Stamp and Coin Fair brings collectors and dealers to Whanganui

Barracks Bar was full to bursting on Sunday morning. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Dealers from as far afield as Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North made the trip to the Whanganui Stamp and Coin Fair.

Whanganui Philatelic Society president Matt Bulman said people were waiting outside for the doors to open first thing yesterday morning.

"A lot of people come in with collections to sell, or just to get prices," Bulman said.

"Things can get passed down from family members, so we give them a ballpark figure of what they're worth.

"Then we can point them in the direction of the dealers who can help them.

"It's been a busy day so far."

Whanganui Philatelic Society president Matt Bulman. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Whanganui Philatelic Society member Bevan Hunter was also on hand.

"I'm one of the younger members, by a few decades," Hunter said.

"I've managed to whittle my own collection down a little bit in terms of a specific focus, because that can be a problem with collections.

Bevan Hunter said his stamp collection had taken a geography-themed direction. Photo / Lewis Gardner

"As a history-trained geography teacher, I look at postmarks. There have been close to 7000 post offices opened in New Zealand throughout our history.

"If you can find a mark from a very rare post office - one that was only open for three weeks during the war, for example - that can make a 10 cent stamp worth $500."

Whanganui coin dealers Craig and Helen Morris. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Whanganui coin dealer Craig Morris said he had been in the business since 1979.

"It's surprising how many people collect," Morris said.

"Years ago you'd want to collect one of each date, pennies and things like that, but now people are getting more into presentation sets, silver, gold, and looking towards more of an investment as well as a pastime.

"They all collect for different reasons, it's anything and everything, and it's great that it's still really popular."

Dealers from across the North Island were at Barracks Bar on Sunday. Photo / Lewis Gardner