Samlerhuset

The Samlerhuset Group is a Norwegian-owned, international mail order company headquartered in Almere. The company sells mainly traditional collectibles such as coins, medals, stamps, banknotes and coin-letters. The Samlerhuset Group has subsidiaries in 16 countries. The company had 400 employees in 2010 and a turnover of 160 million euro.^[1] Samlerhuset is a part owner of the Berlin coin fair and of the Norwegian Mint, the producer of all the Nobel Prize medals ^[2][3] and of legal tender coinage for Norway and other countries.

An outline of the Business

Samlerhuset's key business activity is the direct marketing of coins and commemorative medals, and other related collectibles, to national markets. The Samlerhuset Group is the distributor for several national banks and mints around the world and also cooperates with global event organizers such as FIFA and the IOC. Samlerhuset has been awarded contracts for the FIFA World Cup and the Torino Olympic Games in 2006, for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010 and the London Olympic Games in 2012.^[4]

History

Samlerhuset Norway was founded in 1994 ^[5] and the Samlerhuset Group was established a few years later, when in 2001, Samlerhuset merged with the MDM Group. MDM was active in Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and The United Kingdom. In 2008 Samlerhuset demerged from the MDM Group, and continued to operate in The Netherlands, UK, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Estonia. In 2010 Samlerhuset bought out the Mint of Finland from the joint Venture, which was created ten years earlier. After the buy-out, Samlerhuset took full control of the Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Baltic operations.

Sponsorship

From 2009 onwards the Samlerhuset Group has sponsored several high-profile athletes. Their role is to promote company products and function as company spokespersons in local markets. Athletes sponsored include speed-skater and former world record holder Pekka Koskela,^[6] double-sailing world champion Sari Multala^[7] and speed walker Jarkko Kinnunen.^[8] In 2011 the Dutch branch of Samlerhuset Group sponsored the decathlete Ingmar Vos.^[9] In the UK young fencers from the Isle of Man received funding in order to train with Commonwealth fencing veteran, Henry da Silva.^[4] From every official Olympic commemorative coin sold by the Group, a certain sum is allocated to the IOC and from there on to the national Olympic committees. The amount paid to the national Olympic committee is based on the number of coins sold in that particular local market.^[4] In 2011 Samlerhuset Norway sponsored the erection of the statue honoring Norwegian war hero Max Manus,^[10] while the UK operation actively supports the war veteran charity Help for Heroes.^[11] In Finland Samlerhuset has raised over 2 million euro in support of the Finnish war veterans.^[4] In Poland Samlerhuset currently functions as Maecenas of the numismatic collection of the National Museum in Warsaw,^[4] while Samlerhuset Norway recently donated a rare Norwegian medal (there are only 2 known examples of this medal, minted in 1685, left in the world) to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo^[12]

Exhibitions

The Samlerhuset Group has been closely involved in several coin-exhibitions and numismatic events around Europe in order to increase public knowledge about coins and medals. In 2008-2010 Samlerhuset toured the World´s largest gold coin in 10 different countries. The coin was shown in Oslo, Norway in 2009.^[13] The Samlerhuset Group has also worked with Oxford University’s Ashmolean Museum to host an event showcasing English Mediaeval Coinage. As a result of this, the coins known as the `Brussels hoard` went on display at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Norway, the Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova museum in Turku, Finland^[14] and at the Ashmolean museum in Oxford in 2004. The research paper concerning the coins was developed by Professor Nicholas Mayhew, Deputy Director of the museum, in collaboration with dr. philos. Svein Gullbekk of Oslo University.^[15]

In March 2012 Samlerhuset organised a tour of the 1933 Double Eagle gold coin in 7 countries, in conjunction with the US Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. This was the first time that a 1933 Double Eagle had been exhibited in Europe and also the first time that the Smithsonian had sent an object from its museum collection on tour in Europe. The coin that went on display in London^[16][17] Dublin,^[18] Brussels,^[19] Prague,^[20] Warsaw,^[21] Oslo ^[22] and Helsinki ^[23] is one of two 1933 Double Eagles saved by the U.S. Mint and given to the Smithsonian Institution in 1934 as a matter of record.^[24]

Samlerhuset Timeline

1994: Samlerhuset established in Norway. [2]

1997: Samlerhuset enters Sweden

2000: Samlerhuset creates Joint Venture Company with Mint of Finland, Nordic Moneta

2001: Samlerhuset merges with the MDM Group

2003: Samlerhuset acquires 50% of Royal Norwegian Mint (Norwegian Mint AS) and enters Estonia

2004: Samlerhuset Group enters Denmark

2005: The Norwegian economic magazine "Dine Penger" encouraged their readers not to buy some of the Samlerhuset medals. Samlerhuset complains to the Norwegian Press Complaints Commission, but the PCC came to the conclusion that the paper had not breached the press ethical guidelines by publishing the article. [3]

2006: Samlerhuset Group enters UK and Poland

2008: Samlerhuset demerges from the MDM Group. Samlerhuset continues with operations in the Netherlands, UK, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Estonia. Samlerhuset also enters China and Latvia

2009: Samlerhuset enters the Czech and Lithuanian markets.

2010: Startup in Slovakia and Belgium. Samlerhuset buys out Mint of Finland from Joint Venture and takes full control of Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Baltic operations.

2011: Samlerhuset enters Ireland and Hungary

Controversy

The company advertising campaigns and sales methods have been criticized by some collectors,^[25] magazines^[26] and consumer protection authorities in the past. Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman.^[27] Samlerhuset have prices 2-3 times that of others. In April 2011 the Norwegian TV channel TV2 aired the program TV2 hjelper deg (English translation: TV2 helps you) about Samlerhuset. It showed a man who had bought coins and medals for NOK 390,000 (about US$70,000, £42,000) .^[28]

References

External links

• Samlerhuset homepage