Mortimer L. Neinken Medal for Meritorious Service

The Mortimer L. Neinken Medal for Meritorious Service is an award presented by the Philatelic Foundation on a yearly basis. It is a widely recognized, prestigious award and is the highest honor awarded by the Philatelic Foundation. The winner’s include a “who’s-who” of philately and is presented to those who have shown absolute selfless service to philately.

The award, first presented in 1981, was renamed in 1984 in honor of Mortimer L. Neinken (1896-1984) after his passing. Neinken was a well-known student of classic 19th century United States stamps. He supplemented much of Stanley Ashbrook’s publications and published numerous articles and books on 19th century U.S. stamps – much of which is still relevant and widely used today. He was an expert for the Philatelic Foundation and even served as the Chairman. Some of his best known publications include “The United States Ten Cent Stamps of 1855-1859” and “The United States One Cent Stamp of 1851-1861”. Neinken also wrote “United States: The 1851-57 Twelve Cent Stamp (1964)”. His distinguished awards include the Luff Award (1962) for Distinguished Philatelic Research, the Lichtenstein Award (1971) and was entered into the American Philatelic Society’s Hall of Fame (1985).

The following is a list of winners over the years: