Talk:Samlerhuset

Any connection to Select A/S and Ivar S. Løge
As Kolbotn is a rather small community outside of Oslo, I intuitively draw the connection to an old mail order company that existed in Norway for several decades but may now be defunct, Select A/S, well-known for their tantalizing mass-distributed catalogs. It was run, I believe, by Ivar S. Løge who in recent years has presented himself in the guise of a philanthropist. It would be intereting to see any of this expanded upon. For the sake of Wikipedia and possibly also of consumer protection. __meco (talk) 14:47, 4 October 2010 (UTC)

Reliable source?
A reference to the publication Numismatikeren was removed in this edit as not being a reliable source. I must question this removal and ask why it is that this publication cannot be seen as satisfying WP standards. __meco (talk) 10:22, 5 October 2010 (UTC)


 * I belive it is reliable and have put it back in. And put in some other references. Hope it is better now. It is no connection with Mr. Løge Hubbydust (talk) 11:25, 6 October 2010 (UTC)

Seeing how Numismatikeren has hidden links (white on white) to a link farm clearly made to slander Samlerhuset I raise the question if the man behind Numismatikeren is on a personal vendetta. I do not think WP should reference these kind of sources. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.236.167.226 (talk) 07:59, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

It is often stated that every person writing on this page should maintain a neutral, unbiased point of view. Reading this article makes you question that principle. This is a very poorly written article. Objective criticism is one thing, but why accept such a one sided slander filled article? Very interesting indeed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by The Numismatic (talk • contribs) 06:21, 12 August 2011 (UTC)
 * If you could give some specific suggestions for things that need to be changed, the volunteers who may not be particularly interested in researching this topic, may be able to make it less biased. Remember, Wikipedia operates on the Be Bold!!!!! Principle, Sadads (talk) 10:00, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

As a representative of the company in question, I have the following suggestions to begin with (I will make the changes myself now, and you can then edit or erase them, as you please, but I would be greatful if you let me know the motivation why you erase them.) I am only adding factual statements about Samlerhuset, since some of the information there now is both old and unverified. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Suomenmoneta (talk • contribs) 07:49, 15 August 2011 (UTC)

Mr. Emsoy the person behind the web page www.numismatikeren.com have written two books about norwegian coins he have also written several articles. He also holds positions numismatic collectors clubs. He is not a random nobody writing an article about samlerhuset. The business practice of Samlerhuset and their collaborators in Soumen Moneta is well documented by the other links to customer and consumer ombudsmans statements in main stream media. Soumen Moneta wants to hide theese facts. 13:32, 15 August 2011 (UTC) Martinfraenebakk (talk)

To the Wikipedia moderator.

I am a representative of the Samlerhuset Group and I have a comment regarding the utterly one sided and factually wrong article about Samlerhuset Group B.V.

We at Samlerhuset admire and use Wikipedia daily as a source of information on a wide variety of issues. We have come to view it as a reliable source of factual articles and statements. We do not, however, view Wikipedia as a public forum for people who have an negative agenda against a person or a company.

Unfortunately, the individuals behind the article on our company, who claim to be numismatic experts, have had such an agenda against Samlerhuset for a very long time, for reasons which are obscure to us.

We have the greatest respect for numismatic knowledge and work closely together with many truly acclaimed numismatists around the world. We sponsor numismatic events and National museums, to which we have donated valuable numismatic objects in order to increase public knowledge about coins and medals.

The Samlerhuset Group has also worked with Oxford University’s Ashmolean Museum to host an event showcasing English Mediaeval Coinage. As a result of this, the coins known as the `Brussels hoard` went on display at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Norway, the Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova museum in Turku, Finland and at the Ashmolean museum in Oxford in 2004. The research paper concerning the coins was developed by Professor Nicholas Mayhew, Deputy Director of the museum, in collaboration with dr. philos. Svein Gullbekk of Oslo University.

In Poland Samlerhuset currently functions as sponsor/maecenas of the numismatic collection of the National Museum in Warsaw, while Samlerhuset Norway recently donated an exceptionally rare Norwegian medal (there are only 2 known examples of this medal, minted in 1685, left in the world) to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.

We are pleased to accept criticism founded on real events or actual behavior.

However, as much as we welcome public debate, we do not see Wikipedia as a place for one-sided criticism. The question is: should not a more nuanced, balanced, less biased article about the company in English be allowed, an article where at least the factual details are correct and the language is more representative for Wikipedia?

Many of the “facts” about Samlerhuset in this article are purely speculative or downright wrong and therefore it goes against the whole idea of a dictionary as a reliable source of objective information, to permit such statements.

A few examples:

1. “Amsterdam is the legal headquarter due to tax regulations…” This is wrong. The Group headquarters of the company are not in Amsterdam. They are in Almere. This is not for tax reasons, but for reasons of geographical convenience. 2. There are 9 companies in the Group. This is wrong, there are 16.

3. “The company had about 500 employees in 2009…” This information is outdated and wrong. The Samlerhuset turnover for 2010 was 160 million euro and the company had 400 employees.

4. “The company runs aggressive campaigns…” This is a highly emotive, subjective and potentially negative term.

5. “…among them 17 cases with the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman last 5 years and several in Denmark and the UK” This is untrue. Even though there have been some single complaints from a few customers over the years, there have only been 5 real cases upheld with the Norwegian consumer ombudsman and only 1 with the British equivalent since 2007. This is a very good example of how the page is excessively negative on a shaky foundation.

6. “In april 2011 the program TV2 hjelper deg (english translation: TV2 helps you) on norwegian TV channel TV2 had a program about samlerhuset, one elderly man had bought coins and medals for NOK 450.000 (about US$80.000, £52.000) the coins had a value of 80-90.000NOK (US$15-16.000, £9-10.000)[7”

Samlerhuset comments: In the TV-program TV2 hjelper deg it became quite clear that the metal value of the medals and coins were much higher than the value mentioned by the coin dealer, who is actually a competitor to Samlerhuset.

7. “e.g. gold plated coins being presented as gold coins, or mintage presented as lower than it is”. This is not true. Samlerhuset does not sell gold plated coins as gold coins, nor do we present the mintage as being lower than it is. This is a statement without reference or proof.

8. “2005: Norwegian economic magazine "Dine Penger" warns their readers not to buy the samlerhuset products; Samlerhuset complains in an Norwegian court, but loses the case.[9]” This is another example of how the page is excessively negative, leaving out neutral and factual information about the company’s history and development. The paper warned their readers not to buy some of the Samlerhuset medals, not all products. Samlerhuset did not complain to a Norwegian court, but rather to the Norwegian Press Complaints Commission, which came to the conclusion that the newspaper had not breached the press ethical guidelines by publishing the article.

8. The Samlerhuset Timeline. Yet again a striking example of how the page leaves out neutral and factual information about Samlerhuset Group.

9. References number 3 and 6 to numismatikeren.com and to a British coin dealer are totally irrelevant. Numismatikeren.com is a blog site of some people´s opinions on their hobby. It can not be used as a factual reference. The British coin dealer is exactly that: a company which competes with Samlerhuset in the UK. It is not an object of source of fact any more than, for example, one would use Pepsi as a source of factual information on Coke.

Below follows an article where the critical aspects have not been removed, but where the factual details have been corrected. It would be very interesting to hear why this article could not be accepted by Wikipedia:

The Samlerhuset Group is a Norwegian-owned, international mail order company headquartered in Almere. The company sells mainly traditional collectibles such as coins, medals, stamps, banknotes and coin-letters. The Samlerhuset Group has subsidiaries in 16 countries: Norway (Samlerhuset Norge), Sweden (Mynthuset Sverige), Denmark (Mønthuset Danmark), Finland (Nordic Moneta), Poland (Skarbnica Narodowa), Hungary (Magyar Kincstar), Slovakia (Narodna Pokladnica), The Czech Republic (Narodni Pokladnice), Belgium (Het Belgische Munthuis/La Maison de la Monnaie Belge), The Netherlands (Het Nederlandsche Muntenhuis), The United Kingdom (The London Mint Office), Ireland (The Dublin Mint Office), Estonia (Eesti Mündiäri), Latvia (Latvijas Monetu nams), Lithuania (Monetu namai) and China (Samlerhuset Trading, Beijing). The company had 400 employees in 2010 and a turnover of 160 million euro. [1]

Contents

1 An outline of the Business

2 The History of Samlerhuset

3 Samlerhuset Timeline

4 Controversy

5 References

6 External links

An outline of the Business

Samlerhuset´s key business activity is the direct marketing of coins and commemorative medals, and other related collectibles, to national markets. The Samlerhuset Group is the distributor for several national banks and mints around the world and also cooperates with global event organizers such as FIFA and the IOC. Samlerhuset has been awarded contracts for the FIFA World Cup and the Torino Olympic Games in 2006, for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010 and the London Olympic Games in 2012. Samlerhuset is the majority owner of the World Money Fair in Berlin, one of the world’s largest coin focused events, and is also a part owner of the Norwegian Mint, the producer of the Nobel Peace Price and of legal tender coinage for Norway and other countries.

The History of Samlerhuset

Samlerhuset Norway was founded in 1994 and the Samlerhuset Group was established a few years later, when in 2001, Samlerhuset merged with the MDM Group. MDM was active in Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and The United Kingdom. In 2008 Samlerhuset demerged from the MDM Group, and continued to operate in The Netherlands, UK, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Estonia. In 2010 Samlerhuset bought out the Mint of Finland from the joint Venture, which was created ten years earlier. After the buy-out, Samlerhuset took full control of the Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Baltic operations. The same year Samlerhuset was awarded the contract for the London 2012 Official Olympic Ingot & Bar program.

Samlerhuset Timeline

1994: Samlerhuset established in Norway. [2]

1995: First case reported to the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman

1997: Samlerhuset enters Sweden

2000: Samlerhuset creates Joint Venture Company with Mint of Finland, Nordic Moneta

2001: Samlerhuset merges with the MDM Group

2003: Samlerhuset Group awarded contract for FIFA 2006. Samlerhuset acquires 50% of Royal Norwegian Mint (Norwegian Mint AS) and enters Estonia

2004: Samlerhuset Group enters Denmark

2005: Samlerhuset awarded contract for the Torino Olympic games 2006. The Norwegian economic magazine "Dine Penger" encouraged their readers not to buy some of the Samlerhuset medals. Samlerhuset complains to the Norwegian Press Complaints Commission, but the PCC came to the conclusion that the paper had not breached the press ethical guidelines by publishing the article. [3]

2006: Samlerhuset Group enters UK and Poland

2008: Samlerhuset demerges from the MDM Group. Samlerhuset continues with operations in the Netherlands, UK, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Estonia. Samlerhuset also enters China and Latvia

2009: Samlerhuset enters the Czech and Lithuanian markets. Samlerhuset is awarded the contract for the London 2012 Official Olympic Coin Program

2010: Startup in Slovakia and Belgium. Samlerhuset buys out Mint of Finland from Joint Venture and takes full control of Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Baltic operations. The Samlerhuset Group is awarded the contract for the London 2012 Official Olympic Ingot & Bar Program.

2011: Samlerhuset enters Ireland and Hungary

Sponsorship and social responsibility

From 2009 onwards the Samlerhuset Group has sponsored several high profile athletes. Their role is to promote company products and function as company spokespersons in local markets. Athletes sponsored include speed-skater and former world record holder Pekka Koskela, double-sailing world champion Sari Multala, speed walker Jarkko Kinnunen and cross country skiier Sami Jauhojärvi. In 2011 the Dutch branch of Samlerhuset Group sponsored the decathlete Ingmar Vos. In the UK young fencers from the Isle of Man received funding in order to train with Commonwealth fencing veteran, Henry da Silva. From every official Olympic commemorative coin sold by the Group, a certain sum is allocated to the IOC and from there on to the national Olympic committees. The amount paid to the national Olympic committee is based on the number of coins sold in that particular local market. In 2011 Samlerhuset Norway sponsored the erection of the statue honoring Norwegian war hero Max Manus, while the UK operation actively supports the war veteran charity Help for Heroes. In Finland Samlerhuset has raised over 2 million euro in support of the Finnish war veterans.

Controversy

Samlerhuset runs large national advertising campaigns and their sales methods have been criticized by some collectors,[4] magazines[5] and consumer protection authorities in the past. The criticism is about misleading advertisements and customers receiving goods they have not ordered. In April 2011 the program TV2 hjelper deg (English translation: TV2 helps you) on the Norwegian TV channel TV2 aired a program about Samlerhuset Norway. One elderly man had bought coins and medals for NOK 450.000 (about US$80.000). According to a Norwegian coin dealer based in Oslo, however, the coins and medals only had a value of 80-90.000 NOK. (US$15-16.000). In the program Samlerhuset pointed out that the price estimate given by the coin dealer, a competitor of Samlerhuset, was actually lower than the metal-value (not counting the numismatic value) of the silver and gold coins and medals, which was at least 200.000 NOK at the time (US$ 36 000). [7].

References

1.	^ "Samlerhuset AS: 2009 figures for holding company". proff.no. http://www.proff.no/proff/search/companyDetails.c?freeText=proof+holding&bc=&c=976692667&org=976692667. Retrieved 2010-10-06.

2.	^ "Samlerhuset AS: Private Company Information". BusinessWeek. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=2386810. Retrieved 2010-04-27.

3.	^ PFU.no: PFU-sak 054/05

4.	^ Nettavisen: Slår mynt på medaljer

5.	^ Dine Penger 2010: Norwegian Consumer Ombudsmann:"Bad marketing"

6.	^ TV2 hjelper deg 2011: Gert trodde han kjøpte verdifulle mynter"

External links