Welcome to the website for the international fair for postage stamps, coins,
phone cards, minerals, and the hobby and art of collecting – the largest
gathering of collectors of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.

Sběratel.info

News Bulletin No. 40

Number of exhibitors keeps increasing

Have a look at the home page of this website to see the up-to-date list of exhibitors of this year's International fair Collector, which will be held together with the PRAGA 2008 World Stamp Exhibition. From 12 to 14 September, the capital of the Czech Republic will also be the capital of collectors. More then twenty postal administrations, about 15 mints, and 250 dealers will be prepared to welcome the expected 30,000 visitors. You can also find the list of exhibitors at the following address: zde.

Further philatelic materials from postal administrations

The majority of postal administrations is preparing special postmarks, postcards, blocks, or other philatelic materials for the Collector fair and for the PRAGA World Exhibition. We have already published the postmarks of the Swiss and Greenland postal services. Now we are adding further philatelic materials, the pictures of which we have already received: the Italian Post postmark, the Byelorussian Post postmark and envelope, the German Post envelope, and the Hong Kong Post block.

Antiquariat no, antiquariats yes

For the first time, this year's Collector International Fair will not include the fair Antiquariat. Unfortunately, the organisers had to cancel it due to a lack of exhibition space; however, antiquarian shops will not disappear from the exhibition grounds. You will be able to find most of them in the Collector, in the section of historic picture postcards.

How much will the visit to the show cost me?

The single daily entrance fee for the international fair Collector and the PRAGA Exhibition together will be CZK 80, and a pass for all three days will cost CZK 200. As is already the tradition, entry will be free for young people up to 18 years of age and for women. In this way, the organisers want to make collecting more attractive for young people and women, who are typically not much given to collecting, according to sociological research. After that, it is entirely up to you, as a visitor, as to how much money you are willing to spend to enlarge your collection. That which will be on offer will be overwhelming. 250 dealers, more than 20 postal administrations, many mints, will await you. You can make your purchases in the left wing and in the central hall of the Industrial Palace (Průmyslový palác), and then you can go to the right wing, where the PRAGA competitive exhibits will be located, to calm down. And then back to work! The Industrial Palace will be open to visitors on Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Praga exhibition and its events

The World Stamp Exhibition PRAGA will be accompanied by a number of events. Besides the Children's Post, Salon of Czech Youth, Hall of Fame, exhibits from the Postal Museums of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the virtual exhibition Exponet, they will include the takeoff of a balloon with balloon post directly at the exhibition grounds on Friday at about 5:00 p.m., the transport of postal items by a stagecoach from the Moravian town of Hevlín to the Austrian town of Laa an der Thaya on Sunday, as well as other events. You can find more information about the entire PRAGA Exhibition, including the list of exhibits, at the address: www.praga2008.cz

Active postal museum of Czech Post

The Postal Museum of Czech Post, which in its own building will host the competitive class "Philatelic Literature", within the World Stamp Exhibition PRAGA, is also preparing for the exhibition grounds many exhibits that are normally not exhibited. It will present historic objects related to the postal service in this country, including a postal coach and postal uniforms, in the foyer of the Industrial Palace. In the Hall of Fame in the central hall, just beside the collection of the British Queen, the Museum will exhibit specimens of unaccepted designs for postal stamps, from the leading Czech graphic artists of the time, for the competition announced by the Ministry of Post and Telegraphs for the 1936 issue "For Children". Se-tenant sheets of the first Czechoslovak stamps, from 1918 - "Hradčany", and of the newspaper stamps "Sokol v letu" (Falcon in Flight), will also be included in the exhibition.

A new philatelic publication

A detailed philatelic publication of TGM 1923 Jubilee stamps and related series has just been published. It compiles the currently known facts about this series along with new discoveries, particularly those describing newly discovered plate flaws on all four values as well as other actualities. (The percentual occurrence of individual plate numbers, watermarks, types of paper, as well as comparison of price development of Michel x Scott)., author: Ivana Šárová, 112 full-color pages, A4 format, Czech/ English/ German, more on www.topartstudio.cz/tgm