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News Bulletin No. 44

21.04.2009 | Post Offices at the Collector Fair | Wickert for the First Time, Tietz for the Second Time, Others have already become a Traditional Sight | Numismatic Firms are also Getting Ready | Exhibition Catalogue in a New Guise |

Post Offices at the Collector Fair

Even though there is still half a year to go before the 12th annual international Fair Collector in Prague opens its gates, the organizers have already registered applications from the postal services of Belarus, Finland, Cyprus, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Republic of Srpska (BiH), and the United Nations. The UNPA is the most diligent exhibitor in Prague among them, having never once missed a year after honoring us with their trust in the very first year, in 1998. The staff of the other national postal services also have memories of the great atmosphere at the Collector Fair and look forward to returning to the Czech capital. The Swedish postal service will be represented at this year's fair for the first time, and the organizers are confident that the Swedes, too, will be happy to return to Prague in future years.

Wickert for the First Time, Tietz for the Second Time, Others have already become a Traditional Sight

Germans traditionally form a large segment among the participating exhibitors at the Prague Collector Fair, especially in the field of philately. Kai Wickert from Bremen has not opened his exposition in Prague before, but given his extensive and interesting selection that lists thousands of items, we are confident he will experience no shortage of customers. Another exhibitor from Bremen, Holger Tietz, is returning to Prague for a second year, bringing along not only "rummaging boxes", but also collections, albums with motifs, and other interesting items. Udo Biener from Reutlingen has already been to Prague two times with his extensive, colorful stand, and according to the time-honored "rule of three", he will come to Prague again this year. Our fair has grown on him. Take note! His Prague portfolio has undergone some innovation. After all, he moved his 100 tons (!) of postage stamps to larger premises last year and introduced a new categorization system. Other recurring guests at the fair include Kniffka Philatelie from Moers, who this time feature, among other things, a large selection of philatelist material from former Czechoslovakia, and of course our most faithful German exhibitor - Aix-Phila of Aachen.

Numismatic Firms are also Getting Ready

Traditionally, numismatics represent the second largest field of interest at the fair. From among the mints, the Austrian Mint and the Kremnica Mint have already signed up; of course the Czech Mint is also planning to attend, as are the companies Zlaté mince and Austria-based Schoeller Münzhandel, which represents about ten national mints from all over the world, etc. Investment in gold coins is skyrocketing these days, and we expect them to draw great interest at the Collector Fair as well. Similarly, collecting euros is very popular today (with Slovakia as a recent newcomer to the monetary union). Of course, we do not intend to downplay traditional numismatics, a field that also enjoys growing popularity among collectors. After all, it is an open secret that numismatic firms are usually out of stock on the third day of our fair. And thus, the organizers have already signed-up Jindřich Holna Elektris, Aurea Numismatica, Mojmír Černy, the Numismatic Studio Numis, Miroslav Nožka and GAP-Weltbanknoten from Germany, Pi-Collector from Belgium, Robert Rozman and Masta Trade from Slovenia, George Shalev from Bulgaria, Euro Shop Mozart from Austria, and many others.

Exhibition Catalogue in a New Guise

This year, the organizers have dropped the previous concept of the catalog, which was sold at ticket booths in the form of a brochure, and replaced it with a folded leaflet the full size of which is A2. This leaflet will be distributed to all visitors for free. It will also be available to exhibitors and at sales outlets from mid-August. We plan to print 30,000 copies of the leaflet. Aside from information on the exhibitors and a map of the fairground, the new Czech-English catalog-cum-leaflet will also contain ads placed by exhibitors and other firms. Full-color ads can be taken out in formats 145 mm wide by 205 mm or 100 mm high. The price for the larger format is CZK 20,000, and half a page costs CZK 10,000. Exhibitors enjoy a huge discount of at least 50% on the ad price versus third parties.