Collectible News -- Warsaw Hosts Olympics Fair; IOC Changes; O'Neil Auction

Warsaw will host the Olympic Collectors Fair at the end of May. Warsaw for World Fair

Warsaw will become the first Eastern European city to host the World Olympic Collectors, set for May 29 to 31.

Organizers have released plans for the Fair, which usually takes place at the IOC Museum in Lausanne, but has also been held in Seoul, Rio de Janeiro and Beijing since the gatherings began in 1994. Warsaw will be the 14th edition.

More than 100 collectors and dealers buy, sell and trade while comparing their collections of pins, medals, coins, stamps and other memorabilia that bear the Olympic rings.

The Polish Olympic Committee will host the event at its headquarters building, the Olympic Centre, and is subsidizing the Fair as part of its 90th anniversary celebration.

According to organizers, the prices for trading tables are lower than normal because the committee is helping to defray the costs. Tables are being offered at about $65 and lockable showcase tables for double that price. Tables must be reserved by March 15.

For information, contact Joanna Huzarska at the POC via e-mail at jhuzarska@pkol.pl or by phone at +48 22 560 37 57 or fax at +48 22 560 37 35.

IOC Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who donated his stamp collection to the IOC Museum and encouraged the organization of the first Olympic Fair, will attend the Opening Ceremony at 11 a.m. on May 29.

An exhibition called "The Prestige Olympic Philately" will run parallel to the Fair from May 15-31 at the Olympic Centre.

The Coca-Cola Olympic Pins Collection will also be exhibited during the philately exhibition and the Fair.

A special medal will be pressed on site by the National Mint, which will display its Olympic medals in an exhibition. To commemorate the occasion, the Polish Post will issue a postcard with the 90th Anniversary of the Polish Olympic Committee seal.

The POC also will publish a catalogue of Polish pins, medals and other Olympic memorabilia and exhibit a collection of pins and medals.

Organizers are offering group rates at the 5-star Hilton Warsaw from approximately $113 for a single to $138 for a double. Three-star options are also available.

Change at the Top

The IOC is looking for new leadership and direction in its department The IOC is reorganizing its handling of the commission for Olympic memorabilia. (ATR)of philately, coins and other memorabilia.

Manfred Bergman, the longtime head of the department and consultant to the IOC Collectors Commission, retired at the end of last year.

Gerhard Heiberg, vice chairman of the Collectors Commission, tells ATR that the IOC has "hired some consultants to look at the future organization of this department."

One of those consultants is thought to be David Maiden, an Australian who worked in conjunction with the IOC and China Post to organize Olympex, the collector show held in Beijing during the Olympics.

Commission chair Samaranch, chairperson of the Collectors Commission, presented Bergman with the Pierre de Coubertin medal for his services.

Beijing Trove, Athens Medal for Latest O’Neil Auction

Silver medals from the first Olympics in 1896 and the most recent Olympics in 2008 highlight Ingrid O'Neil's 58th auction of Olympic memorabilia.

Sales of torches from the Beijing relay have been few since the Games. (Getty Images) Among the 736 lots, O'Neil is also offering the largest selection of Beijing memorabilia at auction to date, including two award medals, a torch, Olympic and Paralympic participation medals, mascots, chopsticks, tickets and even a wool hat worn by a member of the Kazakhstan team in the Opening Ceremony,

The mail-bid auction closes Saturday, Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. PST. O'Neil accepts bids via mail, telephone, fax and e-mail. To view the catalog, go to www.ioneil.com. Winning bidders must pay a 15 percent commission.

The estimate for the 1896 Athens silver medal is $30,000. The medal is actually a prize for first place because no gold medals were awarded at the first Olympics.

The estimate for the 2008 Beijing silver medal is $10,500. The medal, which is inlaid with light green jade, was awarded to a member of the Cuban baseball team.

A Beijing bronze medal, inlaid with a darker green jade, is also up for bid. It was awarded for boxing and the estimate is $9,500.

The Beijing torch carries an estimate of $4,750. "Although a large number of torches were made, they remain extremely hard to find," O'Neil says in the item description.

Written by

Karen Rosen

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