French Revolution: Varieties And Errors

Varieties and Errors In previous articles RALPH ADAM outlined the history of French phonecards and described the features that interest collectors. This month he explains how French collectors categorise different types of card, and describes the main errors and varieties irstly, let me repeat that the cards I am looking at in this series of articles are exclusively the products of France Telecom. These French cards are usually divided into the following categories:

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1- Public These are the cards available from the 45,000 official outlets, such as post offices, tobacconists and telephone shops. In the early days of chip cards there was a clear distinction between definitive and other cards. There have been three well-known series of definitives: 'pyjamas', 'cordons' (telephone flexes: 'Choisissez Votre Heure') and '600 agences' (phone shops: '600 agences partout en France'). All three series have many variations in chip module, printing method, shade or colour, wording on reverse and other details collecting them is a major specialisation and there is a catalogue devoted to these types. Since 1992, definitives have been harder to distinguish: they tend to be large issues publicising France Telecom's services which are reprinted with slight variations. Several definitives are usually

available at anyone time. The other public cards carry shortterm France Telecom information, commercial advertising or details of special events. Some cards are available in certain geographical areas only and print runs for public cards can vary considerably (from 15,000 to four or five million). Public cards are normally available for a limited period after issue from the official bureau, the BNVT. However, there tends to be a particularly high demand for those public cards and varieties with low production runs. An example of how great is this demand was illustrated by a 120 unit card issued in 1995, showing the Eiffel Tower. The card was mainly available from a set of machines outside a post office at the top of the Tower. However, not all the machines there were dispensing the special card. Collectors used all manner of techniques to get this card: some rang the post office, verified that the card was available and paid to go to the top of the tower, only to find that either the machines had sold out by the time they got there or else they put their money in the wrong machines and received the French equivalent of £12 'greenies' ! Other collectors had the

bright idea of giving money to tourists to buy cards on their behalf. Of course, the tourists suspected that the cards were valuable and kept them. Finally, following representations from collectors, a nearby post office was designated to issue the Eiffel Tower cards. This issue should really have been regarded as a private issue as it had, in principle, been available from only a single source which was not accessible to the public. As a result, the card's price rose to well above what it should realistically have been. Out of consideration to collectors who had experienced such difficulties, catalogue publishers agreed to make a dispensation and regard unused machine-vended copies of this card as 'mint'.

2 - Private Since 1991 these cards have been known as 'private/public' as they have been available to all collectors from the BNVT. Some 'private' issues are limited editions of public cards - with minor variations of design or wording. Private cards are mostly promotional, but the rules regarding their issue have changed several times. Almost all private cards issued before 1989 are rare - and many of those that do still exist are in poor condition. A few of the early private cards were made available to the public at specific outlets (eg museums) at special prices. Many cards have been issued sealed in sachets ('blisters'); in those cases where cards have been issued unsealed, mint examples are usually considered as identical to 'excellent used'. In January 1991 France Telecom decided to produce 10,000 extra copies of each private card for sale by the BNVT six months after the original

issue date, at 70F. This figure was reduced to 5,000 in 1993 and it has recently been cut further to 2,000. Current policy is for private cards to be on sale at the BNVT until exhaustion and they have about 1,300 issues available. However, this continued availability makes it hard for dealers and cataloguers to price these issues realistically: value tends, therefore, to depend on theme or appearance. Once exhaustion is achieved, the prices of 'good' cards can rise dramatically. Individuallynumbered, 'personalis ed' cards in folders, with signatures or special overprints are an exception. However, the 'personalisation' does not guarantee value. There must be something extra: a number below 1000, the signature of a TV celebrity or an attractive folder, for instance. It helps, too, if the card is not available from the BNVT.

Common Card? A million produced - but divided into fifty varieties

Prior to 1989, 'internal' cards also existed. These were issued solely for internal or promotional use by France Telecom. As with certain 'private' cards, they were often special editions of public issues.

and Paris tourist sites. On the back was space to write a message and each card also came with an envelope and small insert for a further message. The second series of 'specials' consisted of personal cards - either in the form of a blank which could be printed up as (an expensive) visiting card, or else with a picture and space for a printed message (such as a child's name with home and other phone numbers) on the reverse. These cards retailed at 35 Francs.

3 - Five unit

The Main Varieties

Introduced in 1993 as a cheap advertising or promotional medium with a relatively high minimum order (10,000). These cards were slow to catch on both as a promotional product and as a collectors' item. However, there are now well over a hundred varieties of five unit card and they make an attractive collection in their own right. In 1994 a new development was the introduction of public versions of these cards. A range of 'fun' issues was produced for sale at three Paris outlets, each design having a print run of 6,000. Twenty-six of these 'specials' were produced in two series. The first consisted of greetings phonecards sold at 29 Francs each: Zodiac signs, flowers, birthday greetings, sports scenes

The range of printing techniques and the production policy for French cards mean that there is great scope for the appearance of varieties: variations may be due to a change of manufacturer or to an alteration to one of the many items of information printed on the card. I have already mentioned that the early definitives led to so many varieties that they have their own specialist catalogue. Later cards can be sub-divided by module type, printing method, type of serial number (specialists distinguish varieties by length of number, spacing between digits, typeface and colour: eleven number varieties have been noted so far), date of issue, production run, address of Regie T

this is a source of one of the major types of error. Catalogues use standard forms of coding for module types, layout of control numbers and so on: use of these codes allows collectors to list 'wants' in a very small space.

Major Errors TELECARTE

50UN'TES and so on. All the main varieties are listed in catalogues. The abundance of varieties means that a seeminglycommon card can, in fact, be quite rare.

How to Look for Varieties Last month I summarised the key features of French phone cards. However, the number of different points to look for can be daunting for non-specialists who, as a result, often pay attention to only the picture. But for most purposes, a card can be scanned in a few seconds - especially with the aid of a good catalogue. Obviously, the picture and text on the face are the main item of recognition. Cards with identical visuals can then be divided by face value and module type - and that is often as far as one need go. After that stage it is easy to note the issue date and print run - but do remember to check that the value indicator on the reverse matches that on the front:

In most areas of life, we expect products to be perfect: if we buy a car and find that the engine is missing, we complain vehemently. Yet for stamp and phonecard collectors the opposite applies: it is the items which are badly or wrongly produced that create most of the interest! The production methods and amount of information on French cards lend themselves to the creation of accidental errors. There is not space to go into great detail in an introductory article, but the main types of error to look out for are: 1. Module errors: missing, wrong, misplaced or damaged chip modules 2. Misplaced reverse: the reverse can be inverted or the face may have been matched with the reverse of a different card. It has even been known for a French card to carry the back of a German one: perhaps someone in the factory was anticipating political union!

'Pyjama' with Bull module 3. Printing errors: colour shifts, missing or wrong colours or partially -printed text 4. Missing, partial or inverted serial numbers 5. Missing or misplaced direction arrows 6. Wrong background to the module Some of these errors can be introduced fraudulently. In such cases, the extra value holds only if the card is still in its original 'blister': the present sachet design incorporates security features to prevent tampering. I hope that you have found this brief outline of the types of French cards useful. Next month I shall deal with 'Cinderella' cards, the approach of 1998 and sources of further information.