Fundy Stamp Collectors Club P. O. Box 302 Moncton N.B. E1C 8L4 Since 1997

As I also mentioned, the Fundy Stamp Collectors Club initiated a stamp auction (combination silent l live), held in conjunction with the Stamp Fair the first Saturday monthly at the Park House Inn, Main Street, Moncton. The first two were successfully held on March 2 and April 6, with David Morris and Dr. Ralph Richardson as auctioneers, respectively. Interest was high on both days, with 25-30 percent of the lots sold. Club members are encouraged to submit up to four lots (any size), and visitors are permitted two lots. Lots must be checked into the auction, on site, no later than 11 am on the day of the auc- tion. Items which do not receive bids during the silent auction will not be included in the live auction.

Watch for the next auction on Saturday, May 4, 2002.

The search for philatelic authors is a long and difficult one. 1 would encourage all readers to consider an article, on any philatelic subject. You do not need to be an expert. A little bit of research, and an original idea. Pictures, covers, or stamps can be sent as well, by scanning them. Articles are required for the next three issues -- September and December 2002, and April 2003. Please call, mail or e-mail.

Of upcoming interest locally is the Novapex 2002 Show and Bourse, sponsored by the Nova Scotia Stamp Club, who incidentally are celebrating their 80th Anniversary_ Congratulations! Novapex 2002 will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5, 2002 at the Dartmouth Sportsplex.

In the fall, Brunpex 2002 will be held on Sat- urday, October 19 at the Howard Johnson Brunswick Plaza Hotel, at Main and Highfield Streets, Mancton. Plans are well underway, and further details will be released in the September edition.

As the spring philatelic season draws to a close, I would like to extend best wishes for a warm, sunny, and restful summer, and hope to see you (or hear from you) before the autumn. Don Mills

When you find a stamp listed in a Scott's catalog always be sure to check the footnote to see if another set with the same designs was issued later. That set could have different color shades, watermarks, or perforations, and the stamp you thought was worth $1 could turn out to be just another nickel item.

Check the a and b sub-numbers, etc. between the regular listings that often list perforation and color varieties, etc. Knowing the varieties can pay off in the long run, because it will be easier to spot scarcer stamps among the common ones. For example, the super common coil stamps with the U. S. Flag over the porch are so abundantly used that nobody wants them at any price. However, a few times in every coil roll a tiny number will appear at the bottom center, and these are prized by collec- tors so much that they are worth more than several times the regular issue.

Mainly, however, knowing how to use the catalog, and double-checking anything that doesn't quite look right will pay off hundreds of times over the years. You may even find a valuable error sometimes among common stamps because the catalog tells you it exists, and you remember to look for it. Anything is possible.
Next time: Condition

Attendance ranged from seven to twelve members. The business portion of the meetings were kept as short as possible. A very nice slide presentation of Canadian Revenue Stamps was presented in January by Harvey Terris. A buy-sell-trade session was held in February. In March, Paul Bourque gave a magnificant presentation on "Early Airmails", supplemented by the collection of Air Post Semi Officials of Canada, from Mike Leighton. In April, Eric Tobin gave a wonderful presentation of his personal stamp collection, and his interest in Canadian errors, along with several nice examples.

Upcoming presentations include:

May 2 -- personal collection of Bob Evans
June 6 -- Collecting Topicals without Breaking the Budget, by Michael Nowlan of Oromocto.
Sept. 5 - Organizing a Philatelic Display, by Paul Bourque

St. John's Philatelic Society meets twice monthly, the second and fourth Wednesdays, in room 2033 at the Marine Institute on Mount Scio Road. Meetings start at 8 pm. The second meeting each month is an auction night.

The Valley Stamp Club meets on the first and third Saturdays monthly, at 2:30 pm in the Comwaliis Room at the Agricul- tural Centre in Kentville.