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Sběratel.info

News Bulletin No. 16

Everyone's going to Prague

At this year's trade fair Collector, which will be held between 16 and 18 September in Prague, all the important manufacturers of aids for philatelists and numismatists will come together. We have already informed you of the greater participation of the firm Schaubek Verlag. Others are also expanding their exposition - Leuchtturm Albenverlag, Lindner Falzlos and Prinz Verlag. This year Davo Uitgeverij is also preparing for the trade fair. And naturally one cannot omit Safe, Michel, Importa, Peak and Hawid.

San Marino for the first time, Portugal for the third time …

This year for the first time the postal and numismatic administration (AASFN) of San Marino will be participating at the trade fair. Its stamps, coins and telephone cards, mostly issued in short runs, are amongst the most sought after in the world. The Portuguese Post Office will be exhibiting for the third year in a row at Collector. Last year it enjoyed great success in Prague with a stamp issued upon the occasion of the accession of ten new countries to the European Union and with stamps celebrating the European Championship in football. As the director of the philately department, Luis M. Andrade, confirmed for us last year, the post office has great interest in cooperating with philatelic traders and collectors in the Czech Republic and the entire Central European region. And our trade fair is ideal for this purpose.

First appearance of mints from Spain and Romania

This year for the first time, the Royal Mint of Spain and State Mint of Romania will make presentations at the trade fair. The Spanish mint is also entrusted by the government with the printing of banknotes, postage stamps, passports, identification cards and other products. It has two production plants in Madrid and Burgos and is one of the largest mints in Europe. The present Romanian mint was established in Bucharest in 1935 by royal decree, and it ensures the production of coins for regular circulation and commemorative coins, medals, orders, insignia and jewellery made from precious metals.

WWF day at the trade fair

This year at the trade fair Collector, World Wild Fund For Nature (WWF) Day has been announced for the first time, and this will be on Saturday 17 September. So far, two hundred and ten postal administrations throughout the world have issued more than 1440 stamps with the panda emblem. The licence fees which come from the issue of the stamps constitute an important revenue for the fund for the realisation of projects for wildlife protection throughout the world. In the stand of the Czech Post Office, on this day a special postmark and R-sticker will be available, and at the stand of the Swiss firm Groth AG, which is implementing the WWF project in philately, black proofs and stamps with overprints will be available. At 14:00 there will be an autograph signing session by the authors of Czech stamps with the theme of nature of Mr and Mrs Knotek. As we have already informed, on 18 September, the traditional United Nations Day will be held at the trade fair, and this will also be associated with a special postmark of the Czech Post Office and postcard of the UNPA.

Telephone cards from Japan and the Caribbean

After several years, the firm Maxicard Collectors, represented by Bruce Labentsoff, who lives in Japan, is returning to the trade fair Collector. Bruce is one of the largest dealers in thematic telephone cards from Japan and Asia. Mrs Monique Salmon from France, who specialises in telephone cards from Cuba and another twenty Caribbean islands will be repeating her participation from last year at the trade fair.

Kremnica mint with new items

The Kremnica Mint from Slovakia will be exhibiting at the trade fair Collector for the fourth time in a row this year. This year it has prepared many new mintings – commemorative coins and medals. This year, for example, it issued gold, gilded and silver medals on the occasion of the historical Bush-Putin summit in Bratislava. But the mint also makes plaques, tokens, pendants, tiepins, shields, awards, orders and mayoral chains from precious metals and non-ferrous metals. Visitors to the trade fair will be able to mint their own commemorative token.

H.D. Rauch thinks Prague is great

The Austrian auction house H.D.Rauch from Vienna is one of the traditional exhibitors at the Prague trade fair. Rauch organises not only regular auctions in the field of philately and numismatics, but collectors can also buy many items directly via the Internet, be they postage stamps, coins, awards or medals. The auction house also has available extensive literature and aids for collectors.