«5'
"I stopped registering
everything when my collection
reached 10,000 items. Now I
only record the important items
or things I'm still looking for."
Collector Jan Stabij.
m*M&A
10,000 items and counting
ICHTPILS
HTKERELS
l OPlOM^p-HONNtU" I
Uri extremely rare 'Heineken's' can
What is the rarest, most valuable piece of Heineken memorabilia?
Is it a bottle of Amstel with a Heineken cap, a quirky collectible
on auction on Ebay for $100? Or is it a neon Heineken
advertising board, valued at $250? An electric guitar decorated
with an Amsterjam logo, available in the USA for $350? Or a
property deed, dating back to 1882, signed by Gerard Adriaan
Heineken himself?
To find the answer to this question, you have to go to the experts. And
when it comes to collecting Heineken memorabilia, Jan Stabij from
Amsterdam can certainly be considered one. Having been an avid collector
of Heineken items for the past fourteen years, there isn't much he doesn't
know when it comes to merchandise from the world's most international
brewer.
"The very best collectors items come out of the US," says Jan, proudly
admiring a novelty Heineken windmill he purchased from America on the
Internet. "Heineken has a certain prestige in America, Heineken
memorabilia is a status symbol over there. Like a Heineken flag by the
poolside in the backyard, that kind of thing. It's chic. The Americans have
made a real effort to come up with novel collectible items."
Jan has established many international contacts over the years, and
trades regularly with collectors on the other side of the Atlantic. Neon
advertising signs are the most common, as well as the famous plaster Dutch
Boy statues, which often are priced at more than $200.
But the most valuable? "The most valuable items are those which date
from before the mid-1960s," Jan says, "back when all the logos were written
Heineken's. That's what I try to collect the most, anything with Heineken's
on it." One of Jan's most prized collectibles is an old beer can with
Heineken's printed on it. "It's probably one of the rarest items I have,
because Heineken eliminated the ['s] shortly after they began the
production of beer cans. There are probably not a lot of these around."
Many of the items adorning the walls and shelves of Jan's front living room
are rare—cosy space literally covered with Heineken memorabilia. A steel
Heineken pub sign from the 1930s, a copy of the blueprints used in the
building of the Amsterdam brewery, a property deed for a small piece of
land, dated 1882 and signed by the brewery's founding father, Gerard
Adriaan Heineken.
But what makes Jan's collection so astounding is not just its rareness,
but also its sheer size. A computer technician by trade, Jan created a
special database to keep track of his inventory. "But I stopped registering
everything when my collection reached 10,000 items. Now I only record the
important items or things I'm still looking for."
The variety of Jan's collection is staggering: coasters, stickers, labels,
match boxes, postcards, bottles, glasses, any and all things Heineken. Walls
are covered with antique posters, advertising material from all over the
world and electric pub signs—even a stained glass pool table lamp that
once decorated a pub. "I used to buy Heineken clothes, T-shirts that didn't
even fit me. I don't do that anymore. I'm getting a little less fanatical in my
old age."
Jan was actually a collector of Heineken memorabilia before he was even
aware of it. After spotting a display cabinet full of Heineken collectibles
while on vacation, Jan hunted around in his own back shed to see if he had
anything himself. "And of course I did have a few things, the kind of stuff
you just pick up over the years. Coasters, the odd Heineken glass. I put
everything together, and the rest is history."
He speaks of his early days of collecting with fondness. "When I first
started, I was very fanatical about it. Sometimes I would go to three flea
markets in one weekend, just trying to find anything I could. If it was
Heineken, I had to have it. I even went to events that were sponsored by
Heineken in the hope of collecting some special items. The Heineken Open
golf tournament, the Heineken Sevens rugby competition: you name it, I
was there.
"Back then, my collection grew very quickly because I was just starting
out and was able to buy everything. As time went by and my collection
grew larger, the choice of items I didn't already have became smaller. Now,
when I have two of the same thing, I sell one."
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