More than a year ago, a handful of our fellow collectors and friends got together and came up with a simple idea. Why not host an International convention where collectors from all over the world who are interested in all kinds of Philippine collectibles gather for a weekend and talk about their collections, buy and sell a few, and participate in an auction where the items being offered are worthy of being highlighted or maybe even posted on one’s Facebook or Instagram page. They ran with the idea, and, after a few bumps on the road, this simple idea blossomed into reality. In two weeks, they will be hosting the very first FILIPINAS COLLECTIBLES AND ANTIQUES SOCIETY (FCAS) CONVENTION at the Westin Hotel Manila (Sonata Ballroom I and II), the first international convention to be held in the Philippines in more than 40 years.
But before we get to the nitty-gritty of what’s in store for us at the convention, let’s break down the name of this new group and see what each word from the name of this new society represent and stands for.
FILIPINAS – Everything and anything related to the Philippines is involved, from your very important numismatic items that involved two countries trying to get married despite their differences as reflected in the (USPI) coins to the very first banknote issued after the Malolos Congress. Then you have coins punched and countermarked by the symbol of the King and Queen, a coin series that has been breaking the bank and people’s wallets worldwide. Then you have those items issued to commemorate certain events in Philippine history from as early as 1780 to as late as the present, most recently the installation of the new President of the Philippines, following in the footsteps of his late father. Then you have those items that involve the very first private mailing cards or a very early Philippine postcard issued right before the turn of the 19th century to a dagger that was supposedly part of the Katipunan. Whatever it is, anything related to the Philippines is involved, matters, and counts.
COLLECTIBLES – Defined as “an item worth far more than what it was originally sold for because of its rarity and popularity, as well as its condition.” It is a sometimes misunderstood
word often abused by scrupulous individuals, mainly because of its definition's “rarity and condition” portion. This is especially true here in the Philippines, which has become a haven for these types of crooks preying on unsuspecting buyers who think they are acquiring a “home run” of a collectible when, in fact, they just acquired a "dud." I should know as I have been victimized, not once but a couple of times, which makes me either very stupid or these“culprits” very clever (or both). Despite this, one fact remains: the Global Collectible Market is poised to grow to more than $500M by the year 2025 and upwards to more than $700M by 2032, and the Philippines is no exception, as reflected by the prices we have seen for such things as old coins and paper collectibles, also called Ephemera the past years. One can surmise that this word has been elevated to “investment status” if one properly researches and studies these items here in our country.
ANTIQUE -- A word that connotes “a high value because of its considerable age,” with the operative word being “considerable.” The common misconception is the consideration of the time needed to be considered an antique. I use this rule of thumb: "25 years is considered vintage, while 50 years and above is considered antique." So, a dagger used by a Katipunero in his fight with the Spaniards is antique, but a medal issued to commemorate the EDSA revolution is not.
SOCIETY – Defined as “an organization or club formed for a particular purpose and activity.” This fits the definition and purpose of what FCAS stands for. I reached out to one of the founding members of the Society and asked what the vision of FCAS is. His answer was straightforward, “TO CREATE A VIBRANT COMMUNITY OF COLLECTORS DEDICATED TO CELEBRATING, PRESERVING AND SHARING THE RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE PHILIPPINES WITH THE WORLD.” But what is unclear and not spelled out, which is very important, are the additional words that MUST be added to this VISION. The vision of FCAS should be: “TO CREATE A VIBRANT COMMUNITY OF COLLECTORS DEDICATED TO CELEBRATING, PRESERVING AND SHARING THE RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE PHILIPPINES WITH THE WORLD AND TO BRING JOY TO EACH AND EVERY COLLECTOR INVOLVED IN ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH PHILIPPINE ANTIQUE COLLECTIBLES.” Because that is what this is all about – JOY. The joy in finding or discovering a grail piece of a collectible that one has been looking for years, or the JOY in bringing one coin from a weekend auction and placing that coin with the rest of the other coins in an album; the JOY one gets in keeping oneself busy by rearranging all the antique and vintage postcards in albums by specific themes that only he understands and the additional JOY of having to define or explain this “understanding” to others; or maybe just simply the JOY in meeting new collectors and developing friendships that go beyond the hobby. Whatever it is, “JOY” is the key, and these guys who set up FCAS are intent on delivering this and are clearly on the right track.
The other item worth mentioning is the involvement of a group from Moreton Auctions. These guys work like the “Men in Black” and “clean up” the place to ensure everyone goes home with confidence and security about the authenticity of their acquisitions. In other words happy and
contented. These are the guys, who named their company after a famous steakhouse in the USA but whose expertise is far from grilling steaks. On the contrary, they are forward thinkers who are out to change the way Philippine Collectibles are being auctioned off and sold both in the Philippines and outside the country-- they've transformed the traditional mom-and-pop way to the more professional and modern way of auctioning items using software currently being used by the major auction houses all over the world. Ambitious? I don’t think so. These guys are very good at what they do, have broadened the field of the Philippine Auction House market in terms of collectibles, and have managed to change the way we do things in the hobby. Kudos to Moreton…you guys Rock!
They’ve partnered with another major contender in the Philippine Collectible Industry, Minted MNL, headed by the ever-vibrant but always serious Sigrid Carandang. One of the very first
people I met in the hobby more than eight years ago. She has been one of the most reliable and honest people I know, especially when handling submissions to the TPGs. She is the head of Minted MNL, and clearly, their vision is apt for what has been created and developed – “Reinventing the hobby of collecting, preserving a piece of history and making it interesting for everyone across generations.” Together, they have brought our world of Philippine collectibles and presented it to a global audience, as well as preservation by bringing in the new generation for continued education.
Now, let's delve into what’s in store at this convention. From what little I know, the organizers have compiled a comprehensive lineup of activities that began months before the event, demonstrating their commitment to educating and engaging the attendees. One of their missions is to provide a platform for young collectors to learn and grow within the hobby. With such dedication to knowledge sharing, this event will become a valuable learning experience for everyone of all ages.
The convention also has “toys for the big boys.” The most giant toy of them all is in the Philippine countermark market, and I am talking about those collectors that have an interest in the
Philippine countermark series from 1828-1837 where a good friend, Mr. Kyle Ponteiro, will be giving a talk or a series of lectures on the subject. He mentioned that some topics he will cover are the overstrikes of 1828, 1829, and 1830, which, according to him, are the first “crown size” coins of the Philippines and are considered one of the earliest dated “crowns” in Asia. What will be interesting is how he will attempt, and these are his words, “to dispel a lot of myths and what he calls, “wives’ tales” surrounding these issues.” According to Kyle, he is more excited to talk about the “perforated issues,” those ugly-looking coins that have “holes” in them and even “double countermarks,” as he describes around them; and yet both these types of issues have broken world auction prices, not only here in the Philippines but abroad. It’s so funny, but whenever Kyle talks about these things, he can never stop, which tells us that he finds JOY in all these things, and it is this JOY that I am sure he will attempt to impart to all the participants.
Then there is the auction, which is Moreton's responsibility, and I am confident these guys will give us a good show and make us, Philippine collectors, all proud. The line-up is impressive as we have almost everything we can think and dream of for an auction in a major Philippine
convention. From a 1906 USPI Philippine pesos considered the father of all USPI coins, to a gold prize award from the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, graded Ms63. Also included is a carnival medal highlighting the famous devil character from those days to a Philippine Japanese Quartermaster and Philippine WWII Air Attack 1942 medals that will surely make the Philippine Medal collector drool. And then you have medals from the famous Legarda Collection, the owner of the Collection of Countermarks that was auctioned off at Stacks and Bowers more than two years ago. Finally, the star of the show is a 2-reales coin with Mexican Caps & Rays host coin stamped with the seal of the Queen that is graded F15 by PCGS, one of the leading, if not the leader, of the TPGs for grading these types of countermark coins. Did I also mention that there is Gold and lots of it being auctioned? Gold from the Spanish period to Gold of our modern era. There is almost everything in anything for the collector of Philippine Collectibles.
So, from August 23 to 24, the Convention will open, the curtains will fall, and anyone interested in anything antique and “collectible” in the Philippines will enter those doors at the Westin Hotel Manila and be counted. Whatever it is, at least one, if not all of them, will go home with a big smile on their face, and all the blame will be on those individuals who ran with a very ambitious idea of creating and hosting a convention whose main objective is to bring JOY to all of us. Thank you, FCAS!
References:
Comments