Best Matches - Colnect's New Kick-Ass Feature!

We're so very happy to announce a unique and unrivaled feature on Colnect called "Best Matches".

Find swap partners in seconds using Best Matches, a POWERFUL feature offered exclusively on Colnect! Colnect sophisticatedly suggests who you are most likely to have a good exchange with. The suggestions are based on your own Personal Collection and those of all active members of Colnect. The algorithm automatically tries to find collectors who have many items that you want and, at the same time, want items you can offer.

This feature has long been requested and awaited by many collectors and its implementation will definitely revolutionize the way collectors exchange. With Colnect's unique auto-match feature, collectors could already easily see what they can exchange with another member but they still had to check other members profiles to see who it is they are likely to find a good match with. Now even this tedious part shall be done automatically.

Using "Best Matches" is extremely simple and only takes a single click.



Happy matching :)

Collection of Ireland's Vintage Beer Coasters Shows Best-Selling Brew Guinness's History - Colnect Collectibles

Many of the items that collectors collect are in fact associated with certain collections that have corroborated over time. To commemorate these specially themed collections, countries release special issues of these items that depict images and information that are relevant to them.

Through our “Colnect Collectibles” series we will highlight special collections by featuring Collectible items from our Colnect Catalogs that are associated with organized collectibles of related issue.

Rarely do history and beer coasters go hand in hand, like they do in the gorgeous collection out of Ireland featured here on Colnect. Since its inception over two hundred and fifty years ago by Arthur Guinness of St. James Gate in Dublin, Ireland, innovative, history wielding, and fun beer coasters have accompanied the brew. Above is an Arthur Guinness Son & Co. product explaining how the beer barrels were distributed via river barges for over two hundred years in Ireland.



On others, the lineage of bottled Guinness in "stone stouts" is made clear by beautiful pictures capturing the different ages of bottling techniques and the clear and proud Guinness signature on their own bottle.



Even the early pre-Twentieth century methods for racking the massive wooden kegs of beer are captured in glorious vintage depictions of a man manually rolling the barrel carefully along the racking shed for distribution. The Guinness stout has long been a staple of the world beer market, and will be for quite some time.



The Guinness beer coaster collection out of Ireland is unique and awesome in its recollection of the brew master's fabled past, and the famous caretakers of the brewery have felt it necessary to share their forgotten methods and photos to bring fans of the beer closer together through history. Find many more historic, educational, or exhilarating collectibles on Colnect.

Five Star System of Contribution Implemented

Here at Colnect there is a new way to recognize the great collaborators that have made our catalogs as amazing as they are: there is now a Five Star Contribution attribution for dedicated Colnectors!



Recommendations for stars come from the Colnect coordinators and are awarded by our community manager iflvico and by our translations manager BrunosapiJens.

Though the Star System is hard to give guidelines for, it can be defined as a rewards system that attempts to estimate the amount of assistance given by volunteers on Colnect. If a member adds 1000 items with little information and another adds 100 items with excellent details, then they might get the same star treatment.

The general guidelines for the three star system were based on an estimate of how many hours the collector gave in helping Colnect (or how many hours the coordinator would estimate the contribution to be worth):
1 star > 5 hours
2 stars > 50
3 stars > 200

Since achieving the last of the the previous Three Stars for recognition of contributions, Colnect has seen fit to expand the field to Five Star ratings, which can be seen on the many interesting collectors' profile pages. This should result in more stars being rewarded.




Colnect continues to grow because of the many dedicated members that arduously donate their time and energy to bolster the organization of the vast array of collectibles on our catalogs. There are numerous Colnectors that continue to organize, correct, and contribute to the many wondrous artifacts on Colnect, from the Cozel bottle cap's sheik red coloring of the Czech Republic top, to the evil Darth Maul's Star Wars gift card from Toys-R-us.




You can tune in to the ongoing forum about the Five Star Contribution system, and as always, please continue to collect and to revel in Colnecting!

UNIQUE FEATURE: Colnect Item Score

Sink your teeth into the Item Scores! Colnect Item Scores are calculated for each collectible and even each seamless stamp with a bellowing tyrannosaurus dinosaur that, despite its detailed likeness, will not eat the rest of your collection (or so we hope).



The Item Scores help to attribute value and determine the rarity of the pieces collected and featured on our listings. The more that members desire an item, the higher the Item Score. On the other hand, the collectibles that are featured in many collections will have lower Item Scores, as they are less rare.

Members and visitors alike can also easily sift through the myriad treasures by an easy search method: there is a filter to look at items that are only of a Medium or higher accuracy rating or just High Accuracy. There are scores of items that are uploaded onto Colnect, and the Item Score ensures whether or not these are accurate, allowing for Colnectors to more easily determine what they want to look at.

This is made apparent on this look at a search of the highest scoring stamps with at least Medium accuracy.You can view and comment on the announcement in the forum for the Item Score.



Colnect users can sort any List by the Item Score. Finding hard-to-find collectibles, from coins, to stamps, to bank notes has just gotten a lot easier.

Be sure to tune in to the forums and cast votes. The archives, catalogs, and collections are here to be enjoyed.

Egypt Regained Freedom from England - February 28 - 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.

Egypt was born ninety years ago, today, on February 28, 1922 when Great Britain officially conceded via a unilateral declaration of Parliament that Egypt was a free country. With its independence, came an identity: this is Egypt.



The post card is often a rare window into the past, and here in Colnect's catalogs there is featured Egypt's gorgeous This is Egypt post card to highlight the ancient culture and the history surrounding their freedom from colonization.

When the British army defeated the Egyptians in 1882 at Tel El Kebir, a colony was born that would not be rescinded until a nationalist movement began an uprising and ultimately a revolution that ousted the foreign rule in 1922.

The rich culture of Egypt, once free, could share its amazing ancient pyramids, artifacts, and history of one of the world's earliest successful civilizations. The post card is tremendously realistic; the only word is "Egypt" in white, and a man rests on a camel on the desert dunes with the incredible wonders of the world: the Gaza pyramids lining the horizon at either sunset or sunrise. The colorful browns and oranges from this piece are breathtaking.

Post cards are one of the myriad treasures that are stored on Colnect for all collectors to find and enjoy.

Anniversary of Disney's Pinocchio - February 23 - 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 February 23, 1940 Walt Disney's animated version of the classic fairy tale Pinocchio opened in the United States. It would go on to become a world-wide success and sensation, in part because it's based on an age-old European folk tale.



Colnect brings forth another rarity from from out of its vast stamp catalog, and this Pinocchio from the 1980 Christmas series in Turks and Caicos Islands is over thirty years young. The legendary tale was probably passed on via oral tradition long before it was written down. Pinocchio is a wooden boy crafted by a lonely smithy, and Pinocchio comes to life to fulfill the wishes of the man to have a son. In the Disney movie, as in the lore, whenever Pinocchio lies his nose grows long.

The 40 x 38 mm rectangular four cent Pinocchio stamp was released on the twenty-fifth of September in Turks and Caicos Islands, and it showcases a gorgeous scene from the Disney film of 1940. The bordering is white and the nose of the wooden Pinocchio is so long that a bird nest is out on the end of it, complete with baby blue birds and Jiminy Cricket.

Be sure to tap into the massive amount of rare collectibles and stamps on Colnect.

John Glenn's First Orbiting of Earth - February 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 February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to completely orbit the earth in a spacecraft. He was the third man to enter space and a pioneer of the world's space exploration.



The amazing stamp collection archive of Colnect features a rarity in the Maldives Space Explorations of US and USSR series with the John Glenn and USA Mercury Spacecraft stamp.

The space race captured the attention of people all over the globe, as human beings strove for the mastery of discovering what lay beyond earth's atmosphere. John Glenn was pivotal to the US's voyages into the great beyond, and on February 20 1962, he became the first to actually orbit the planet.

The achievements of Glenn are beautifully represented on the rectangular two Maldivian laari valued stamp of Maldives. It was issued in February of 1974, and is not only in great shape, but is strikingly colorful and detailed. John Glenn and the USA voyager Mercury are shown amidst a starry backdrop of green, blue and black space.

Who would not want to relive the epic space endeavors through the fabled stamp collections of Colnect and its historic and interesting collectors' finds?

Retirement of Cycling Legend Lance Armstrong - February 16 - 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.

One year ago, on this day, the legendary bicycler of unparalleled success and determination, Lance Armstrong, announced his retirement from the sport that brought him to every corner of the globe.



Colnect proudly features the Lance Armstrong Nike gift card amongst its vast catalog of rare collectibles.

February 16, 2011 marked the end of an era for the world-wide sport of professional road racing cycling. Lance Armstrong is history and inspiration. His achievement of seven consecutive Tour de France wins, from 1999 to 2005, has yet to be matched. And it is all the more reason to look up to Armstrong who was diagnosed as having testicular cancer that required brain and other surgeries and chemotherapy from 1996 onward. The man did not quit and went on to win many awards, including Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year award, and he has founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to research the fight against cancer.

Nike launched this Lance Armstrong gift card in the US, and it features the man on his bike in his patented yellow Live Strong duds and extended racing helmet. Few men have inspired so many to not only fight cancer vehemently but to win over it and help others battle too.

Gift cards of rare makes and valuable photographs are posted by myriad collectors on Colnect, where the world's treasures are highlighted and categorized.

Anniversary of the Barbie Doll - February 13 - 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.

One of the most recognized toys and doll personalities of all time first went on sale on this day, February 13, in 1959.



There is some dispute as to whether the Barbie doll was born on the February date or in March of the same year, but what is certain is that she appeared at the 1959 American international Toy Fair and that her cozy size, long models' legs and her flowing hair made Barbie an instant staple in American consumer's and collector's homes alike, and Colnect recognizes the fifty-third anniversary of her first going on sale with a rare one dollar silver coin from Tuvalu. The gorgeous coin is a fiftieth anniversary issue and is one of a mint of only twenty thousand.



Barbie, the fashion doll, became Mattel's figurehead since her inception, and the company made the Barbie doll not only a fun toy for people to dress up in myriad clothes that could be bought, but also held themes and limited runs putting Barbies in the collectible categories of the world.

The smooth round Barbie coin was made in the Perth mint in Australia and it features a dead-on likeness of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and Barbie Fiftieth Anniversary on the other. Most of the coin is silver, but the Barbie side does have a cloud of pink to infuse the famous doll with one of her favorite colors.

Colnect provides many categories for collectibles that are rare and valuable, and the Tuvalu Barbie silver coin is no exception.

50th Anniversary of Signing of Jamaica's Independance - February 9 - 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.

February 9, 2012 is fifty years to the day that the tropical island in the Bahamas where Bob Marley was born, the beautiful country of Jamaica, officially signed for its independence in 1962.



Colnect's tremendous array of collectible postcards offers up a look at the truly colorful Jamaican Sunset as celebrated by this 1990 portrait.

Throughout the late nineteen fifties, Jamaica fought to leave the colonial power of the United Kingdom and joined the Federation of the West Indies as an autonomous British island. It was not until February 9, 1962 that Jamaica would sign to remove itself from the federation and become its own independent country. It was not recognized fully until August of the same year, but February 9th was the historic date when the people signed off on their own freedom.

The Jamaica City series postcard, Jamaican Sunset, highlights the extraordinary magic that the tropical island contains with nature's blessing. In this delightful postcard, there is no city to be found, only tall palm trees and green, red, orange, yellow, purple and black colors vividly photographed. Once freedom emerged for the island, the opportunity for the growth of reggae and the singer, innovator, and peaceful prophet Bob Marley became possible. The island's music would echoes the beaches, the slender trees, and the surreal sunset.

This postcard seems to capture the very essence of the heart of Jamaica, and this is one of many examples of Colnect's rare collectibles being both historic and incredibly poignant in their representations.

Muhammad Ali Capturing Title - February 6 - 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.

Possibly the greatest boxer in the history of the world, Muhammad Ali rose to recapture and win the W.B.A. championship by defeating Ernie Terrell in fifteen rounds on February 6, 1967; Ali had been previously stripped of his title for fighting a rematch against Sonny Liston.

Colnect proudly features Austria's commemorative Personalities stamp with their Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali beauty.

Shortly after winning the World Boxing Association's championship belt for the first time, boxer Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali to forever proclaim his allegiance to the Islamic faith. The fighter fought for peace throughout the world from that point on.

Due to his rebellious nature, the man who proclaimed himself "The Greatest" was stripped of the title, barely a month after this February 6th Terrell fight, because he refused to fight in the Vietnam War. Ali's stand is a historic event tied closely to his role model status that being a boxing champion garnered him: he did this before widespread protests had even begun, and he would help give credence to the anti-war movement throughout the world.

The Muhammad Ali stamp captures Ali standing over a knocked down opponent and taunting them, as he would often do; his quickness and patented crouched bobbing and weaving style were second to none. The golden background, bright red gloves, and detail make this 1.25 Euro stamp a true collectible.

View the numerous other stamps and Colnect categories to see rare treasures featuring historic events and highlights from all over the globe.

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!