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!

January 23 Marks the Birth of Film Legend Humphrey Bogart - 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.

Casablanca is widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever made, and on January 23, 1899 Humphrey Bogart - the lead man in the historic movie - was born.



Colnect proudly features a gorgeous stamp in its gargantuan collection that the Republic of Equatorial Guinea released in tribute to Bogart and in Homage to the great film Casablanca.

Though there is some controversy surrounding Bogart's actual date of birth, it most likely fell on the twenty third of January. Many believed it to be December 25, 1899 until it was alleged that this was a Hollywood ploy by Warner Brothers studio to romanticize the star. His birth certificate is not on record.

The stamp itself was good for a value of 100 FCFA, or Central African CFA Franc, and its amazing detail cannot be overlooked. The impactful scene of Bogart's former love requesting a song from the piano man is true to the black and white film and is outlined in blue.

Bogart is center stage in the stamp, as he was in films such as the Maltese Falcon and The African Queen, which are also held in high regard by movie enthusiasts of all ages. Colnect's catalogs contain numerous treasures to behold, and this is a prime example.

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.

January 16 Stamp Commerates "Superman" Comic Strip Debut - 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 16, 1939, with the "Action Comics" comic book hero Superman's popularity steadily gaining, artist Joe Shuster and writer Jerry Siegel began the amazingly successful daily newspaper comic strip Superman to introduce broad audiences to the famous character.



Colnect features this iconic collectible in the Superman comic strip stamp. Though it is seventy three years after the Man of Steel began gracing newspapers nationwide, Superman is still one of the premier super heroes in popular culture worldwide. This strip was featured in over three hundred newspapers in the United States, and at its height boasted a readership of over twenty million.

In the early 1930's Siegel and Shuster changed their character to be more legendary and, in short, to make him a super hero. His costume was then crafted to be eye catching, as the Red "S" and the yellow and blue suit made Superman larger than life. They helped to invent the super hero genre of story-telling.

The actual stamp is one of Colnect's vast collectible catalog, and is a gorgeous reproduction of Clark Kent tearing open his disguise to become Superman in the strip. His face is dead-set on righting a wrong and helping those in need. January 16 was the start of a magical transformation of Superman becoming an icon known by nearly every household in the US. Be sure to look for other treasured rarities on Colnect.

January 13 Marks Simon Bolivar as El Libertador - 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.

Latin America's chief liberator, Simon Bolivar, successfully administered political and military leadership in order to free the nations that would become Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Panama from the rule of the Spanish Empire by January of 1825, and the beautiful depiction of El Libertador's legend is immortalized on the Angel Zeballos Simon Bolivar postcard.



Colnect's vast array of collectibles features this gorgeous Venezuelan postcard that reproduces the artist Angel Zeballos's famous portrait of Simon Bolivar. He is often shown with the sword, as he fought alongside soldiers in Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela against the Spaniards on his way to uniting the region, albeit for a short time, in the Pan-American Republic of Colombia.

The actual man was not just a military strategist, but also a fierce politician who used his intellect and belief to instill democratic ideologies and free the heart of Latin America from the colonial power of Spain, which is why he is also depicted in the postcard's portrait as writing at a desk.



Bolivar's letters are widely considered to be insights into his thoughts of republican values, including the "Carta de Jamaica" letter, and his adept use of the Spanish language marked him as a military hero that was also a learned man of education.

Though the united region of the Republic of Colombia disintegrated after Bolivar's resignation of the presidency on January 29, 1830, the legacy of El Libertador who instilled Latin American pride and freedom in the people of the Americas is a highly regarded one to this day. This postcard is one of numerous highlights that grace the Colnect Catalogs.

January 8 Celebration of "with The Beatles" Stamp - 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 the 8th of January in 1966 the Beatles single "We Can Work it Out" went Number One on the pop charts, and forty one years later Great Britain issued a British penny stamp titled "with The Beatles" to commemorate one of the greatest musical outfits of the twentieth century in print.



Colnect's rare catalog of collectibles features the January 7, 1997 issued British Beatles stamp in all of its historic glory. The band's single remained atop the charts for another three weeks beyond January 8, but the legend that came to surround the brilliant quartet, beginning with their early work, would capture their genius and project them as timeless.

The stamp itself is highly decorative and unusual in its uneven perforation that gives the effect of there being a stack of infamous Beatles records. The top album is an early one in black and white, but there is a gorgeous smattering of color above and behind the record, and these others are perfect representations of the LPs that changed the world.

The Beatles continue to influence and shape the musical universe in the twenty first century, and their history of sensuous melodies and innovative ventures is surely a welcome addition to any collection. This stamp captures a moment in time, and there are myriad moments of similar fortitude that grace Colnect's collectibles.

FAST New Servers! :)

We're pleased to announce that we've now deployed new server for Colnect. These machines are MUCH FASTER than what we've been using before. Hopefully, you will all feel the speed improvement. The other important thing is that Colnect will now be able to properly handle the surge in traffic. As more and more collectors join Colnect, it's becoming more and more a bountiful resource for all collectors around the world. You're naturally most welcome to invite all your collector friends to join us.

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.

Today In History Through Collectibles - 16 December

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.

16 DECEMBER 1773 : THE "BOSTON TEA PARTY" TOOK PLACE

On this day in 1773, a group of colonists from Massachusetts who were disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded and raided three British tea ships at the Boston Harbour and proceeded to dump 342 chests of tea into the harbour.  This was popularly known as "The Boston Tea Party".

This midnight raid was in protest of the British Parliament's Tea Act of 1773, which was favouring the East India Company by lowering its tea tax and granting it monopoly of the American tea trade.

As soon as the three ships known as the Dartmouth, the Elanor, and the Beaver, arrived at Boston Harbour carrying the tea, the colonists were outraged and demanded that it be returned to England.  This request was refused by the Massachusetts Governor, Thomas Hutchinson and as revenge Samuel Adams, the Patriot leader organised the "tea party".

About 60 members of the Sons of Liberty resistance group  dumped $18,000 worth of tea into the Boston Harbour on the night of 16 December 1773.

The Boston Tea Party was an important event in the growth of the American Revolution. Parliament responded to the destruction of British property by implementing Coercive Acts which also resulted in the closure of Boston's commerce until such time that the British East India Company were reimbursed their losses.  This resulted in more protest actions by the colonists and the crises escalated resulting in the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1775.

Collectibles on Colnect that Commemmorate This Day in History:

➢ STAMPS:

 In 1973 a set of se-tenant stamps was issued in the United States to commemorate the "Boston Tea Party":

HAPPY COLLECTING!!! :)

14 December, AMUNDSEN REACHES SOUTH POLE - 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.

14 DECEMBER 1911 : AMUNDSEN REACHES SOUTH POLE
Norwegian Roald Amundsen became the first explorer to reach the South Pole by beating his British rival, Robert Falcon Scott.

Roald Amundsen born in Borge, near Oslo - Norway, in 1872. He was one of the heroes in polar exploration.
Amundsen planned to be the first man to reach the North Pole, and was about to embark on his mission in 1909 when he was informed that the American Robert Peary had already achieved the feat. He instead sailed for Antarctica in June 1910, where Robert F. Scott, the English explorer was also headed with the same aim of reaching the South Pole. Amundsen sailed his ship into Antarctica's Bay of Whales early in 1911 where he set up his base camp closer to the pole than Scott. Both explorers set off in October – Amundsen used sleigh dogs while Scott used Siberian motor sledges, Siberian ponies, and dogs. Amundsen's expedition won the race to the South Pole on 14 December 1911 and he returned safely to base camp in late January.

Scott's expedition was marred by misfortunate. His team reached the pole on 18 January 1912 only to find that Amundsen had preceded them by over a month.

Amundsen established a successful shipping business after his historic Antarctic journey. He later made attempts to become the first explorer to fly over the North Pole. In 1925 he flew within 150 miles of the goal, but in1926 he succeeded and he passed over the North Pole in a dirigible just three days after American explorer Richard E. Byrd had apparently done so in an aircraft. A diary that Byrd had kept on the flight was however found in 1996 that suggested that the he had to turn back 150 miles short of his goal due to an oil leak. This thus confirms that Amundsen's dirigible expedition was in fact the first flight over the North Pole.

Amundsen disappeared on June 18, 1928 while trying to rescue a fellow explorer whose new airship Italia had crashed at sea near Spitsbergen, Norway while returning from the North Pole. It is believed that the plane Amundsen was in crashed in fog in the Barents Sea, and that he was killed in the crash, or died shortly afterwards. His body was never found.


Collectibles on Colnect that Commemorate This Day in History:

➢ COINS:
Russia issued a silver coin in 1995 in their Expedition & Exploration series to honor this great man.

➢ PHONECARDS:
This is another of the Norway Phonecards that honour Roald Amundsen:

➢ STAMPS:
Several countries have honoured this noble man by featuring Amundsen on stamps:

HAPPY COLLECTING . . . :)

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!

Cheaters Away! Colnect Protects Collectors

We are doing our best to stop cheaters from being on Colnect. We deactivate accounts of suspicious collectors and publish their mailing address on our "Warnings and Ratings Forum". We've just deactivated accounts of a sophisticated cheater (see below). We can do a good job at it only with your help. If you become suspicious of someone trying to be a wrong doer, don't hesitate to give us the information you have and we'll investigate.

!MOST IMPORTANT! Please carefully read our Swapping Tips and follow them.

Announcement about a recent deactivation

The account of alispilfo has been deactivated although no negative ratings were seen on the profile page. This is a special case and the results of my own investigation are presented here.

It seems the person has opened other accounts on Colnect, such as Thiago00 and marior. The account Thiago00 has been deactivated some time ago upon the person's own request. Later, negative ratings were given and collectors got angry claiming they have been cheated. modj0 has been deactivated when we realized it's the same address. marior has been deactivated as emails used by that member were reported as suspicious in other forums.

Considering the fact it's the same person (this has taken some investigation and cross referencing information from different sources) , it seems opening the other accounts were meant for cheating while keeping the main account "clean".

*Shipping addresses saved on Colnect system.

Safe and happy collecting :)

360 Volunteering Contributors on Colnect

Colnect has been created and now maintained by a community of volunteers from around the world. We're pleased to announce that till today, 360 volunteers have received contribution stars on Colnect. Earning a contribution star isn't a simple matter and even to get the first star a collector usually spends a good amount of hours. All of our three-star members, currently 43 of them, have worked at least hundreds of hours (each one) to earn that prestigious status on Colnect.

If you're already a Colnect member and would like to help create a fine resource that serves collectors everywhere, please read our forum post.

Colnect on Sberatel - Part 3

Colnect has presented on Sberatel 2011 and here is the third part of our experiences. You're welcome to read the first part and second part as well.

Here below you can find two specialized fantasy banknotes created especially for the fair. As you can see, they are very beautiful and so quickly became a wanted commodity in the fair. Collectors wanted to grab a few copies of each and some were even coming back again and again, pretending to see them for the first time just to grab a few more copies.




After a while, we realized that we'll have to limit the fliers to one per person so we won't run out of them on the first day. Now we can only wonder how many of the people who took them will actually become active Colnect members. Credit for the graphic design goes to André Leitão [ALeitao] who volunteered to help on Colnect.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

To help explaining to visitors about Colnect, some of our dedicated members pitched in to help. They wore Colnect T-Shirts and explained about Colnect in different languages. Thanks to Vadym Sulimenko [Dravec], of Colnect's most valuable volunteers, Czech language was very well attended to. Gary Hoff [gazzaoz], our transportation tickets coordinator, helped with German.






A special discount to Colnect members attending Sberatel has been offered this year and will likely be offered on Sberatel 2012 fair. Let's meet there :)

Colnect on Sberatel - Part 2

Colnect has presented on Sberatel 2011 and here is the second part of our experiences. You're welcome to read the first part as well.

The main hall of the fair had hundreds of dealers presenting their items for sale. The most popular categories were stamps, coins and banknotes.





However, most esoteric items, such as figurines and minerals were on display as well. Colnect's centralized catalog approach is good for many categories which we don't yet offer. We do plan to offer them in the future. Kinder surprise eggs is one such category.




The phone cards section, especially dear to Colnect as it was the first category Colnect has offered, had only a few tables. It seems every year dealers are reporting that the hobby is losing interest as mobile phones mean people around the world are less likely to use public phones.

More on the next part. Let us know if you like the post :)

Colnect on Sberatel - Part 1

Colnect presented on Sberatel 2011 fair in Prague, Czech Republic. The fair has been attended by over 12,000 people. It has been a lot of fun to meet Colnect members and collectors who were not yet familiar with Colnect.

Colnect's first fantasy banknotes have been publicly presented for the first time. Here you can see the Colnect dollar presented

Colnect had a table right at the entrance to the fair so that visitors would see Colnect as the first thing in the fair. Our table featured Frognector Da-Green himself, new fliers (or: fantasy banknotes) of Colnect, Colnect T-Shirts and a projector that played videos of Colnect and presented the site in real time.





Here Colnect's founder, Amir Wald [tcawe], is seen waiting for collectors at the table. Each day Mr. Wald put on a Colnect T-Shirt of a different color.



On this picture you can see Frognector and Moo resting after sipping a tasty Czech beer.



This year's fair has been a success as published by its organizer, Mr. Jindřich Jirásek: "This year's Collector Fair, 14th in a row, was the biggest in its history - both as for the space expanse and the number of the participating exhibitors. The number of paying visitors entering its gate exceeded 12,000... Many thanks to all visitors and to all 260 exhibitors, this time from 35 countries from all around the globe, for coming..."

More pictures from the fair coming in part 2...

Colnect on Sberatel, Prague - HUGE Discount to Colnect Members

We are pleased to announce that Colnect will soon present on Sberatel collector fair in Prague. You are welcome to have your picture taken with Frognector and meet some of Colnect's most influential members: Amir Wald [tcawe] , Vadym Sulimenko [Dravec] , Gary Hoff [gazzaoz] and more.

SPECIAL: Colnect members will receive 75% admission discount: Sberatel Voucher for Colnect Members!

Frognector in London - An Ancient Meteorite

Collectors be warned, Frognector is out on the loose and has started his journey around the world. You can meet Frognector and Colnect's founder, Amir Wald, when they pass near you. Big collector club conventions and collector fairs are Frognector's favorites but if you have an interesting collectors shop or own an interesting personal collection, don't hesitate to make contact. If you meet Frognector and get to take a picture with him and your collection, you may win cool prizes such as Colnect memorabilia and Colnect premium membership.

When visiting London, Frognector did not forget to have his picture taken next to important monuments such as the British parliament.

And let's not neglect the famous London Underground and the magnificent city view from Greenwich village.




Next, Frognector's next to probably the oldest rock you could ever touch: a part of the Gibeon meteorite that is believed to have hit the Earth in prehistoric times.




Coming next: Charing cross collectors market and collecting at the British Museum.

Have you been to London? What did you like best?

Colnect - Where 22,222 Collectors Connect

Following our tradition of reporting statistics in interesting numbers, we're happy to announce there are now 22,222 collectors connecting on Colnect. During the last month, Colnect has been visited by more than 150,000 people. If you're one of those collectors visiting Colnect but have not yet chosen to become a member, you're welcome to join us. Colnect is really special in the services it offers collectors.




Right now, Colnect offers public catalogs of stamps, phonecards, coins, banknotes, bottle caps, tea bags, post cards, bank cards, travel tickets, Casino cards, hotel key cards and beer coasters.
Now a days Colnect’s phonecards catalog is the largest one in the world.

If you collect and want to connect with other collectors, Colnect is the best place for you.

Colnect T-Shirts

We are happy to offer Colnect T-Shirts to our collectors. T-Shirts are 100% cotton and display Colnect's log on their front.
Volume discounts are available so it's best to order with your friends.

(: ORDER NOW :)

(: ORDER NOW :)