Introducing your PTS Council 2026/27
Please join me in welcoming your PTS Council for 2026/27.
Council Members volunteer their time to shape, drive and support our society. Council Members are individuals, not businesses. They bring a depth of professional experience and breadth of wider experiences to help us navigate the year ahead, and beyond.
Our society is 98 years old and is continuously evolving to meet the needs of our members and the philatelic environment we operate in. Fresh thinking is critical.
I am honoured to have been elected the Chairman of the PTS for this term, welcoming two new contributors to our mission - Bill Barrell and Gabriel Gold. Along with our highly experienced Council Members who are continuing to serve, I am proud to Chair such a passionate, diverse group of professionals, and I look forward to working with the team to deliver our plans for 2026/27. You can learn more about the principles that will guide my approach in our latest Newsletter and I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress and results.
Going into this new term, each Council Member was asked "What role do you think the philatelic trade has today in safeguarding a strong future for philately?" Helen and Suzanne also provided their thoughts. See these below alongside some photos so you recognise the Council and Team when you see them at shows and online.
Iain Murphy
PTS Chairman
Iain Murphy (Chairman)
Stanley Gibbons, UK
"The trade has a direct stake in philately’s future; our businesses only thrive if collecting does. Our role I believe is to share knowledge, offer trusted guidance and help collectors at every level make informed choices, supported by fair and transparent pricing and reliable expertisation. We should also make the hobby easier to discover and more welcoming to enter, working closely with societies and exhibition organisers, reaching new audiences through digital channels and bringing the stories behind stamps and postal history to life. If we want the trade to thrive, we need to give more people a reason to start collecting and keep them interested once they do."
Simon Carson (Vice Chair)
Philangles, UK
"We are safeguarding the future of professional philately. You are safe knowing that there’s a global network of people that care for this industry. The PTS brings together the dealer community working for the collector whether buying or selling."
Mark Bloxham (Treasurer)
Mark Bloxham Stamps, UK
"The stamp trade has changed enormously during my lifetime. There used to be dozens of stamp shops in and around the Strand in London, and virtually every city had at least one. When I opened my first shop 40 years ago, it was the sixth stamp shop in and around Newcastle. Today, there is just one left.
It was the same with philatelic societies. I used to regularly attend three local societies, with many more within reasonable travelling distance. They provided somewhere for collectors to meet, learn, exchange ideas and, just as importantly, enjoy the company of other people who shared their interest.
We cannot turn the clock back, but I believe it is up to both the stamp trade and organised philately to adapt and help build a strong modern philatelic community.
Collectors still need somewhere they can get reliable information and advice, share their knowledge, meet fellow collectors and feel part of something bigger than simply buying and selling stamps."
Andrew Titley
Siegel International, USA
"The philatelic trade plays an integral part towards the strong future of philately as a hobby. I would even say it is vital. The trade, be it dealers or auctions, are the first line of defense against unscrupulous offerings and providing essential knowledge to both new and seasoned collectors."
Bill Barrell
Bill Barrell Ltd., UK
"Stamp collecting in its broadest global sense is experiencing a contradiction within. There are those who feel the hobby is in terminal decline whilst the philatelic market suggests otherwise with many new buyers, at times extraordinary auction realisations, exhibits emerging of a very high quality and a continued strong demand for good items.
It certainly appears that organised philately is in decline, at regional and International level (probably a common aspect of many other collectable markets) with stamp clubs, Federations and fair organisers at all levels struggling to survive. With this decline the 'philatelic trade' has the connections and collaborative experience to support, nurture and expand the collecting base through promoting the hobby as an educational, social and fun experience. With an increasing number of collectors swimming alone in the dark, the 'philatelic trade' should recognise it's responsibility to the hobby is much more than just short term financial gains, the 'philatelic trade' had a global reach few can match. The 'philatelic trade' can be one of the most influential and beneficial promotional vehicles of philately and the PTS can lead this, working with other influential groups such as the RPSL, the ABPS, FEPA and FIP."
Brian Bayford
BB Stamps, UK
"The dealers / trade are an integral and important part of the future for Philately and any collectables hobby. They offer expertise and advice freely both in person at shows & exhibitions and online / telephone whether you are buying or selling."
Chris Green
Sparks International, Canada
"The trade has an important role in keeping philately welcoming, trustworthy and relevant. That means sharing our knowledge, giving honest advice, and helping collectors at every level find material they’re excited about. We also need to reach beyond our usual circles and share the stories behind the stamps and postal history; often, that’s what sparks an interest in collecting."
Dieter Michelson
Heinrich Köhler, Global Philatelic Network, Germany
"Without a functioning, reputable trade, philately lacks the infrastructure for quality assurance, market stability, and knowledge transfer. The trade is therefore not merely a commercial actor, but an essential guardian of the hobby.
Serious dealers, auctioneers and other professionals are the bridge to the hobby for beginners. And we serve as the bridge to the market for those bringing their collecting journey to an end.
We must always approach these positions with the utmost responsibility to ensure the cycle continues."
Gabriel Gold
Stanley Gibbons, UK
"I think the trade serves a crucial role in safeguarding the future of philately by making the hobby accessible by passing down knowledge and by maintaining professional standards. Dealers are often a collector's first interaction with the world of organised philately, which can help spark their interest and introduce them to the wider hobby. Consequently, the trade must look beyond individual transactions and help foster an environment where future generations feel welcomed."
John Curtin & James Leigh
JC Stamps, UK
"The stamp trade is looking down an uncertain barrel. Whilst there is buoyancy among the specialist, the customers for general material are becoming increasingly scarce. I have enormous faith in the product we are offering but we need to find innovative ways of giving a new audience a gateway into the hobby. The trade must look at the strengths of its individuals and find new ways of increasing awareness and visibility of the hobby. The trade has a responsibility to work together on a joined-up approach, to ensure the hobby remains relevant. The trade must act like custodians of the hobby. To safeguard it's future we must offer our collectors the best level of service possible. Helping them with the stamps they have, the stamps they are looking for, and the information they need to continue their collecting journey."
Markand Dave
Dave & Sons, India
"I would like the PTS to consider the issue of dealer-to-dealer discounts, particularly during Stampex, as trade prices should remain a privilege of the trade and not be extended to collectors. If dealers begin offering collectors the same discounts intended for fellow dealers, it could ultimately come back like a boomerang rocket, weakening the trade and affecting us all."
Marcus Orsi
David Feldman International Auctioneers, Switzerland
"I believe the philatelic trade has a vital role in safeguarding the future of philately. We are not simply dealers and auctioneers; we are custodians of a collecting tradition that has been built, studied and enjoyed over generations.
The trade provides an essential bridge between collectors, researchers, exhibitors and future generations of philatelists. Our responsibility is to preserve knowledge and provenance, maintain confidence through accurate descriptions and expertisation, and ensure that important collections are properly researched, presented and recorded before they are dispersed.
However, I believe one of our greatest responsibilities today is to build bridges across the entire philatelic community. This includes not only our clients and collectors, but also our competitors within the trade, philatelic societies, specialist organisations, libraries, museums and exhibitions. We should recognise that, ultimately, we all depend upon a healthy and vibrant philatelic community.
There will always be commercial competition, and that is both natural and healthy. But unnecessary conflicts, divisions and rivalries do little to strengthen our hobby. Wherever possible, we should work together, share knowledge and resources, support one another's initiatives and find areas of common purpose. We need greater unity and, above all, a common direction for the future of philately.
Preservation alone is not enough. We must also make philately accessible and exciting. Digital catalogues, online archives, social media, exhibitions and educational initiatives give us opportunities to reach audiences that traditional stamp collecting may never have reached.
After more than forty-five years in the international philatelic trade, I have seen philately continually evolve. Collectors change, markets change and the way we communicate changes, but the fascination of holding a piece of history in one's hands remains as powerful as ever.
The future of philately cannot rest with any one auction house, dealer, society or institution. It is a shared responsibility. If the trade, collectors, societies, libraries, museums and exhibitions can work together—putting aside unnecessary differences, sharing our knowledge and encouraging the next generation—we can give philately not simply a future, but a strong and united one.
Michael Cortese
NobelSpirit LLC, USA
"For me, a lot of concern stems around unregulated internet trade on forums between collectors. I am seeing a lot of peer to peer trades on social media that then turns into online arguments when one party misrepresents or misidentifies an item. The lack of governing body makes the transactions dangerous and possibly can disincentivize people from continuing in the hobby.
Thought needs to go into whether or not these budding online groups with no representation should be reached out to for some sort of oversight in disputes.
As people get more comfortable online these groups become larger than a lot of other in-person clubs combined."
Tom Fell
Spink, UK
"Without trustworthy traders the hobby is at risk of underfunding, underappreciation and under development. Good traders bring a level of expertise, cultivation and care to the material itself, as well as to the collectors – thereby helping to grow and nourish the hobby. In addition, the trade has the purchasing power and requisite vested interest to support exhibitions and shows, without which the hobby would lose a great deal."
Tony Devine
Royal Mail, UK
"From Royal Mail's perspective, a strong future for philately depends on trust throughout the entire collecting journey, from the issuing authority to the dealers and auction houses that sustain the secondary market. By upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency and probity, the philatelic trade gives collectors confidence in what they buy, sell and preserve. Maintaining that trust has been essential to protecting the reputation, value and enjoyment of philately for the collectors of the past and will do so for the generations to come."
Torsten Weller
Abacus Auctions, Australia
"I believe the greatest threat to philately at present is the loss of knowledge that may occur as the current crop of older dealers & collectors leaves the hobby.
One of the roles that the trade can play to minimise this threat and build on the knowledge they have created is to safeguard their work and add to it, by incorporating their writeups and descriptions into the items that we sell rather than discarding or para-phrasing them, that is to make the item that is sold not only the stamp or cover but the information surrounding it – why it is what it is, why it is important, what its significant elements are and what they represent, other historical information from the time that places the item in its context, etc.
Beyond safeguarding, we can add to this by supplementing the item with our own knowledge, which is something many dealers and auction houses already do; we also need to ensure that this description stays with the item by encouraging the purchaser to keep it through appropriate presentation & packaging, so that this knowledge is retained and passed on."
Suzanne Rae
PTS Managing Director, UK
"When one thinks of the philatelic trade, one must understand the true extent of its reach – and the power it has to shape and support the future of philately. The trade is a small economy – of dealers, auctioneers, shops, online platforms, libraries and museums, expertisers, accessory providers, publishers, software engineers, marketers, employers, investors, tax payers, buyers, and sellers. The trade generates and sustains philatelic knowledge, literature, digital assets including scans, descriptions, provenance, videos, and stories.
Every collector interfaces with the trade and that relationship has value.
The trade, especially those verified by the PTS, consists of passionate professionals whose businesses and lives depend on the hobby – today and tomorrow. The trade sees everything, all aspects of philately. So a Board like the PTS Council can assess the philatelic ecosystem holistically and, due to the nature of their business interest and competencies, they look forwards, not backwards.
I believe the global philatelic trade’s role is critical to safeguarding the future of philately – to build and develop partnerships, events, educational opportunities, collecting journeys, selling standards, technologies, and new concepts that will satisfy and inspire collectors – those who are with us today, and those who will join our journey in the future."
Helen Kelley
PTS Office Manager, UK
"I think the philatelic trade has a really important role in keeping philately going and helping it appeal to future generations. By supporting collectors, encouraging new people into the hobby and making sure the trade remains trusted and professional, we can help keep people interested in stamps and ensure philately continues to thrive.
Philately thrives on people, and the trade is the thread that connects collectors, knowledge and material. Each year at Stampex I see dealers and collectors picking up conversations where they left off, and welcoming anyone new into them. A strong, well-supported trade means a strong future for the hobby."
See list of full PTS Council 2026/27 here.
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