Should I Exhibit My Prexie 3c Covers?

Sounds like you have an excellent plan! One thing I mentioned that you did not include in your most recent posting is that for your competitive exhibit you will need to ensure that you have rare and unique covers in it - this does not necessarily mean expensive covers, but most judges do look to see if your covers are truly rare or unique as opposed to the ordinary kind that are easily found in many dealer's stocks or on ebay every week. They are looking for covers that make your collection remarkable, thought provoking, and something other collectors are not likely to have.

Hi all,

I am finally back. I took a complete break from stamps in the past 6 to 7 months to take care of my ailing wife. Now that she is finally free from her suffering, I need something to get on with my life and fill the emptiness in my soul. What better way to do this than to exhibit my Prexie 3c covers, especially since I promised her that I would do a competitive exhibit and dedicate it in her memory?

However, I have pretty much been 'stonewalled' as I try to relook at the wonderful resources that have been recommended to me in the earlier replies. Sites like https://stamps.org/Exhibiting and https://stamps.org/userfiles/file/j...g-Manual.pdf are no longer available (404 - File or directory not found). I can't even find an 'Exhibiting' tab in the APS home page! Does anybody know if this is temporary?

I also tried to find a copy of Steve Zwellinger's 'The Path to Gold' but his conviction has resulted in the temporary unavailability of the book while AAPE decides on what to do next. Seems like I have to fall back on Randy Neil's 'The Philatelic Exhibitors Handbook, 3rd Edition' although it is a bit dated. Would there be other more recent reference guidebooks that I can refer to?

So please bear with me while I go on my exhibiting quest as I would, from time to time, post noob queries on competitive exhibiting (I don't see any thread dedicated solely to exhibiting on this forum though).

Cheers,
Andrew

I'm so sorry for your loss...my sincerest condolences and I'll keep his you in my prayers.

The APS just last week over-hauled their website, and although the new home page is flashy looking, many of the old pages haven't been updated yet and as you found out, get you nothing but error messages. I just looked myself and did a search for the Judging Manual, all to no avail. Hopefully this situation will be resolved soon.

Randy Neal's book is a bit dated, but most of the information (and there's plenty of it) is still relevant today, and I would still recommend it for providing a good foundation on which to build.

Again, sorry...hang in there.

Here's the link to the APS judging manual, score sheets, and some intro material.
https://classic.stamps.org/Manual-and-Scoresheets

Check out the AAPE.org site also, as well as online repositories of exhibits, such as Exponet: http://www.japhila.cz/hof/ or Richard Frajola's site: http://www.rfrajola.com/exhibits.htm (don't get spooked by these - they're some of the best exhibits and collections out there).

Key is to start, learn, talk, learn, evolve, and learn. Some of it will be hard and frustrating (ref: Hal), other parts will be enlightening and stimulating. Most of all, enjoy getting deeper into the material and subject.

C.