WelcomeWelcome to the homepage of the American Ceremony Program Society (ACPS), the only philatelic organization devoted to the collection, documentation and preservation of printed ceremony programs and allied items distributed in conjunction with the launch and promotion of new postal releases. Not only do the programs distributed at many of these events become collectible souvenirs, they also function as tangible documents of postal release and thus serve as historical records. We are helping to record the postal history of tomorrow today, and are involved with reaching back in time to preserve and document the printed programs of past postal issues for the posterity of the future.Ceremony programs by definition all have one feature in common-they include a formal listing of the ceremony participants and dignitaries officiating at the event. They may also include the postal item being released with a special cancellation created for the event. Programs for the event-at-large and specially issued official souvenirs also exist and serve to further record and augment the release or promotion event. We refer you to our definitions page to further explain the variety of items that may exist and may be of collecting interest. As a hobby, program collecting can be a specialty pursued for its own sake, or it can also serve to augment or embellish an existing philatelic specialty or topic of personal interest. You don't have to be a stamp collector to be a collector of ceremony programs. It can help fulfill a particular thematic or topic of interest you may have, or to supplement another collecting interest, such as literature, art or sports memorabilia, for example. The ways and means of collecting ceremony programs can be as varied as your imagination. An important aspect of program collecting can be the experience of actually attending a ceremony. One is able to meet and interact with not only the officiating dignitaries and participants, but also interesting people from all walks of life that are also attending the event. How exciting! As a philatelic organization, the American Ceremony Program Society is affiliated with the American First Day Cover Society (Chapter #58) and the American Philatelic Society (Affiliate #217). We also hope to extend our affiliation with other allied organizations in the future. The ACPS hosts an annual convention each summer and regional meetings at major philatelic exhibitions throughout the year. In addition to this website, we also publish a newsletter for our members. To further enhance the collecting experience, we also offer an auction service for our collecting specialty and attempt to secure materials that may be of interest to our members that are often not available through normal channels at a reasonable price through our own society's sales division. We also attempt to announce upcoming events of interest both through the website's message board and our newsletter. We hope you will further explore our website and the benefits we offer. Our membership is open to all, and we eagerly solicit your participation in our exciting hobby. Please feel free to explore our website and to contact us for further information about our society or our particular collecting specialty. Thank you for your interest. We look forward to your participation in our exciting hobby specialty and avocation. The American Ceremony Program Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1986 for the promotion, education, pursuit and activities of the specialty of philatelic ceremony programs in and of itself and to augment and enhance the hobby of stamp collecting and allied collecting fields. |
Recommended Links
|
Marvel Comic Superheroes
A USPS official ceremony program cover for the Marvel Comics Superheroes stamps issued July 26, 2008 affixed with the Fantastic Four issue #3 comic book stamp. A separate Fantastic Four #3 comic book stamp is affixed to the program cover with a USPS Navajo Station window cancel. Another stamp featuring the Thing, one of the Fantastic Four, is affixed to the program cover with a Comic Con pictorial cancel for July 26. |
Mt. Rushmore
First day of Issue ceremony program for the Mt. Rushmore priority mail stamp issued at the NAPEX stamp show on June 6, 2008. Produced by NAPEX as a limited quantity of 200. Cover art by Patrick Reynolds. |
Polar Lights
First Day of Sale program for the Polar Lights stamps issued on October 1, 2007 from Wasilla AK showing an aurora borealis. The program was produced by the Alaska District of the USPS. The photos used in the program were taken by photographer Fred Hirschmann. |
