All these news stories, and others, can be read in full in the February 2006 Philatelic Exporter

NEWS extracts  

180+ dealers at two London shows

OVER 180 dealers will offering their stocks at the UK's two major stamp shows in London during the last week of February.

Brunel stars at Stampex

MAIN attraction at Spring Stampex this year is Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Victorian engineer who was born 200 years ago.

Royal Mail, which has its usual sales counters on the Village Green, is issuing a set of Brunel stamps and a souvenir sheet (pictured) on the second day of the show, and the Postal Museum and Archive will give its new display celebrating his life and achievements its maiden showing ...

Over 100 dealers at Philatex

OCCURRING over the middle three days of Stampex, Philatex has attracted over 100 dealers to the Lawrence Hall of the Royal Horticultural Society in Greycoat Street, Westminster, London SW1. And over a quarter of those are from outside the UK, from as far away as New Zealand. Several new names are noted in the list of standholders on page 17, and in the updated version on www.stampshows.net ...

London international adopts popular title

LONDON's next international stamp exhibition in 2010 will incorporate the name of a series of popular stamp shows held in the capital in the 1970s. The Festivals of Stamps were held 30 years ago to regenerate interest in the hobby which they succeeded in doing so.

'London 2010 - Festival of Stamps' will doubtless have this same goal amongst its objectives. It will take place from Saturday May 8 to Saturday May 15 2010 at the principal venue of the Business Design Centre, Islington, London N1, home of Stampex, the national show for several years ...

Stolen in Stourport

DURING the night of January 12 2006, two albums were stolen from a house in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire. They contained: Chile complete to 1936, including SG11 and SG35, a very good selection of town postmarks, and a Tierra del Fuego 'Popper' used; Uruguay complete to 1936 including all 'Diligencia' and all types of 5c issued 1866;

A reward of £500 is offered for complete recovery. Contact Tony Tidmarsh on 01299 872200, or the PTS office on 01252 628006.

British Journey ends in England

ROYAL Mail will complete a two-year trip around the United Kingdom on February 7 when it issues ten '1st' (30p) stamps depicting views of England stretching from the Isle of Wight to the Lake District.

England is the fifth issue in the British Journey series which started in July 2003 with a pictorial tour of Scotland, followed by Northern Ireland, Wales, and South West England ...

'The Stamp Show' planned but not issued

THE twice yearly stamp show planned by JM Philatelic Exhibitions at Alexandra Palace, London (PE December 2005) has been cancelled before it even got off the ground due to a lack of support ...

Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games stamps from Australia

AUSTRALIA Post is about to embark on a hectic two months as it prepares to issue Winter Olympics Gold Medallist stamps and Commonwealth Games issues.

The 20th Winter Olympic Games 2006 take place in Turin, Italy, from February 10 to 26, and AP will produce sheetlets depicting Australian Gold Medal winners, just as it did for the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Each sheetlet will contain ten 50c stamps showing a picture of the victorious Australian, and will be on sale within hours of the medal ceremony ...

Azerbaijan revalues currency

ON January 1 2006 Azerbaijan revalued its manat currency by 5000, ie one new manat (AZN) is worth 5000 of the old manats, and is subdivided into 100 gapiks ...

Also This Month

Trading on eBay by David Bailey

AS the world’s largest online auction, eBay is changing the way people do business.

After only five years in operation, eBay UK sells one mobile phone a minute, a model train every three minutes, and a laptop every two minutes. There are 114 million registered worldwide users, of whom 7.6 million live in the UK. And at any given time, there are more than 25 million items on the site, with about two million listed in the UK.

Stamps are one of the largest categories on eBay and most stamp magazines have written collectors’ reviews of the site. But what are its advantages for the trade? Will it replace or complement the traditional sales strategies of fairs and press advertising? Or it is just a big sideshow we can all afford to ignore? ...

Read the entire feature in the February 2006 Philatelic Exporter.

EXCHANGE RATES OF THE CURRENCIES OF THE POSTAL ADMINISTRATIONS OF THE WORLD

THIS is a guide to the exchange rates of the 245 current stamp-issuing entities of the world to the pound sterling, the US dollar, and the euro:

The entire guide can be read in the February 2006 Philatelic Exporter.

Regulars

Around the Rooms:

Stamp auction reviews. more>>

Back Stamps:

What was in the ‘Philatelic Exporter’ this month in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1989, and 1994.

Forthcoming Auctions:

Public stamp auctions in February and March 2006. more>>

New Issues:

New stamp issues from around the world. more>>

Trade Diary:

What's on in the UK and overseas. more>>

Your Letters

Stamps as an investment, and an update. more>>

From our contributors

Albert Boerma - Europe:

Belgian postal museum closed. more>>

Otto Hornung - In My View:

Salamanca + Valencia = Malaga. more>>

Liz McKernan - Postcard World:

Hall refurb forces Postcard Show date change. more>>

David Rennie - New Books:

Recent literature reviewed. more>>

James Skinner - Great Britain:

Two tribes unite. more>>

Glen Stephens - Australasia

How to lose $3000. more>>

Les Winick - USA:

How does your customer see you? more>>