December 16th, 2020 

Conversations with Philatelists Wins PTS Award for Creative Concept of the Year

We are thrilled to announce that Conversations with Philatelists has won the 2020 Philatelic Traders' Society Award for Creative Concept of the Year!

This award is a huge accomplishment and honor for both Michael Cortese of NobleSpirit, and Charles Epting of HR Harmer. The Creative Concept of the Year award "celebrates the best innovations in philately – for the trade and the hobby." This was the most competitive category of the awards this year, receiving eleven nominations in total. Michael and Charles received very honorable praise from the award judges, Scott English and Chris King:

Scott English, President of the American Philatelic Society (APS) made notable comments about Michael, Charles, and the podcast during the award ceremony:

"I always like to brag about Charles and Michael because they are both alum of our Young Philatelic Leader's Fellowship, and that's a program we do here at the APS. Now, we didn't make them great, we just let the rest of the hobby know how great they are. They should be very proud of how far they've come so far, and the accomplishments they've made. They've done a phenomenal job with Conversations with Philatelists, because they touch on the community aspect of the hobby that we all know and love. Both Michael and Charles have an intuitive sense of blending a good knowledge of philately and a very warm presence to make people comfortable to share more than just the stamps."

Chris King, Former President of the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) also commented on their win:

"Anyone who can bring Daisy Todd and Gordon Eubanks into the same series has done brilliantly well. And bringing these people into our studies, into our stamp rooms, into our homes, during the pandemic has been absolutely fantastic...Wonderful, wonderful work."

Congratulations to the Runner-Ups in Creative Concept of the Year category:

The Royal Philatelic Society of London

For their fast-acting movement to launch virtual content and meetings for their members, encouraging people to engage with the hobby.

The Museum of Philately

The Museum of Philately provides an abundance of information and digital access to private collections for hobbyists.

Also a huge congratulations to the other category winners:

– Ambassador of the Year: Markand Dave and Bill Barrell

– Legacy Champion of the Year: Graham Beck

– PTS Contributor of the Year: Spink Auctions

Watch the Award Ceremony

TONIGHT, 12/16 at 6:30pm EST: Don't Miss the LIVE Q&A With a Dealer on APS Stamp Chats!

If you have questions about buying or selling collections online or at auction, make sure you tune in to the LIVE APS Stamp Chat TONIGHT at 6:30pm EST! Michael and Charles will be there to answer all of your questions, and provide insight into the operations of the e-commerce stamp market and auction houses!

Tune in to the LIVE Q&A and submit your questions on Zoom, the APS Facebook Page, and the APS YouTube Channel!