Services of The Perfins Club

The Perfins Club was organized in 1943 and has continued as a specialty society since that time. The Club was the pioneer perfins organization, leading to the founding of numerous other perfins groups in the world. The Club continues to strive to be the leading perfins society, with a worldwide membership and an array of extensive services available to its members.

• The Perfins Bulletin is the official journal of The Perfins Club, it’s published 6 times per year, and it’s sent to all active Club members. This award winning bi-monthly 20 page journal is filled with informative articles about all perfins, U.S. and worldwide, as well as Club news and features. Club members are welcome to submit articles about anything perfin related, with articles about Club members’ discoveries and research projects always being encouraged.

• Publications is one of the featured services The Perfins Club is most proud of. The first catalog of perfins, The U.S. Perfins Catalog, began to be serially published in the club’s journal, then it became a separate publication in 1966, and the most recent edition of The U.S Perfins Catalog (which was published in 2021) receives updates which are released on a regular basis. The club has also published additional catalogs as club projects, with non-U.S. catalogs being prepared by club members who work together with the club’s Foreign Catalog chairman. The club also provides, through its Publication Sales manager, additional perfins publications from other sources, depending upon availability.

• The Club Library is a major repository of information on perfins. The Club Library now resides at the American Philatelic Research Library (in Bellefonte, PA), where it can be accessed by all philatelists. Donations of perfins articles from any source are always welcome.

• Two separate Club Sales Circuits are available.  The club has one Sales Circuit for single perfins, and a second Sales Circuit for covers.  The Sales Circuit managers’ addresses are published in the Club’s journal, and Club members can buy/sell both U.S. and foreign material through the circuits. For details about the Sales Circuit operations, an email or a #10 SASE, can be sent to either (or both) of the Sales Circuit managers.

• Club Auctions appear in the Club’s journal 4-5 times per year, and usually consist of 100-200 lots of U.S. and foreign items (individual perfins & covers, accumulations, and collections). Members may bid on lots in the auctions, and members may consign material for sale through the auctions. The Perfins Club’s Auction Chairman’s address is in every issue of the Club’s journal.

• Research into perfins has been going on since at least 1911, when some of the perfins had already been around for four full decades (perfins debuted in 1868, in Great Britain).  So far, impressive efforts have been made in producing catalogs for the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, France, India, Italy, and several other countries, and The Perfins Club has published the World Perfins Catalog (in four volumes).  The research into perfins is still somewhat in the beginning stages, with news about new discoveries appearing all the time.  As new information appears, the need for major revisions of some works, as well as publication of new catalogs, remains ever present.  Any individual Club member, regardless of whether being new or veteran, can contribute toward the research efforts.  Club members are encouraged to contact the respective Catalog Chairs to join in the research efforts.