Heritage Auctions Launches Stamps Category, Welcomes Philatelic Leaders Charles Shreve and Tracy Carey

Shreve reunites with Steve Ivy more than four decades after they first built a stamps business together; inaugural U.S. and international auction planned for early 2027

DALLAS, Texas (Sept. 25, 2026) – Heritage Auctions announces the launch of its new Stamps category under the leadership of two of the field’s most accomplished professionals: Charles F. Shreve, who joins Heritage as Vice President, Stamps, and Tracy L. Carey, who joins as Consignment Director.

The appointments mark both a new chapter for Heritage and a return to one of its earliest ventures outside of Numismatics. In 1980, Heritage Auctions CEO and Co-Chairman Steve Ivy recruited Shreve to Dallas to establish Steve Ivy Philatelic Auctions, an early rare-stamps enterprise built on the modern marketing principles Ivy had successfully applied to rare coins. Carey began her career with the company in 1988 and became a licensed auctioneer two years later.

Now, more than four decades after Shreve and Ivy first joined forces, and 35 years after Heritage sold its Stamp division to Greg Manning Auctions, Inc., an NYSE-listed entity, Shreve and Carey have returned to build a dedicated Heritage category serving collectors of United States and international stamps and postal history. Their ambition extends beyond building a successful auction category; they intend to modernize stamp collecting itself by combining the field’s tradition of scholarship and personal relationships with Heritage’s technology, digital reach and global collector community, making philately more accessible and engaging to a new generation of collectors.

“This is one of those rare opportunities in which Heritage’s history and its future come together,” Ivy says. “Charles helped us recognize decades ago that great stamps deserved the same sophisticated presentation, scholarship and broad marketing that were transforming the rare-coin market. He went on to become one of the most influential figures in philately, and Tracy established an exceptional reputation as an auctioneer, operator and trusted adviser to collectors. Bringing them both back to Heritage gives this new venture extraordinary experience, credibility and momentum from its first day.”

Heritage is planning the category’s inaugural auction for early 2027, with offerings encompassing important United States and international philately. Shreve and Carey have already begun working with collectors and are currently accepting consignments.

“Returning to work with Steve and joining Heritage again feels both familiar and entirely new,” Shreve says. “The company has built a global community of collectors and an auction platform with tremendous reach, while never losing sight of the expertise and personal relationships that make collecting meaningful. Tracy and I look forward to creating a destination for great stamps and postal history—one that serves experienced philatelists, welcomes new collectors and brings exceptional collections to the widest possible international audience.”

Shreve began collecting stamps at age 12 and was working in a Detroit-area stamp shop soon afterward. While still a teenager, he became an apprentice auction-lot describer for Roger Koerber Auctions in Southfield, Michigan. He joined Sotheby Parke Bernet Stamp Auction Company in 1977 before Ivy brought him to Dallas in 1980. Shreve ultimately became a partner in Ivy, Shreve and Mader, then one of the country’s largest stamp auction houses.

He later founded Shreves Philatelic Galleries and oversaw its 2007 sale to London-based Spink and Son Ltd., where he became president of Spink Shreves Galleries. Since 2012, he has served as a director of Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries with responsibility for its international division.

Across his career, Shreve has been involved in the sale of more than $1 billion in rare philatelic material and has helped reshape the way important stamps are presented and sold. An early adopter of sophisticated marketing within the field, he also became the first stamp auctioneer to conduct auctions live on the internet, expanding access to bidders around the world.

Among his landmark accomplishments, Shreve worked with renowned collector William H. Gross and the sale of material from Gross’ celebrated collection of United States and international stamps. In total, the Gross Collection realized over $75 million at auction, including more than $16 million for his extraordinary complete collection of United States singles – the highest single-grossing stamp auction ever. An early offering of 106 items from the collection realized more than $10 million. Shreve also helped lead the campaign that raised nearly $15 million for the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s William H. Gross Stamp Gallery.

In recognition of his contributions to philately, Shreve received the prestigious Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award in 2019. He has served on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists since 2001 and now serves as its chair. He is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London, an expert consultant to and past trustee of the Philatelic Foundation, and a former governor of the Collectors Club of New York. His philanthropic leadership also includes spearheading a $1 million campaign to refurbish the Collectors Club’s historic New York townhouse and serving as development chair for World Stamp Show–NY 2016.

Carey brings more than 37 years of international auction experience to Heritage. After beginning at Steve Ivy Philatelic Auctions, she worked with Shreve to establish Shreves Philatelic Galleries and earned wide recognition as an auctioneer involved in some of the most important stamp sales conducted. When Shreves was sold in 2007, Carey joined the board of directors of Spink and Son and served for five years as chief operating officer of Spink USA.

From 2013 to 2016, Carey served as chief operating officer of Brigham Auctions, where she oversaw the sale of Ron Brigham’s award-winning collection of Canadian stamps. She later served as president and chief operating officer of Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions before co-founding her own internet auction company, Golden Oak Online Auctions. Her combination of philatelic knowledge, operational leadership and longstanding client relationships will be central to the new division’s growth.

Collectors interested in consigning to Heritage’s inaugural Stamps auction may go here or contact: