International collectors flock to Amman for stamp, coin fair

AMMAN — Stamp, coin and banknote collectors from around the world met in Amman on Thursday for the first International Numismatic and Philatelic Fair in the Kingdom.

Collectors from Jordan, the Arabian Gulf, Iraq, India, the Netherlands and the US are sharing currency and stamps collected from all over the world at the fair, said Ibrahim Arnaout, the secretary of the Jordan Philatelic and Numismatic Society (JPNS). 

JPNS President Fekri Kawar said the fair, which concludes on Saturday, will be held annually, adding that the event will encourage tourism to the Kingdom.  

The society organised the event in cooperation with the Greater Amman Municipality, the Ministry of Culture, Jordan Post and Petra Travel and Tourism Co.

Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji inaugurated an exhibition at the fair, held at Al Hussein Cultural Centre, and said history could be read from stamps, coins and banknotes. 

Postal stamps issued since the founding of Jordan were on display as well as currency used in the Kingdom, according to the event’s brochure. 

The Jordan Post has issued a special stamp for the fair, with a print run of 5,000, as well as envelopes designed and printed in Jordan. 

“Now, we are working with domestic companies to print stamps,” said Rand Obeidat, the director of the Jordan Stamps Department at the  Jordan Post. 

Ihsan Haqqi, who travelled to the fair from Iraq, said he has been collecting stamps for 50 years, and recently started trading them.

“I am specialised in collecting the stamps of Arab countries,” said Haqqi.

Tariq, a Jordanian collector, said coins from the Sasanian Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Empire were on display. 

Mohammad Ali, an Iraqi living in Oman, said that he inherited the hobby from his father, who collected stamps of the Iraqi royal period from the early 1920s to the early 1950s.

Indian collector AV Jeyachandran presented a wide range of limited edition stamps made of gold, silk, silver and ceramic. 

A collector from Saudi Arabia noted that collections could be very valuable, noting that items in his collection are worth between JD1 and JD20,000.

“I have rare currencies that go back to the 1370s,” he added. 

The exhibition will be open between 10am and 6pm.