15 December - THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA REOPENED - 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.

15 DECEMBER 2001 : THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA REOPENED

On this day in 2001, one of Italy's most famous tourist attractions,  the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after undergoing 11 years of stabilization work that cost $27 million to strengthen the tower that was facing possible collapse.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is also known as "leaning down of southern halt" (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa).

The tower was closed to the public on January 7, 1990 to commence the stabilization operation. Cables that were cinched around the tower were used to anchor it while the bells were removed to relieve some weight. Apartments and houses in proximity to the tower were also vacated for safety.  The tower was then straightened slightly to a safer angle in order to prevent the collapse of the tower.

An initial attempt in 1994 almost toppled the tower, but engineers were eventually able to reduce the lean by 18 inches by removing earth from underneath the foundation. This was achieved by removing 38 cubic metres (50 cu yd) of earth from underneath the raised end. After a decade of corrective reconstruction and stabilization efforts, the tower was reopened to the public on December 15, 2001, and was declared stable for at least another 300 years.

Entrance to the tower is now limited to guided tours, but this has not stopped tourists from flocking to the famous tower to pose next to it for photos while pretending to hold it up!

Collectibles on Colnect that Commemmorate This Day in History:

➢ COINS:

Italy produced this 500 Lire Coin in 1993 which depicts the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

➢ PHONECARDS:

Several countries have issued phonecards related to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. These are a few of them:

➢ STAMPS:

Italy released this stamp of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in 1973:

HAPPY 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 :)

World’s Biggest Hotel Key Card Catalog for Collectors Displays 10,101+ Key Cards

Colnect is proud to announce that the Hotel Key Card Catalog has now reached the 10,101 mark! The catalog currently boasts over 10,101 Hotel Key Cards from 117 Countries featuring over 1441 Hotel Chains and the list continues to grow rapidly.

The Hotel Key Card Catalog has had an addition of over 2,000 Hotel Key Cards since we announced the 8,008 mark in September. This means that an average of over 20 new Hotel Key Cards have being added on a daily basis over the past 90 days! This is a great achievement for which we need to acknowledge and thank Ignacio F López Vico [iflvico] from Spain, who co-ordinates the Hotel Key Card Catalog. In addition, we would like to recognize all the contributors who have ensured the continued growth and success of this catalog.

You too can leave your mark on Colnect by sharing and adding items from your personal collection to showcase countries and hotels that you have visited around the globe!

So, this holiday, when you are travelling on vacation or you’re simply away on a business trip, don’t forget to keep your Hotel Key Cards as a memento of your travels and add it to your collection. Alternatively you can use it to exchange with a Hotel Key Card collector.

It doesn't matter whether you were staying at the Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Intercontinental or Taj Hotel or simply at the local Motel - all Hotel Key Cards are sought after and valuable to Hotel Key Card collectors.