Museum Benefactors

MUSEUM BENEFACTORS
(not in order of importance) All our benefactor friends are important !!!!
There are many different types that make up the card collecting association. Along this journey, we have also met some wonderful people who have developed the technologies that led to phonecard collecting, and also other types of card technologies. Some of them are brilliant inventors and engineers.

Industry supporters

The phonecard museum has had the support of many good people, both collectors, and from card industries, and manufacturers, and even government departments involved with card technology. We want to show here that we are ever grateful for their contribution to the website.
Some of these wonderful people have passed along the way, and some who retired to green pastures. We have acquired and absorbed the collections of many of these fine people.
Let us introduce some of these to you. Over time we hope you can meet in these pages, all those who have contributed in some significant way to the card technologies and this museum collection.

Mark Jacobs

Mark is a specialist collector of Cash Card systems, who is a co-curator for the Museum. He is currently researching the history of E-Purse systems such as VISA CASH, MONDEX (Byte card), CLIP, Proton, and many others. His background as a collector of Optical card systems led him to work with ITC magazine (International Telephone Cards) and WCT magazine (World Card Technology)

He was also involved in organizing the CARDEX collecting exhibitions in Europe in the 1990's.

Thanks Mark for your considerable help over the years.

Elliot Burman

Though we met Elliot only briefly, we were impressed with the professional nature of his collecting. Elliot put together a most astounding collection of British and Israel phonecards over many years, and owned many of the key cards of those two countries.

In later years, with failing health, Elliot made the difficult decision to sell off his collection. We had a few meetings with Elliot to discuss his cards. He decided to allow us to acquire many important cards missing in the museum collection. Some gems include the 40 unit DFS technology, a unique 100 unit Muirfield golf, and the first Israel design 40th anniversary card.

We are grateful to Elliot (RIP) for his kindness, and contribution to the Museum collection

Alex Rendon (RIP)

Alex was one of the earliest phonecard collectors in the world. Coming from a background in postage stamp collecting, he became keenly interested in these unusual new cards popping up around the world. Along with his close friend Norman, Alex even traveled to various countries for the SOLE purpose of finding special phonecards. He went to St. Maarten just to find the optical cards being used there, and worked extremely hard to find the Bermuda Autelca magnetic phonecards.
Collecting on the opposite side of the world (Australia), I had only brief telephone contact with Alex, until he decided to pass on his collection. It was nice to finally meet in person, and we enjoyed discussing the highlights of some fine rare pieces, and the stories behind them.
I would say it is a fine privilege to have added the majority of Alex' collection to ours, and many cards will be referenced as "ex. Rendon Collection”.

 

Gunther S (DAD)

Pictured here with me is my beloved father, Gunther. My dad perhaps was the earliest influence on my collecting nature. He collected Stamps all his life. In the early 90's my dad was picking these phonecards out of the card disposals under the public telephones. (Just for his son: ME).  He found many good early cards. Once he found a batch of early issue cards (4 or 5 cards) wow that was exciting. Later he came across a bank of public telephones in a shopping centre where a shop owner would come with a bunch of 20 unit cards and telephone family overseas. After the call, my dad knew where to look, as he would stick them in the phonebook (all in pristine condition)
Thanks Dad, I miss you RIP