This year, Virtual Stampex will be home to a number of Roundtables. In a dedicated room, Roundtables allow up to 16 people to connect via video in a fully integrated space to discuss key areas of interest, debate hot topics and meet in an informal session at the show.




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The 5 PTS hosted Roundtables are:

1. LEARN - a Roundtable schedule dedicated to education, including facilitated sessions on topics such as expertising, exhibiting, beginner guides and more.

2. CONNECT - a Roundtable schedule offering visitors a chance to meet key philatelic influencers and experts from around the world, as well as to meet Stampex Talks Auditorium speakers after a Talk.

3. EXPLORE - a Roundtable schedule focussed on the hot topics of the moment such as what philately looks like in 2035, the future of catalogue publishing, digital exhibiting, NFT/crypto stamps

4. SOCIETIES - a place for any philatelic society anywhere in the world to meet for a presentation, AGM or informal get together

5. MEET THE DEALER - any booth holder can book a 30 or 60 minute slot to present to a wider group of collectors together, or ask questions

​A full schedule can be found online here and will be finalised by 31st March. 

• Collectors just need to complete an online form to claim their free issue (with free delivery)
• Just complete your details at: https://stamp.cm/freebie
• Stamp Collector is quickly becoming the world’s favourite stamp magazine
• The May 2023 issue of Stamp Collector, published on 14 April, to be sent out free to claimants

 
We’re giving UK-based collectors the chance to receive the next issue of the hugely popular magazineStamp Collector in the post for free!
 
Editor Matt Hill said: “We’re so proud of the magazine and really want you to see it for yourself, so simply complete the form below, making sure you sign up to the free All About Stamps newsletter, and we’ll pop a copy in the post for you when it is published.”
 
“The May issue of Stamp Collector is packed full of collecting articles, news, tips and price guides. Features include a stamp tour of Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein; an in-depth examination of the Papua bi-colour issues of 1907-1911; an interview with Susanna Mills, the editor-in-chief of the American Philatelic Library; and a guide to Tonga’s 1953 definitives. Plus the usual mix of stamp news, new issues, opinion, and market updates.”
 
How to receive the free magazine
Simply complete the online form, making sure you sign up to the free All About Stamps newsletter, and we’ll pop a copy in the post for you when it is published (you should receive the magazine by 14 April). Please note, this offer is only open to UK residents who sign up to receive the free All About Stamps newsletter. The promotion closing date is 28 March 2023, so claim your copy today!

The King’s Stamp
8 February – 3 September 2023
A new exhibition opens 8 February at The Postal Museum in London to coincide with Royal Mail’s release of a new definitive stamp design for the UK, for the reign of King Charles III.
The exhibition displays treasures from The Postal Museum’s unrivalled British philatelic (stamp) collection, dating back to 1840. The exhibition will culminate in the newest design for the reign of King Charles III, the 7th monarch to feature on British stamps.
The story of definitive (everyday) stamps is revealed from the very first design, the famous Penny Black featuring Queen Victoria, to today.
Visitors will see rare and valuable stamps from the reigns of seven monarchs, including King Edward VII’s Tyrian Plum and Queen Victoria’s Two Penny Blue. Alongside this, visitors will see how designs developed through original artworks and priceless proofs and discover how previous monarchs influenced designs.


Highlights include:

• The first and only chance to see a sheet of Kings Charles III's definitive stamps before they are released.
• A sheet of Edward VII ‘Tyrian Plum’ stamps displayed for the first time at the museum, one of only two sheets in existence, both held in The Postal Museum’s collection. 
• Printing proofs showing how the first stamp, the famous Penny Black, was developed. 
• A sheet of Queen Victoria Two Penny Blue stamps from Queen Victoria’s reign, equivalent to a large letter stamp today. 
• Artworks showing how royal cyphers for letter boxes and postal vehicles have been developed and produced from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II, displayed for the first time. 
•  Artwork produced for commemorative stamps, including Terence Cuneo’s original painting of The Flying Scotsman. The painting was used in the 1985 ‘Famous Trains’ commemorative stamp release. 

Laura Wright, CEO, The Postal Museum said: 
The new design for King Charles III’s reign will be the first significant change to everyday stamps in many people’s lifetime. Launching our exhibition, in partnership with Royal Mail, on the day the world sees the new design for the first time is a real privilege for the museum. We’re looking forward to giving our visitors the first and only chance to see these stamps in person, until they’re in circulation later this year. 

Chris Taft, Head of Collections, The Postal Museum said: 

The exhibition charts the development of these familiar, everyday objects since the very first stamp was designed for Queen Victoria. Each monarch made decisions about designs that influenced both how the public perceived them, and the decisions successive monarchs made for their stamps. We hope visitors will come away with a better understanding of how the design for King Charles III fits within the rich postal history of the UK. 
This special exhibition is included with entry to The Postal Museum. 

It seems that everyone is currently talking about Discord. Not sure what it is or how to join? We asked Jack Preuveneers to tell us all about it, why he started a Discord channel and how we can get involved. 

Many people question the future of Philately – how to get the Youth involved, and how to make philately engaging?
It’s a difficult subject and a challenging task. Stamp collecting is a pleasant hobby – it encourages an interest in the world, in design, in history, in geography and politics. But quite frankly, when it comes to the battle for the hearts and minds of young people, stamps have been beaten in submission by Nintendo and Playstation.

The idea that children can trade stamps in the playground these days is completely outdated. Children simply do not collect stamps in the way that they used to. And there is no-one to trade them with. They are unlikely to get duplicates to even begin to trade with too, simply because relatively few letters actually carry stamps these days. Few schools have a stamp club or indeed are interested in establishing one. I felt in order to create an interest in philately, you need to approach the youth on a level they can understand and resonate with. I believe this to the social medium of Discord.

So, what is Discord?
Discord is a chat app, similar to programs such as Skype or TeamSpeak, or professional communications platforms like Slack. It has chat and channel features very much like the Virtual Stampex 2020.

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Why is this the “kid’s” choice?
Discord is geared almost exclusively toward video game players, providing them with ways to find each other, coordinate play, and talk while playing. It supports video calls, voice chat, and text, allowing users to get in touch however they please. But it is not exclusive to video games, and Discord ‘servers’ as they’re called can be based on any topic you wish. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, ‘servers’ based on Baking, Knitting, or in our case, Stamp Collecting cropped up.
In order to explain why Discord works for the youths’ needs, I’m going to delve into my collecting history. 

I’m 24 years old from England. Much like any teenager, I enjoy my fair share of Video Games and engage with my peers on social media. Unlike my peers, I collect stamps. My collection covers all Scandinavia stamps, specialising in early Sweden. I’ve won awards for my exhibition on Classical Swedish stamps from 1855-1911. I’m part of a Patrick Maselis’s Youth Program alongside fellow youth collectors and I’ve been to various events such as Stampex, the RPSL Opening and Monacophil. While I like to share details of never seen before proofs, Swedish mail to foreign destinations, or my Sperati forgeries, my friends aren’t interested.

So, in order to engage with collectors my age across the world I’ve created a youth collectors Discord server where other users can share their collections, expertise or ask for help identifying stamps! There’s even sales/ trade channels where people can swap stamps!

So far we’ve managed to get over 800 members to join! These members collect loads of different countries and live all over the world.

I think it would be really progressive towards Youth Philately if youth collectors, or even adults who were keen to progress philately were to join. There’s no age criteria to join, anyone of any age or background is welcome. I’d like to think that some of the keener youth members are in essence youth ambassadors to their country and their hobby to inspire people to collect and to encourage collecting.

Users join the server and fill out a short bio, then one of the moderator team can assign roles based on what countries you collect! If you’d like to join, here’s the link;

http://discord.gg/mPnGUEC