Now that you have decided to collect telephone cards, or, more likely, have drifted into collecting them, allow me to offer a few suggestions, tips, hints, etc. which, if not necessarily useful, I hope some of you at least will find interesting.
What to collect
Most new collectors start by collecting everything that they can get their hands but soon realise that a) there are far too many companies and countries issuing cards nowadays to ever hope to obtain all cards available, and b) this method of collecting can be very expensive particularly if you choose to collect mint cards. The first, and probably most basic, choice is whether to collect mint (unused) or used cards. Both have good points and bad points, mint cards may be in better condition but are usually more expensive whereas used cards may be cheaper but show signs of wear or damage. Most people end up with a combination of mint and used cards.
Collections can be built on a variety of bases and the following are a few suggestions:
A) All cards from one particular country -- your own country would be a good starting point.
B) One card from each country or issuing company in the world;
C) Cards from a particular region, for example Europe, Asia-Pacific Rim, West Indies; this method of collecting adds the variety of cards from several countries that a one country collection does not have;
D) Cards from one manufacturer, for example Landis & Gyr, Autelca or any of the other companies making the cards;
E) Test or service cards and complimentary cards - test cards are used by engineers from the telephone companies to test systems and installations and service cards are given by the telephone companies to their employees for use on official businesss. Complimentary cards are again given to the telephone company employees to be handed out as advertising material to customers and clients. All three of these types of cards are difficult to obtain as they are not available to the general public;
F) Private issue cards - these are cards commissioned by private individuals or companies for advertising purposes or for use as business cards. They are usually printed in small numbers and are not available to the general public and, again, are therefore expensive to obtain;
G) Errors, trial cards and first issues - errors, as the name suggest, are cards which have a printing error on them; trial cards are cards issued by companies to test new installations or to test market reaction to the use of the cards, and first issues are the cards first issued for general public use once a system has been accepted and installed.
H) Themes or topics - and here the choice is almost limitless with cards being available depicting almost anything you care to name! A few of the more popular themes are cars, planes, animals, cats, dogs, sport, golf, boats and ships, flowers, horses, snowmen, computers ... the list goes on! As you can see, there is almost no limit to the choice of what to collect. Now, where do you get your cards from?
How to collect
Having decided what to collect, the next question is where to get your cards. They can be picked up from telephone booths, exchanged among collector friends or collectors from other countries, or they can be bought from dealers.
Cards can be exchanged with other collectors, eigher in your own country or overseas. It may take some time to find another collector with the same interests as yourself with whom you can exchange cards but the wait may well be worth it as, in addition to obtaining some new phone- cards, you may well obtain some new friends! It is important to establish right at the beginning, before you exchange any cards, how your are going to operate the exchange.
A few important points:
A) How will the exchange be carried out, that is one for one, two for one etc.,
B) Will any rarer OR harder to get cards be included and, if so, what is the basis for exchange for these cards;
Tips and Hints For New Collectors1, 2
C) Will common or definitive cards be included; d) what is your preference for cards, that is do you want cards on a particular theme or from a
D) What is your preference for cards, that is, do you want cards on a particular theme or from particular country or, conversely, do you not want cards on a particular theme or from a particular country;
E) What will you do if either of you is not happy with the exchange - exchanges should be fair to both people and one person should not try to make a 'profit' at the expense of the other.
Cards can be bought from dealers and, as with everything else, there are good and bad dealers. Take some time to find a dealer you are comfort able doing business with. Talk to other collec tors and get their opinions but do not rely totally on them as they may be looking for something different in a dealer than you are. When you think you have found a dealer you are happy with, request his price list and check it against other dealers prices - check his method of payment and his policy on retuming cards you are not satified with. Does he send replacement cards immediately without argument or is he reluctant to replace crads? Does he charge your credit card OR cash your cheques immediately he receives your order or does he wait until he has posted your cards (a 'good' dealer should only charge your card OR cash your cheque when he has posted your order, after all, why should he have both your money and your cards?). All this checking may all sound like a lot of trouble but a little research now may save you a lot of trouble later on.
When cards are issued in sets, always collect or build up the complete set. A set of cards is usually worth more than the total of the individual cards in the set. There will probably be a 'key' card in most sets. This is the card which is most difficult to obtain and is usually, but not always, the highest denomination card in the set. Always get the 'key' card!
One final comment on obtaining used cards - always obtain the finest quality available to you. It is pointless buying or exchanging damaged cards as they are of little or no value. Always get the best you can afford!
Storage - now that you have all these cards, you will want to store and display them properly and, inevitably, there are several things you should be aware of here, the most important of which is the material used.
The most popular way of storing and displaying cards seems to be in plastic sleeves which are then kept in a file or folder. It is very important to ensure that the plastic used to make these sleeves does not contain a solvent or plasticiser (which are used to give flexibility).Over a period of time, the solvent OR plasticiser migrates of leaches out of the plastic and into any object inside the sleeve. The solvent can cause damage to both the cards itself and to the dyes used for printing the card. If you want an example of what can happen, look at old colour photographs which have been stored in albums with flexible plastic windows. The following points will help you recognise if a plastic sleeve contains solvent or plasticiser:
A) the sleeves will most probably be flexible;B) the sides of the sleeve may be stuck together;C) over time, the plastic will become brittle as the plasticiser leaches out.
Several companies are now producing albums and plastic leaves for the storage and display of telephone cards but check carefully that the plastic used does not contain the dreaded solvent OR plasticiser. Business card holders are not considered suitable for storage as the plastics used in their construction most probably will contain a solvent or plasticiser.
It has been suggested by a Food Chemist in New Zealand that the best materials to use for long term storage are tissue paper and aluminium foil. Wrap the cards first in good quality tissue paper and then in aluminium foil.
Paper based albums are probably the most suitable for both storage and display providing that they do not have flexible plastic windows which contain solvent or plasticiser. I do not know whether there is any risk in ordinary paper or cardboard in these albums made with acid-free cardboard and paper are available, they should be used in preference to other albums.
I hope these hints and tips are of some use to some people and I wish you all happy collecting!
Lifted from International Phonecard Exhibition Program, 7-9 May 1993
Courtesy: http://www.wayofdesign.com/telcards
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