The Postal Order Society is a
numismatic and
philatelic
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is pos ...
society which was established in 1985 by Howard Lunn, who became the first chairman of the society.
Aims
The main aim of the Postal Order Society is to promote the study of
postal order
A postal order or postal note is a type of money order usually intended for sending money through the mail. It is purchased at a post office and is payable at another post office to the named recipient. A fee for the service, known as poundage ...
s, postal notes,
money order
A money order is a directive to pay a pre-specified amount of money from prepaid funds, making it a more trusted method of payment than a cheque.
History
The money order system was established by a private firm in Great Britain in 1792 and was ...
s and related items. The society is a member of the UK-based
Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS) and the
American Philatelic Society
The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting foundation of philately in the world. Both the membership and interests of the society are worldwide.
History
The organization, originally named the ''American Phil ...
. Meetings are held annually in London at the
IBNS venue. Very few members collect only postal orders, but usually add them to their philatelic or banknote collections. British postal orders are very popular.
Officers and membership
The Postal Order Society is today administered by a chairman, treasurer and secretary. There are some overseas representatives from New Zealand, Australia and USA. There were 89 members of the society as of February 2011.
Publications
A newsletter is published quarterly called ''Postal Order News'', which contains news and articles mostly submitted by members of the society. Annually, there is a postal auction of postal orders and related items. A sales list is available to sell and buy postal orders. Subscriptions are £5 UK, £7 Europe, Elsewhere £6 surface and £9 airmail.
Two catalogues have been published, one on overprinted British postal orders and one on New Zealand postal notes.
External links
Official Website
{{Numismatic Associations
Postal Order Society (Great Britain), The
Postal orders