Modern Philately

The following material is a copy of that appearing on the FIP website.

Modern Philately Guidelines

Modern Philately sometimes recently referred to as an experimental ‘Promotional Class’ has as its primary objective the encouragement of collectors of recent or modern philatelic material and to exhibit this at the highest level in FIP. Also to demonstrate to Postal Administrations that there is an extensive body of philatelists who collect and study the material issued by them in the past 20 years, i.e., approximately1991 to the present.

The FIP Board is now making this class available at all FIP World and Specialized Exhibitions for such modern exhibits that comply with the special regulations (SREVs) for the Traditional, Postal History, and Postal Stationery Classes. It is planned that Aerophilately, Thematic and Revenue will also be subjects for Modern Philately in the near future.

Qualifying exhibits for Modern Philately must contain philatelic material issued by postal authorities within approximately the last 20 years. Stamp series or philatelic topics which were substantially issued after 1991 are qualified as topics for the Modern Philately exhibits. However, there is meant to be some latitude in the dates of the material shown and there is not an arbitrary limit that material issued before 1991 cannot be shown as long as the majority of the exhibit fits the criteria of Modern Philately.

Modern Philately exhibits will be judged according to the respective SREVs currently in force for the above-mentioned classes with the points awarded as follows:

The distribution of points available recognize that Modern Philatelic material is worthy of study and in many instances is difficult to acquire, treat and present as the short passage of time since their issue has not provided an accurate or precise indication of importance or rarity.

FIP Medals will be awarded to the appropriate exhibits and they will be recorded in the FIP Awards records. A Certificate of Participation will be given to exhibits attaining less than 60 points.

For the foreseeable future, acceptance of entries into the Modern Philately category at FIP World and Specialized Exhibitions will be based on the recommendation of national commissioners and at the discretion of Exhibition Organizing Committees. Exhibitors are entitled to apply for 3 or 5 frames per exhibit. Acceptance of any entries in the Modern Philately category will not preclude acceptances of entries in any other Class. All other requirements of the Exhibition IREX will apply.

Questions and Answers:
Q: What is the difference between Modern Philately and Promotional Class?
A: Nothing – they are essentially the same thing. Modern Philately is the most recent and final name for the category of showing modern philatelic issues in a shorter format of 3-5 frames.

Q: Why do Modern Philately exhibits receive FIP Medals and Open Philately and One Frame Exhibits do not?
A: The subjects of Modern Philately exhibits are actually a segment of the already established Classes of Traditional, Postal History, and Postal Stationery formal Classes with their own SREVs. The other two categories are quite different in the content material and scope of the actual exhibits.

Q: Will the Modern Philately category ever become its own separate Class?
A: No, as the exhibits are actually Traditional, Postal History, and Postal Stationery material judged under these SREVs, the Modern Philately exhibits can be judged by the accredited FIP Jurors from these Classes.

Q: Can modern philately exhibits receive Large Gold awards?
A: Because of the brevity and recent time frame of the exhibits, the development and importance of the exhibits are restricted thus not allowing for the demanding nature of achieving a Large Gold award.

Q: Why have yet another category of exhibits?
A: There is a demand for showing more recent philatelic material that can be recognised as such at the international level. Much of this demand comes from newer exhibitors and Federations that are just now starting to develop FIP level exhibitors.

Q: Can a stamp series that was first issued in 1985 and is still used today be exhibited in Modern Philately?
A: Modern Philately exhibits emphasise material issued in the last 20 years or so. However, this is not meant to be a rigid time rule and if the majority of the material falls inside the 20 year period, it can be shown as a Modern Philately exhibit.

The New Zealand Philatelic Federation has adapted these criteria to apply Modern Philately to other classes for National exhibitions. These amended criteria can be found at Modern