The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the philatelic federation of the United States, the largest philatelic association in the world with 44,000 members (2005) in 110 countries, including philatelic merchants and 700 local clubs. In addition, 200 specialized companies are affiliated to the APS. Its traditional headquarters was in Bellefonte (Pennsylvania) but recently moved to State College (Pennsylvania).
The APS was founded on September 13, 1886 in New York under the name of the American Philatelic Association. Its first president was John K. Tiffany and represented about 400 philatelist members of the APS. For a few months in 1897 he changed his name to the present for the first time, a name he would make definitive in 1908. In 1940 he had 4,000 members, including United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his Home Secretary Harold L. Ickes. The APS is the United States' representative in the Federation Internationale de Philatelie since 1947. Services
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