Chicagopex - Nov. 22-24, 2024, Itasca, Illinois, USA

Westin Chicago Northwest
400 Park Blvd.
Itasca, IL

Show Hours:

Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 10am-4pm

Free admission.

https://chicagopex.org

Convening Societies:

American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors (AAPE)
https://www.aape.org/

The Rossica Society
https://rossica.org/

Scandinavian Collectors Club
https://scc-online.org

Women Exhibitors
https://aape.org/weweb.asp


Bourse Dealers:

A to Z Stamps of Arizona. Tempe, AZ
David Alex. Gelnview, IL
Paul Achenbrenner. Wauwautosa, WI
Bardo Stamps. Buffalo Grove, IL
Fred Boatwright. Hawk Point, MO
C&D Philatelics. Ruby, VA
Coast Philatelics. Costa Mesa, CA
Colonial Stamp Co. Los Angeles, CA
Connoisseur Stamps & Collectibles. Chicago, IL
Corinphila & Heinrich Koehler. Zurich, Switzerland
Crown Colony Stamps. Bellaire, TX
D+P Stamps. Chula Vista, CA
Double J Stamps. Arlington Heights, IL
George Enstrom, Ltd. Byron, IL
Fairwinds. Beaufort, NC
David Feldman Auctions. Switzerland
First Century of Stamps. Fenton, MO
Richard Friedberg. Meadville, PA
Gold Path, Inc. Carmel, IN
HB Philatelics. Florissant, MO
Labron Harris. Glen Echo, MD
Hunt & Co. Austin, TX
Itty Bitty Stamp Co. Hart, MI
Eric Jackson. Leesport, PA
JFREEDOM Stamps. La Grange, IL
Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions. Danbury, CT
Kewriga Auctions. Richmond, VA
KS Philatelics. Smithville, IN
L&J Stamps. Goshen, IL
Kevin LaFrance. Harvey, LA
Leo Stamps. Leander, TX
Markest Stamp Co. Lynbrook, NY
Michigan Street Antiques, LLC. Remington, IN
Scott Mitchell. La Grange, IL
Mountainside Stamps. Mountainside, NJ
Newport Harbor Stamp Co. Newport Beach, CA
North Star Stamps. Jewell, IA
Denny Peoples. Indianapolis, IN
Gary Posner, Inc. Rockville Centre, NY
Rasdale Stamp Co. Westmont, IL
Mark C. Reasoner. Prospect Heights, IL
Riverbank Treasures, LLC. New Lisbon, WI
Roy's Stamps. Ontario, Canada
Kurt A. Sanftleben. Virginia Beach, VA
Sarantopoulos Philatelics. Des Plaines, IL
Kurt Schau. Petaluma, CA
Schoonmaker Enterprises. Richfield, MN
Rusty Shoaf. Lafayette, IN
Telah W. Smith. Ashland, OH
Smyth's Stamp Shoppe. Onalaska, WI
Stamp Center of Texas. Boerne, TX
Stamp King. Chicago, IL
Stamp Smith. Kansas City, MO
Stamps N Stuff. Urbandale, IA
Sterling Stamps. Brighton, MI
Webster F. Stickney. Parker, CO
James Taff. Sacramento, CA
Stephen T. Taylor. Claygate, United Kingdom
Tiger Collectibles. Stoutsville, MO
Don Tocher. Sunapee, NH
Antonio Torres. London, United Kingdom
Triple S. Postal History. Urbana, OH
Village Stamp & Coin. Zionsville, IN
Volovski Rarities. Thomaston, CT
Wayne Youngblood. Prairie du Sac, WI

Organizations with Tables:

United Nations Postal Administration
United States Postal Service
American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors
American First Day Cover Society
American Philatelic Society
American Topical Association
Boston 2026 World Stamp Show
Chicago Philatelic Society
Collectors Club of Chicago
Collectors Club of New York
Rossica Society of Russian Philately
Scandinavian Collectors Club
Women Exhibitors

I'll be there! Come see my 1-frame exhibit in the CofC: Frame 48.

I will be there...have BOOTH 20.....
hope to see many there....
Kevin LaFrance

Other than the whiteout blizzard conditions driving up Thursday morning, the weather's been decent (mid-40s and clear) since. Should be nice tomorrow for the drive home.

Officially my most expensive show ever, acquisitionwise. It was at the same time both painful and rewarding... dwarfed only by the material I couldn't afford to buy. Thanks to Eric Jackson, I got first dibs on the material I really wanted from the collection of the late Jim Drummond. I had given him a heads-up on specfic categories of items that I knew Jim had. He allowed me to take all the material he brought along from Jim's collection up to my hotel room the night before the show and I spent Thursday night examining it at leisure, doing research (there were several pieces I was unaware that Jim had), and deciding which items I wanted.

Was it pricey? Yes. Was it material that had I not ponied up for, I would have been kicking myself a year or two from now? Also yes. One of the items is the sole known example, and two others have extant populations of 3 or fewer examples. This is once-in-a-generation (or several generations) type of material; sadly the only time it ever comes to market is when someone passes.

I decided to not purchase a second pop-1 item I had wanted, and several other single-digit population items, simply because I had to draw a line somewherere... I just couldn't justify putting myself deeply into long-term debt (been there, done that, NOT doing it again).

As of this afternoon, that other pop-1 item had sold, as had half of the remaining single-digit population items. Truly rare items don't stay available for long.

The bourse was bustling all day Friday and well into the afternoon on Saturday. More active than I recall it being in the past, even 2021, the year after the COVID cancellation, when collectors were starved for stamp shows. All of the dealers I spoke with were very happy with the traffic and the business. People were out there spending. Two of the dealers I spoke with said that their show thus far was the best they've ever had at Chicagopex, both of them being dealers coming for well over a decade.

There's consumer optimism in the air...

Yes, there is.

Work interfered (again) with travel and I wasn't able to make it this year.

Seriously bummed about that!!!

That said, I did make up for it with an online purchase yesterday of a few items I have been chasing for many years (and didn't have to pay airfare, rental car, and hotel costs to do it...).

Thank you for the report! Some of our club members made the journey. I've always heard good things. Not too many shows between the coasts have that many dealers. Sounds like lots of fun (and could be pricey ;) )

Home from a trip to Chicago , got to attend CHICAGOPEX on Saturday .

Spend time viewing many nice exhibits, a learning experience .

Bourse area was crowded, Not a lot of material for my type of collecting . Lots of beginner material and beginner collections ,lots of covers and postal history stuff ,plus a lot of better catalog material but pricing was too high percentage wise.

This show was missing the better collections and spcialised collections , so I ended up taking my money home .The only thing I found was one Scott speciality album in excellent condition with stamps removed . Sold for $10.00 to me .Cost new is $175.00

Good Post Floortrader.
3 valuable lessons;
1. "A learning experience".
2. "pricing was too high".I ended up taking my money home"
3. "I found a Scott specialty album for 10.00, new 175.00"

Markets right now, including stamps are a little frothy, in my opinion. Consumer optimism is a little frothy, again in my opinion. [USA not to include most of Europe, Asia or anywhere else, (The Economist 11/16/2024;"The World Economy")].

That old song "you have to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em, know when to walk away, know when to run". Applies here.
If the price is right strike. If the price is high walk. Take the experience as a learning one.
Right out of Benjamin Grahams book "The Intelligent Investor"; which Warren Buffet said was the greatest book ever written on investing.
Good Post.
regards mark

That enthusiasm has been noted elsewhere. Seems almost as if a huge black cloud suddenly lifted in some areas of the economy excluding for example California it seems.


Above quote from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ernight.html

I was there on Saturday. It was my first ever stamp show and first ever in-person philatelic experience since starting collecting in 2019. I was pretty impressed. I spent all my time at various red box dealers, looking to fill spaces in my Scott International. I was impressed at the inventory available, which seemed to be superior to what's available at online retailers for types of space I'm trying to fill now (such as DWI and Italian Colonies). I spent a few hundred dollars, but there was much more stuff I wanted to buy if I hadn't already blown most of my stamp budget at auctions this month. Will keep that in mind for next year. We also have GASS coming next year (Schaumburg).

" Looking to fill spaces in my Scott Internationals" Good Luck with that ,it is a life committment .

A person could purchase five collections of Scott International's and match them to their collection and still have plenty of empty spaces ,it is like all 5 will have the same blank spaces .

Show didn't seem crowded to me Friday or Saturday. The second dealer room also had a number of empty tables this year.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find a dealer w a bunch of certified private perforation issues and was able to add to my collection.

Excellent exhibits.