachet (right) of Union Station, which this author thinks is highly creative, while she was humble to even admit she had created it.  You can look at any of the show programs from 1993-2017 and see the creativity and attention to detail that Penney brought to Expo.  She still lives in the area and remembers very fondly all the folks who worked with her and David on the shows, saying that “stamp collectors are all so friendly.”  I think it’s safe to say that Penney Kols was the backbone of the establishment of the STL Stamp Expo.

Penney was presented the Elizabeth C. Pope Award in 2017.

Pope Award: Hans Stoltz

Posted on by Pat Morgan

Hans Stoltz was a shy immigrant from Holland. Before immigrating after WWII, he was an aspiring actor and had been studying nuclear physics, which he hid from the Nazis.  Penney said that Hans once flawlessly recited a scene from Hamlet, in Dutch, for her.  Additionally, he is said to have been a stamp dealer selling stamps to German officers in order to collect information to provide the Dutch resistance.  During this part of his life, he is said to have met Audrey Hepburn, who also was part of the resistance.  After the war, he went to work for auction house Edgar Mohrmann & Co., founded in 1929.  After leaving Holland, he moved to Brazil for a time, then, in 1964, to the United States, where he became a vice president at Robert A Siegel Auctions.  In 1975, he moved to St. Louis and opened a stamp store at 34 North Gore in Webster Groves.  Hans was inducted into the American Stamp Dealer Association Hall of Fame and was a winner of St. Louis Expo’s Elizabeth Pope Award in 2003.

Saint Louis Stamp Expo – Elizabeth C. Pope Award

Saint Louis Stamp Expo – Elizabeth C. Pope Award

Posted on by Pat Morgan
ProgramsEvent CoversButtonsCommitteeEXPO

The Elizabeth C. Pope Award for Lifetime Contributions to Philately

The Pope Award was established in 2001 to honor local and national philatelists who throughout a lifetime have contributed to the good of philately. The first recipient was Elizabeth C. Pope (1925-2007), a local and nationally known philatelist who exhibited all the characteristics of a true leader. In addition to being a major force in St. Louis stamp collecting, she was also vice-president of Robert Siegel Auctions in New York after 1994.

In the male-dominated world of organized philately, Elizabeth first established herself as an accomplished collector and organizational leader in the 1940s. She became the first woman president of the Tulsa Stamp Club around 1950. In 1954 she published a scholarly study of Spain’s first postage stamp in the “American Philatelic Congress Book.”

Alan Barasch has been the administrator of the award since 2010.

Eligibility/Process:

  • Anyone in philately is potentially eligible for consideration to receive the Pope Award. Gender, race, creed, age, and/or religious beliefs shall not be factors in the selection of an award nominee.
  • Nominees must be living when selected by the committee.
  • The Pope Award recognizes voluntary contributions to the hobby. Those who hold paid positions within philately are eligible for consideration only in light of their contributions above and beyond the duties of their paid position(s) within philately.
  • Winners of the award are chosen by previous recipients of the Pope Award.
Also see St Louis Stamp Expo Palmares

Haimann awarded APS’s Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer Recognition Awards for National Service

Posted on by Pat Morgan

Alex Haimann, Greater Mound City Stamp Club Member

The Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer Recognition Awards recognize the outstanding efforts of American Philatelic Society volunteers at the national, regional and local level, and also recognize our younger members whose contributions and abundant talents are crucial to our future.

Alex has been a stamp collector since the age of 7 and an APS member since the age of 10, Alex Haimann has never met a stamp or cover he didn’t like. His passion for philately came from the encouragement and support of the West Suburban Stamp Club in Plymouth, Michigan. This extremely positive welcome to the hobby has inspired Alex to seek out collectors in the younger generations and make them feel welcome, along with helping them connect with others.

In January 2008 (at what would sadly be APS President Nick Carter’s final APS show), during his Tiffany Dinner speech, Haimann presented the original proposal for what would become the American Philatelic Society’s Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship program, now in its 15th year. Between 2005 and 2010, Haimann worked for the Smithsonian National Postal Museum as a collections specialist and web projects developer. In a volunteer capacity, Haimann served the APS as the chair of the Board of Vice Presidents (2013-2016) and as the chair of the Campaign for Philately Committee (2016-2022). Haimann also served on the World Stamp Show-NY 2016 and the Stockholmia 2019 committees.

Since 2008, Haimann has given dozens of talks in person and online across the U.S. to philatelic and non-philatelic audiences. Continuing a passion to bring philately and postal history to new audiences, Haimann exhibited his Anglo-Zulu War collection during a summer exhibition (“Clash of Empires: The 1879 Anglo-Zulu War” (www.clashofempires.org), at the Royal Philatelic Society London last summer with more than 2,000 people from 29 countries attending. Since the exhibition, videos created around the content of the exhibition have generated more than 1 million views on YouTube.

Haimann is very proud to have sponsored 744 new APS members to date, the second most of any living APS member, behind Don Sundman.

MSDA June Show Dealer List

MSDA June Show Dealer List

Posted on by Pat Morgan

11 professional stamp dealers from 4 states are bringing their inventory of
U.S. & Worldwide stamps, Covers, Collections, Box Lots, Albums, Catalogs and Collecting Supplies
and look forward to seeing you at the show!

George E Enstrom LTD – Byron, IL

U.S. #1- Kansas/Nebraska
Back of the Book (C’s to K’s)
British Colonies
Modern Errors

SLBF Stamps, Inc. – High Ridge, MO

William Raible
United States
Worldwide
Souvenir Sheets
Covers
Revenues
Cinderellas

Fox River Stamps – Salem, WI

Michael Mules
U.S. Mint Stamps (1920-date)
Federal State, Junior Ducks
U.S. Possessions
Postal History/Covers 
PNCs (Plate Number Coils)
EFOs (Errors, Freaks and Oddities)
Catalogs and Supplements
Mounts and Supplies

First Century Stamps – Fenton, MO

Dennis O’Brien
U.S. Classics
U.S. Possessions
Canada, Worldwide 1840-1970
U.S. Revenues

Paul Aschenbrenner – Milwaukee, WI

Worldwide Stamps
Collections/Lots

Bardo Stamps – Buffalo Grove, IL

Jim Bardo
Classic and Modern US Stamps
U.S. Stamps from #1-today
Appraisals 

Fred Boatwright, Hawk Point, MO

Germany
Japan
Spain and Colonies
Switzerland
Topicals
Postal History – Worldwide
Zeppelins

Stamps N Stuff – Urbandale, IA

Jerry Koepp
U.S. and Worldwide Stamps
Covers
Postcards
Collections/Lots
U.S. Mint Sheets
British

HB Philatelics – Florissant, MO

Guy Gasser
U.S. Stamps
Quality/Graded U.S.
Proofs and Essays
Federal and State Ducks & Hunting Permits
Revenues

North Star Stamps – Jewell, IA

Kevin Lunn
U.S. Classics
Airmail
Scandinavia
Worldwide Stamps

Main Street Philatelics – Branson, MO

Bernie Bernstein
U.S. Stamps
Postal History
Box Lots
Collections
Philatelic Literature

Identifying Hard and Soft Paper

Posted on by Pat Morgan

Hard White Paper
The “hard white” paper was a rag content paper used by both the National and Continental Bank Note Companies (#134-181).  This is sometimes referred to as a thin to thick white wove paper on the 1870 to 1873 printings, and a yellowish wove paper on the 1875 printings.

Soft Porous Paper
The “soft porous” paper was a wood pulp paper used by the Continental Bank Note Company briefly in late 1878 to early 1879, and by the American Bank Note Company for all 1879 and later printings (#182-218).  Because the American Bank Note Company took over the Continental Bank Note Company in 1879, including plates, paper and finished stamps, the soft porous paper is generally attributed to American Bank Note printings.  All stamps issued between 1879 and 1894 were printed by the American Bank Note Company on this paper.
The “hard white” paper was a rag content paper used by both the National and Continental Bank Note Companies (#134-181).  This is sometimes referred to as a thin to thick white wove paper on the 1870 to 1873 printings, and a yellowish wove paper on the 1875 printings.

Identification
There are two methods to identify the paper type, and occasionally it may be necessary to use both methods since one type of paper may show characteristics of the other type.  To learn the paper types, it is easiest to begin with stamps of a known paper type.  Any grilled issue and any stamp from the 1869 series will be on thin hard paper, while the 1890 Small Bank Note stamps and the Columbians will be on soft porous paper.

Easiest Method: The Flick Test
The traditional test is to flick the stamp close to your ear.  Hold the stamp between your thumb and index finger, leaving about a half an inch protruding, and snap the stamp back and forth with the flick of a finger.  Hard paper gives a sharp, loud sound, while soft paper gives a duller, less audible sound.  However, this test is not terribly accurate and care must be taken to not damage the stamp.

More Accurate Method: Examination Under a Strong Light
Hold the stamp up to a strong light and examine a clear portion of the stamp, such as the margins, at various angles.  The hard paper is translucent and has an even texture throughout, and is usually white.  The soft paper appears mottled and opaque, with fibers typically bunched in a screen or mesh pattern, and is usually yellowish.  Also, when viewed from the back, the design tends to show through on the hard paper.

Thin hard paperSoft porous paper
thin hard papersoft porous paper

Source: Kenmore Stamp Company