Both Jan and Jeroen are
hesitant to put a dollar
Preserving history
value on their collections,
but with both of their
collections numbering
thousands of items, it's
sufficient to say they are
extremely valuable. "But
we're not selling!" is their
unanimous opinion.
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
Internet. So I can't really complain."
This is a statement Jeroen Jonker would heartily agree with. Jeroen has
been a devoted Heineken collector for the past six years and is the founder
and webmaster ofwww.heinekenverzamelaar.nl, a Dutch Internet auction
site dedicated exclusively to Heineken collectibles. The World Wide Web is
loaded with Heineken and beer collector sites, not only in Holland but
across the globe.
"Surfing the Internet has made finding rare items a lot easier, of
course," Jeroen says. "The site has been online for two years and already
we've had more than 15,000 people place items for sale or trade" says
Jeroen. "At any given time, there are roughly 300 items for sale on the
website."
Jeroen's website is a virtual Heineken flea market, catering not only for
die-hard collectors of Heineken memorabilia. "Lots of people find things in
their attic or their back shed," Jeroen says, "people who aren't collectors
but know that there are some of us out there who will pay top prices for
Heineken items. There is so much stuff out there that people haven't
discovered—things that are quite valuable."
Jeroen himself has a collection of more than 2000 items, taking up an entire
room at the back of his home. Two display cabinets crammed with Heineken
glasses, among them a number of rare ones. Shelves and cupboards
stacked with collectibles—just as in Jan's front room, it's like walking
through a miniature Heineken museum.
Jeroen's most prized collectible is a porcelain Heineken tap. "I'd love to
install a complete working bar with Heineken taps and a large Heineken
fridge. But I don't have the room and the large Heineken fridges are hard to
come by. Maybe one day when I move into a bigger house I'll be able to
fulfil that dream."
Both Jan and Jeroen are hesitant to put a dollar value on their
collections, but with both of their collections numbering thousands of
items, it's sufficient to say they are extremely valuable. "But we're not
selling!" is their unanimous opinion.
Dedicated Heineken collectors like Jan and Jeroen are important to the
organisation, as they proudly carry the company flag, promoting the
Heineken brand in their own unique way. Annesietske Stapel, curator of the
Heineken collection at the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, believes
collectors are vital to the preservation of the brewery's history.
