Accelerated Growth - 131313 Members Now on Colnect

The Colnect community, ever growing, has now reached 131,313 Members!

To take a quick look back at the way we have come, as a community, we need to go back to August 2009, when we celebrated our first milestone of 5,555 members. From there the community almost doubled in 8 month's time to - 11,111. The community just kept doubling its previous milestone, getting to 20,020, than going to 33,333, 40,004, 50,505, 66,666, 70,707 until reaching the beautifully round number of 100,000 almost exactly a year ago.

"100 Złotych (Władysław I Lokietek (1320-1333))" Poland Coin, from the Colnect catalog

Important thing to note, that the rate of growth in our community in the past 2 years has tripled (!) from the rate of growth in the preceding years.

"Barbara Virgin and Martyr" Italy Holy Card, from the Colnect catalog

33,333 members have joined Colnect in the past year, to form our current community of collectors from 150 countries around the world. This means that the amount of collectors joining this year is six times larger than our entire community at the first milestone!

"Parque Generalísimo Francisco de Miranda" Venezuela Admission Ticket, from the Colnect catalog

More members, means more collectors, means more collections! In a very fitting number, over 33,333,333 inventory items have been added to Colnect since the last milestone of 110,000,000 inventory items. Inventory items are any item that a member adds to their collection, swap and wish lists.

"Icon of Holy Annunciation" Macedonia Postcard, from the Colnect catalog

As the community develops, so does Colnect as a collection management tool and a website to connect collectors. The past year we've seen Colnect dawn a sleek new outfit, added with dynamic sorting, was joined by 2 new categories, Admission Tickets and Holy Cards and much more.

"Yugoslavia Vs. Indonesia" Yugoslavia Admission Ticket, from the Colnect catalog

We would like to thank the over 900 contributors that make Colnect the effective tool it is today. The contributors help make the catalogs as complete, accurate and interesting as possible, and are doing great, dedicated work, on their own time, for the benefit of all collectors.

"10th Anniversary of the Admission of Angola in the UN" Angola Stamp, from the Colnect catalog

Want to join as a contributor on Colnect? Learn more about what you can do to help on the Contributor Guide. You are also welcome to check out and join our efforts to complete the catalog with ALL images on the Zero Missing Pictures Campaign.

"National bank in Skopje" Yugoslavia Postcard, from the Colnect catalog

We're excited about Colnect getting a larger and larger collector's community, providing more opportunities for each collector, improved tools of use, better collecting and better connecting. We wish all Colnect collectors to have a thriving and fulfilling collecting year.

""Agatha Virgin and Martyr" Italy Holy Card, from the Colnect catalog

66,666 Postcards on Colnect!

Is '666' considered a devilish number in your country? Today we're putting all our stereotypical thinking away to commemorate a nice milestone we've recently reached - 66,666 Postcards!

The Postcards catalog has been present on Colnect for roughly 6 years, so that's a lot of 6-s for one day, which is also the 6th of January of 2016! How crazy is that?

"Tokyo Station", from the Colnect catalog

First off, we are sending a huge thank-you to the category co-coordinators, Vadym Sulimenko [Dravec] and Grzegorz Pająk [quarteris] for working hard on one of the most popular categories on Colnect! :) 

"Niue Island – Polynesia", from the Colnect catalog

Moreover, thank you to the translators that have made the postcards collecting available for 799 collectors from 70+ countries.

Another group of colnectors we are sending our regards to are editors, they have done an impressive work, keeping the category organised. 

"Tallinn. Spire of Town Hall with "Old Thomas" Weathercock", 
from the Colnect catalog

And, of course, the catalog would not be so diverse without the help of each and every one of contributors. Thank you for every postcard added onto Colnect! The Postcards catalog is currently divided into countries, authors, issuers, colorings, orientations, views, years, themes and newly added.  

 "Torshavn", from the Colnect catalog

                         

The catalog currently includes postcards from 250+ countries. Check them out! Do you have a favourite postcard from your country? By the way, the country that the most postcards are from is Soviet Union! Here's an example:  

"Baikal. Lake in Winter", from the Colnect catalog

So, to sum up, we are really thrilled to see the category growing. We encourage you to study the How Can I Contribute? page to add more postcards, to edit information or to add missing photos/data. Note that many contributors on Colnect enjoy having a free Premium Membership simply by helping the community.

"Awaiting the day's catch", from the Colnect catalog 

 Thank you for being a Colnector! Let's make an even  bigger number of postcards!

Surprising Lego Facts

It wouldn’t surprise us if we see a stack of Lego sets at our friends’ places. Lego, the universal game, has become probably the most popular entertainment for children and adults. Various difficulty levels, numerous collections, different theme parks around the world and many more features make this game such a great investment as a collectible.

Spider Monkey, from the Colnect catalog

Today we would like you to get familiar with some of the most impressive facts about Lego that you probably never heard of. Even if have heard those before, come and brush up your memory! :)

Let us know which fact gripped you the most in the comments below.

1. The Lego group got the patent rights for the standard brick in 1958. All 2x4 Lego bricks ever produced have been exactly the same.

2. Statistically, there are ~1140 elements made per second (!). 

 Small Pre-School Basic Set Minitalia, from the Colnect catalog

3. On average, every person has 83 Lego bricks. Crazy, no? 

4. Almost 28 Lego sets are sold each second during the Christmas season.

Three Christmas Decorations - Santa Tree and Snowman, from the Colnect catalog

5. If you lay together all Lego bricks sold in a year, the line would stretch around the Earth 20+ times. 

6. The world's tallest Lego tower is 28.7m high (made from with 465,000 bricks).

 

Sears Tower, from the Colnect catalog

7. Willing to reach the Moon? You'd need a column of around 40 billion Lego bricks!

8. Since the first Lego minifigure was made in 1978, more than 4 billion have been manufactured – making it the largest population group in the world. In addition, every minifigure is exactly 4 bricks tall (without a hat).

 

Day 1 - Minifigure & Drumstick, from the Colnect catalog 

9. The exact number of combinations you can get from connecting 6 eight-stud bricks (2x4) is 915,103,765!

10. Currently there are Lego theme parks in Denmark, The UK, The USA, Germany and Malaysia. The construction work is still ongoing for new Lego theme parks in The UAE (opening 2016), South Korea and Japan.

"LEGOLAND Picture Frame - Billund Edition", from the Colnect catalog

Colnect’s Lego sets catalog currently has more than 6.700 sets. To find out more about the history of the toy and our catalog, have a look at 80th Anniversary for the LEGO name post.

You are also welcome to participate in the Lego poll!

Summing Up 2015

It is 31st of December and we are saying goodbye to 2015. How did it go for you? Colnect had an amazing and eventful year and we would like to share our memories with you.

"2016", from the Colnect catalog

Colnect by the numbers

To begin with, it is important to note that we have reached several important milestones in 2015. For this, we'll let the numbers speak for themselves:

"2016 Year of the Monkey", from the Colnect catalog

Coins - 55,555+, Stamps - 538,538+,  

Bank Cards - 16,160+, Banknotes - 64,640+, 

Beer Coasters - 30,003+, Bottle Caps - 31,310+,  

Casino Cards - 1,180+, Drink Labels - 12,120+, 

Functional Cards - 16,160+, Gift Cards - 97,970+, Hotel Key Cards - 55,555+, Kids Meal Toys - 10,600+, Lego Sets - 6,700+, Lottery Tickets - 15,150+,

Paper Clips - 34,434+, Phonecards - 561,561+,

Pocket Calendars - 21,800+, Postcards - 65,656+,

Sports Cards - 26,626+, Stickers - 54,545+,

Sugar Packets - 35,535+, Tea Bags - 75,750+,

Tea Labels - 3,333+,  Tokens - 5,555+,

Trading Card Games - 52,525+, Transportation Tickets - 31,313+,  Video Games - 3,000+.

This year we also saw around 30.000 collectors joining our community and overall  

1,960,000+ items added to the catalogs, isn't it great?

Highlights of Colnect's life in 2015

This year, as every year, we have worked to make Colnect a better community for collectors, so it was our aim to implement numerous features and new designs. 
One of the biggest improvements was adding a Sales Forum, where you can trade your collectibles.   

"Happy New Year, booklet", from the Colnect catalog

"Happy New Year!", from the Colnect catalog

2015 was about anything from adding ancient coins to the catalog, re-designing category's main page, bettering navigation with a quick year change list, having a new Colnect Map to an opportunity of giving Premium Membership as a gift for the winter holidays. 

This year we have also carried out Colnect Growth Survey, where you commented on your Colnect experience. 

Additionally, we have chosen The New Translation Manager, The New General Forums Manager and Colnect Ambassadors. 

 

"Happy New Year!", from the Colnect catalog

Frognector and Colnect have their own VK pages now, and therefore we are welcoming more collectors from Russian-speaking countries. What is more, we are bringing more life to our Facebook and Twitter pages. 

Join our Social Media pages and be up-to-date with news from our community, as well as other interesting content all about collectibles! Keep an eye for any new changes on our Announcement Forum.

 

 

What to expect next year

Looking forward to 2016? We sure are! Next year you will see new categories adding, such as Holy Cards, Comics, Bookmarks, Admission Tickets and more. Stay tuned to hear about new features being added as the new year unfolds, it will be totally worth it :)

 

"2016", from the Colnect catalog

Finally, Colnect wishes all collectors a fruitful 2016! 

May it be filled with happiness, love, luck 

and unforgettable experiences! 

Thank you for being a part of Colnect's community! 

 Happy New Year and See You in 2016!

"Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", from the Colnect catalog

The New Colnect Core Coordinator - Hernan Bofill [hbofill12]

In the great Colnect team there are many different roles. Some start out initiating something new, some Colnect finds for a new role, for some a role simply grows on them. But this is not one of these cases, this case is unique. Here a role is just so perfect for a collector, that it's almost as if it was created for him.

The collector, as most of you know him, is Hernán Bofill [hbofill12] and the new role is Colnect Core Coordinator (CCC). This role will allow him to be in contact with coordinators of all categories, offering his support and advice. He will be with a finger on the pulse of all catalogs, so he'll know when something is needed to be done and what. At the same time he'll have the bird's eye view of Colnect, with the freedom to introduce and push forward ideas. Hernán Bofill [hbofill12] is now your top guy on everything related to the catalogs.

Hernán and his son, Nino

Since joining 3 years ago, Hernán has been relentless in pushing the catalogs and the community forward. Most importantly, he has been relentless in his enjoyment of what he does, refusing to let anything stifle his enthusiasm and momentum. He has very quickly made himself an invaluable resource. By offering his expertise, time, mentoring and always his care he won the respect and gratitude of many of Colnect's team and members.

You see him all the time, editing and coordinating on so many catalogs, answering on the forum and in private, swapping and listing, but let's hear a little more from him about himself.

hbofill12 as you all know him

- What do you collect?

My primary collecting items are coins. Then I have a lot of tokens and medals, that I am putting in order. Due to a "space issue” I only collect labels of the beverages that I drink. I am also a Beatles fan, so I collect Beatles CDs and memorabilia. I have a huge quantity of events tickets (Sports, Concerts, Admission) and Pins, and also some rocks, fossils and shells.

- How did you start collecting?

Since I was a child, I always had the collecting virus in me. Toys, magazines, stickers, glass balls. I always wanted to complete a series…

- Why do you think collecting is valuable?

Collecting, no matter what you collect, means two principal things to me. First, a lot of learning and knowledge. Second, creating relationships with other collecting partners.

- Which roles have you taken on Colnect before?

I've started in Colnect as a Coins editor for Argentina, Paraguay and Fantasy Issues. I would really like to thank Jim [Rubycored] for his mentoring. He was the one that motivated and pushed me to become what I am in this community. Then I became a Global Coins editor and Drink Labels coordinator. One year later, I was helping Jim and Angelo with the coordination of Coins, and handling the coordination of Tokens and Medals. In the middle of that Jim offered his Security Manager position to me and I accepted. With this, Amir also wanted me to become one of the site admins and I started working with some of the other category coordinators, helping them, for example, assign stars and grant editing permissions.

- What do you think are the main challenges Colnect faces?

We have a great catalog and we cover most of the “Swapping” collectibles, which is great. The main challenge that I see now is to improve the data in our catalogs. Doing this, I am sure that we are on the way to become the world's main collecting reference.

- Which are the first issues you'll be focusing on?

I would like to make the coordinator's day by day in Colnect more easy. I am working in a couple of ideas and I hope to share them soon.

- How can members help out?

There are many ways to help out in this community. I think that one of the best ways to start is asking your primary collection coordinator how you can help him. Be sure that he/she will find a task for you to do. This could be a good starting point.

- What would you like collectors to know about you, that they don't know yet?

Well, most of them know me but perhaps they don’t know much about me. About my personal life, I can tell you that I am from Argentina and I am 38 years old. I am married and have two kids. Nino who is 10 years old and Helena who is 6. I am a Systems Engineer and work for a pharmacy industry company, leading the Latin America software factory projects. As I said above, apart from collecting, I am a Beatles fan and enjoy going to music concerts. I also like to watch Football and Rugby.

Hernán Bofill and his family

To wrap this post up, we will finish resolving a mystery with another mystery. Many have asked and wondered, what is the meaning or reason of Hernán's OM avatar? The answer lies before you. As he wrote: "This is my necklace. It was created especially for me and it has been with me since 1997."

Thank you, hbofill12, for all that you have done and with all that you will do. Good luck and congratulations on this new role, we are all excited for you :)

Custom Personal Lists - Now Available to All Collectors!

We're happy to announce that the useful and comfortable feature of Custom Personal Lists is now available to all members of Colnect.

What are Custom Personal Lists?

In addition to the common inventory lists on Colnect (Collection / Swap / Wish), you can create custom personal lists to suit your needs. When custom lists are added, you can add and remove item to and from them in the same way you do for the common lists. Premium members can create up to 44 lists, each one with 10,000 items at most. Other members are limited to 2 lists, each one with 50 items at most. Read more about it here.

Custom Personal Lists can be Private or Public, according to your needs

In the past, the feature of Custom Personal Lists, has been available to Premium Members only. Now all Colnect members can try them out and enjoy.

Try it out and let us know what you think  :)

World Currencies List Project

With the undertaking of the World Currencies List Project, Colnect, which currently has the most comprehensive list of currencies in the world, hopes to attain all known currencies and denominations of legal tender.



There are over twelve-hundred currencies featured in the Banknote section on Colnect at this time. More can be done with it, however, and we need your help.

The avid colnecting contributors, BrunosapiJens and Rubycored, have made it their mission to carefully construct a complete list of currencies in a visually clear aesthetic, with their respective country names, like they are featured on Wikipedia's less extensive currencies list.



Before the Updated Currencies List, users could upload their own currency on Colnect and edit entries on the list themselves, because it was unlocked. But this led to discrepancies in entries of the same denomination that were written in as "pounds" instead of "pound," for instance. Now this is not the case, and professionals are on the site to modify the currencies list.



For those of you who are proactive and wish to help out with the Colnect currencies list, please keep an eye out for duplicate entries. If you spot any, there is a duplicates report that can be filled out and sent to iflvico.

You can also view the Instructions on Adding/Editing Currencies here. As always, enjoy the tremendous array of Banknotes and collectibles featured on the Colnect collection connection site.

MILESTONE: 222,222 Stamps Featured on Colnect!

One of Colnect's most auspicious collecting catalogs has grown leaps and bounds and now reached a new MILESTONE: as of today there are 222,222 stamps featured on Colnect.



Due to the hard work of the collectors, the colnectors - those working to keep Colnect up and running marathons, like the new coordinator assisting Lola22, Peti543 - and the precious collectibles themselves, the stamp archive on Colnect can boast its newest achievement that goes well over two hundred thousand stamps. Colnect has added over ten thousand stamps since November's last achievement.

Whether it is celebrating history and the International Book Year, in the Republic of Indonesia's beautiful seventy-five Indonesian rupiah stamp from 1972, or just a richly detailed and vividly colorful space exploration stamp from Mongolia, there is something here for everyone.



As you, the Colnect collectors, continue to bolster the vast archives with exceptionally extraordinary collectibles and artifacts, remember that it is through your work, pleasure, and connecting that the world gets to share and embrace the stamps, coins, post cards and all collectibles here.



Thank you and enjoy!

30,003 Collectors Colnecting and Climbing!

The numbers are in, and the rapidly expanding archives at Colnect can now thank over
30,003 collectors for their contributions to the exciting site about all things collecting!



Though the world is filled with conscientious historians and just plain old fun loving collectors, there have been few outlets to bring together these people with similar interests. It is true that many purchase and sell their rare artifacts on various sites, but the digital auction house lacks the innovation that Colnect works hard to perfect: the connection.

Colnect has hundreds of thousands of stamps and other beautiful collectibles on a database that automatically translates languages from across the earth and allows people to exchange information about and trade their collections. There are often links to the items that can be found on eBay as well.

30,003 is a landmark number (as Colnect had 10,000 members in March of 2010), because you, the fans of collecting, have gathered here at Colnect to meet and expand the vast online catalog of collectible treasures in order to help each other to further enjoy the thrill of collecting. As you continue to upload the prestigious post cards, tea bags, beer coasters, coins, and more onto Colnect, a world-wide treasure map is being composed for all of its inhabitants to see and enjoy. It is also the people who help to make the catalogs better that deserve to take a bow. Thank you!

Postcard Recalls the First British Parliament Meeting of January 20 - Today in History Through Collectibles

Many of the items that collectors on Colnect collect are in fact associated with certain historical events that have taken place over time. This applies especially to Stamps, Phone Cards, Coins and Banknotes. To commemorate these special historical events, countries release special issues of these items that depict images and information relevant to these events.

Through our “Today in History Through Collectibles” Blog we will highlight special events in history by featuring Collectible items from our Colnect Catalogs that are associated with historical events that took place on specific days in history.

On January 20, 1265, the very first Parliament met in England's tremendous Palace of Westminster, as the people of the nation began to vie with the monarch for representation. The eighth Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort, called a meeting labeled "Parliament" to negotiate peace terms with the king, Henry III, who had lost a war to Montfort.



Colnect and its many collectors harbor many treasures of history in its vaults of iconic collectibles, and the gorgeous British post card of Parliament Square is no exception.

This iconic date, January twentieth, is seen as the first mention of the word "Parliament" and also the first semblance of what would become the modern government House of Parliament, as there were representatives from each county and burgesses from the cities and towns.

The postcard captures the amazing architecture of the buildings making up the Palace of Westminster - that are now also known as the Houses of Parliament or the Parliament building - that were to become home to Parliament from this date in 1265 up to the present day.

Note the unique and regal buttresses and the great tower featuring the Big Ben clock that was added on in the nineteenth century. The rich color and detail of the photograph that is used really emanates warmth and the glory of the locale in London.

There are myriad postcards featured on Colnect's vast catalog, and this is a prime example of a rare beauty that can culminate history, tourism, politics, and artwork in one special item.

Rarity Score - Unique New Feature on Colnect

Colnect is currently implementing a system for rating the rarity of actual items featured by attributed collectors on the site. Rarity Scores would harness the ability to determine just how rare an item actually is amidst the expert Colnect collectors.



This score stands to weigh the Colnect inventory of collectors who have said items against how many are also seeking them. In this way, the more common items would appear as such, with appropriate values given them.

Should the Score take into account the fact that a particular item's condition is listed as Mint or as Used? A feature like this could differentiate the rarest of the rare. Should the credibility of the Collectors that are on Colnect be a factor? New Colnect users should almost certainly have to be marked as such, as current users get great feedback for their work, trading, and collections over time.

Colnect already features an intuitive Collector Ratings system, so that collectors are proven by their activity and collection sharing to be honest and upstanding.

One of the goals of the Rarity Score at Colnect is to provide collectors with a go-to reference guide that can help place value on collectibles. Colnect's adept use of Collector Ratings, the way that Collectibles are featured, and the way in which desired items are placed in a Wish List and collectors' items that are available are placed in a Swap category already makes for an extremely useful guide, while continuing to connect the world's brilliant collectors and their collections in the ultimate networking experience.

The Rarity Score can greatly bolster Colnect.

Anyone that has any input or suggestions as to how Colnect can make the transition from the already well organized catalog system to one that is also including Rarity Scores would be appreciated. There is an ongoing forum on the Rarity here.

Colnect Reaches Milestone at Over 210,000 Unique Stamps

November 2011 marks a new landmark for Colnect; in just under ten months, the world’s “best stamp catalog” has bolstered its masterful stamp collection from 150,000 to more than 210,000 unique stamps!

In fact, Colnect, its members, and the Frognector have added a massive 10,000 unique stamps to the archive in the last month alone. Colnect Stamp Coordinator Klaus Jochimsen [Lola22] has done an amazing job managing and boosting this premier stamp catalog to amazing renown.

Colnect stands apart in terms of managing and expanding collections across the globe. Nowhere else can members upload their collections, categorize them, and vie with potential traders, sellers, and buyers for whatever strikes their heart, including the rarest of rarities: the “circuit of space flight to moon, 1966 Russia” stamp.

The connections that people make through Colnect has culminated in the continued growth for collectors of all types, and each new member is helping to add their own personal touch, and stamps of course, to the myriad amount of stamps, teabags, coins, bankcards, beer coasters and more that are showcased on Colnect.

Colnect features an intuitive use of translation software that allows its members to easily communicate with fellow collectors in fifty-eight languages. This is why serious collectors of all ages, creeds, countries, and interests use Colnect to manage their own personal stockpiled passions.

There is a lot of fun to be had on Colnect. Please peruse the incredible stamp collection and scour the site for anything that moves the collector in you.

Get connected and Colnected, and keep collecting!

Collector Profile Improvments

It's high time we fixed our confusing profile page design. The previous concept was that a collector's own profile page is the same as others see it. So when you viewed it your own collector profile on Colnect, it looked the same as when other collectors viewed it. The biggest problem with that concept was that it's not what most people are used to on social networks today. So to make the long story short here are the important changes done to a person's own profile page.

• Private custom lists will be displayed when you view your own collector profile page.
• Clicking your profile picture or "Personal Page" header goes to "My Account" page where these can be changed.
• Added "My Lists" header which will go to "My Lists" page.
• Added "My Watchlist" to actions available under your picture. The "Send Private Message" is removed as you probably won't be sending messages to yourself ;)

Mind that others will see your collector profile page the same way they did before.

Future plans? Yes, many. Trying to put on more features and making Colnect easier to use for all your collecting needs. Your suggestions are welcome on our suggestions forum.

Happy collecting :)

Over 100,001 Collectors Visited Colnect Last Month

Colnect's getting a bit of site traffic as over 100,001 collectors paid our website a visit last month. November is definitely a busy month for our website, isn't it? This is about almost around 30% increase in web traffic since we last announced 80,000 visitors last August. We are glad about this and we're only hoping for even more in the coming months. We will be upgrading our servers in the next days to better support that last growth.

We would like to commend everyone's efforts for spreading the news and letting their friends know about Colnect. This could never be possible without your contributions. As they say, little efforts when combined can contribute a lot to a big success. With our site's easy interface, connecting to collectors is just a click away.

While you're here, let us tell you what's in store for you. There are growing amounts of collectibles in each of our free catalogs. Choose among a variety of stamps, bank notes, coins, transportation tickets, hotel key cards, bottle caps, phone cards, tea bags, and bank cards. If you made your way to our website, then you are welcomed to join our community. Joining is easy by our site integration with Facebook. Visit our main website for this easy sign-up process.

Collectors Connect to Colnect with Facebook

Facebook is becoming a huge trend in the modern world. So starting today, you can sign up an account in Colnect using your Facebook account. Collectors can now create an account in Colnect fast and hassle-free. Just click on the Facebook login icon then grant permission to access from Facebook when signing up for Colnect. After that, you're good to go. There's no need to fill out a lot of boxes because everything will be done for you.


Do you have buddies in Facebook who are fond of collecting? Invite them to connect into our growing community here in Colnect. It is always a pleasure for us to cater to a growing family of collectors. Together, we can grow our collection faster and easier. Let's all get connected. The more, the merrier!

We are continuously finding ways to make things convenient for everyone. With this new feature, it will be easier to connect your friends to join the collection fever in Colnect. Collecting has never been this easy!

Only in Colnect, your partner in collection.