Romania's stamp collection, estimated at some EUR 700 million, might go from the National Post patrimony to the Romanian Central Bank, the Romanian Senate decided. The Chamber of Deputies will have to give its ok further for the proposal to become reality and for the 15 million stamps to change hands.

The initiators of the law, MPs from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) believe that keeping the national stamp collection in the patrimony of a commercial company, be it state owned for the time being, could endanger it, as it might be sold when the Romanian Post will be privatized or restructured.

The collection is much undervalued. The book value of the collection is of EUR 1 million at the Romanian Post, which does not recognize that the stamps it has are public patrimony and could include them in a share package that could go to a foreign investor.

In 1990, after the fall of communism, the Romanian Post received 8.1 million stamps, and 3.8 million of them came from the Romanian Central Bank.

The collection includes over 15 million Romanian and foreign stamps, some original ones, others made by known artists, as well as the cast which created Romanian stamps, such as the famous Ox Head (Cap de Bour). Over 3,000 pieces in the collection are unique.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: sxc.hu)