Background: The Mid-Atlantic Chapter held its very first organizational meeting and one-day show on November 14, 1970 in Phillipsburg, NJ. At that meeting, the original founders of the chapter, Edward M. Stahl (APIC #1674) and the late Gary Lundquist (APIC #918) were elected Vice President and President respectively with Gary’s wife Sharon serving as the first Secretary-Treasurer. As there were already chapters in upstate New York and New York City, the aim of the few dozen collectors present was to serve collectors in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware geographic region and provide a regular calendar of local shows where members of the American Political Items Collectors could buy, sell, trade and auction political campaign memorabilia, as well as share information, preserve and learn about America’s political history. Those first chapter members included such APIC notables as Alphaeus “Dewey” Albert, Bob Coup, David Frent, Ted Hake, Charlie McSorley, Ed Potter, Ed Stahl, Ed Veleber and Leon Weisel.

In the 1970’s, the chapter continued to hold quarterly one-day shows, having settled in Bordentown, NJ for the June 26, 1971 show, and continued to hold regular meetings there for the following nine years. In 1973, Jeannine Coup was elected Secretary-Treasurer and in 1975, F. Lynn Christy was elected Vice President and Ed Stahl became Secretary-Treasurer and convention chairman, positions he still holds to this day. With Lundquist’s departure from APIC, in 1979 Lynn Christy was elected President, an office he held until his death in 2019. The late Alfio “Al” Brindisi and the late Leon Benen became Vice Presidents for Pennsylvania and New Jersey/Delaware respectively as the VP office was split into two geographic representations. With Leon’s retirement to Florida in 1992, APIC Newsletter Editor Harvey Goldberg succeeded Leon as Vice President for New Jersey/Delaware. Harvey then succeeded Lynn Christy as President and Tony Lee was appointed Vice President of the Chapter.

The chapter's first multi-day regional convention was held in 1980 in Newark, NJ. Co-hosted by the Mid-Atlantic and Big Apple Chapters, the convention was a huge success. Each year since then, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter's Fall Eastern Regional Convention is among the best in the hobby, drawing collectors and dealers from all over the country. Past conventions were held as follows:

• 1981 to 1983 - Cherry Hill, NJ.
• 1984 to 1987 - Bordentown, NJ.
• 1988 - Princeton, NJ.
• 1989 to 1992 - Langhorne PA.
• 1993 - East Brunswick, NJ.
• 1994 to 2025 - Langhorne, PA.

In 1993, with the assistance of the Big Apple Chapter, this chapter hosted the APIC National Convention. This was one of the best and most well-attended of all national conventions. For many years, it was the largest and most financially successful convention in APIC history up to that point, a distinction the chapter organizers take great pride in.

Since 1998, the officers of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter present its "Legends of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter Award" in recognition of the dedication of its longest-term chapter members who continue to be in attendance at meetings since the chapter's inception/early days or who, through their volunteerism or financial support, have helped the chapter grow, maintain the quality of the APIC experience, and have helped foster the superb camaraderie of the club through the last 54 years. In 2022, the award was renamed “The Norman Eavenson Memorial APIC Legends Award” in recognition of his generosity in remembering the Mid-Atlantic Chapter in his will. Norman was the 2022 recipient of the renamed award.

The award winners to date are:

• 1998 - Charles McSorley, Deceased
• 1999 - Robert Coup, Deceased
• 2000 - David Frent
• 2001 - Robert Fratkin
• 2002 - Susan Stahl, Deceased
• 2003 - Mort Berkowitz
• 2004 - Jeannine Coup
• 2005 - Leon Benen, Deceased
• 2006 - Tony Lee
• 2007 - Mark Evans, Deceased
• 2008 - Al Brindisi, Deceased
• 2009 – Peter Scanlan, Deceased
• 2010 – Rex Stark, Deceased
• 2011 - Chris Hearn
• 2012 – Sean Solomon
• 2013 – Martin Kane
• 2014 – James Kirk
• 2015 - Ted Hake
• 2016 – Nelson Whitman & Gerda Whitman, Deceased
• 2017 – Charlie Hertlein
• 2018 – James & Burneda Russell
• 2019 – F. Lynn Christy, Deceased
• 2020 – Edward Stahl (50^th Anniversary of the Chapter’s founding)
• 2021 – Harvey Goldberg
• 2022 - Norman Eavenson, Deceased (Award now named after him)
• 2023 - Bruce DeMay
• 2024 – Andy Link
• 2025 – Drew Hecht

This chapter sponsors a show each year in November at the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel, 400 Oxford Valley Road, in Langhorne, PA. This show is usually held on the Thursday/Friday/Saturday weekend following Election Day or the next weekend. This often coincides with the Veterans Day holiday.

Chapter Officers:

President: Harvey Goldberg (732) 382-4652 or heg1@verizon.net

Vice President (PA):

Vice President (NJ/DE): Tony Lee (609) 310-0817 or tonylee08560@gmail.com

Secretary-Treasurer: Ed Stahl - collectorstuff@msn.com

President Emeritus: F. Lynn Christy

Convention Chairman: Ed Stahl

Registration Chairperson: Heather Stahl

General Membership Info:

Membership is generally the APIC members living in the Mid-Atlantic region, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.