s of mid 1995, there are more than five million phonecard collectors worldwide. Naturally, their collections vary in many ways such as size, content, arrangement, countries of origin, degree of rarity, stories behind specific acquisitions, manner in which thc cards are stored, and so on. Probably every country has its better known collectors, some of whom have built splendid collections and have highly sought after cards in them. There must be many such nationally renowned individuals throughout the world.
In any such group, tbere is often one person who stands apart, someone wbose contributions are universally recognised and who is widely seen as the X's X. For example, rock musicians often refer to either Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix as the guitarist's guitarist; playwrights commonly identify Shakespeare as the playwright's playwright and artists generally view Picasso or Rembrandt or Michaelangelo as the artist's artist.
In the hobby of phonecard collecting or telegery, collectors and dealers who have been around the international scene for a while all know the names of a number of collectors which have become well known in such circles. But for nearly everyone there emerges one name which cuts across all national boundaries in terms of the uniqueness of his collection, the renown of his method of collecting, and his specialness as a person. He is the widely acknowledged number one collector in the world of phonecards - Mr Alex Rendon from Long Island, New York. He is the phonecard collector's collector!
I first made contact with Alex about four years ago and since then have meet him in person on two occasions, once in San Francisco and once in Amsterdam. We have also, of course, spoken on the phone over the years. When you first talk with him, far and away the quality about him which immediately strike you is his voice. It is sonorous, deep, riveting, captivating, a marvellous sound. But this measured and intelligent voice is just one impressive feature of an amazing human being.
The voice comes across with a detectable accent. In fact, it is a mixture of accents which tell the discriminating ear that Alex speaks both English and Spanish fluently. Additional investigation reveals that this man is also conversant in French and Italian. Furthermore, he can get by in German and several other languages at a reading level. Alex was born in 1940 in Milan, Italy, son of a Polish mother and a Colombian father, a civil engineer. Alex has one sister and two brothers. With such an international background, there emanates a cosmopolitan air not only in his speaking but in his general manner and dress. Although at first be may appear to be quiet or shy, Alex is neither of these. He truly is an active man of the world and a very popular one at that.
As a youngster Alex grew up in Colombia, South America. In his high school years he was involved in several sports - track and field, cycling, and roller skating. After completing his University studies, he came to the United States in 1961 where he has lived ever since. Until 1970 he worked as a mechanical engineer.
As is true for so many collectors in any field, Alex began collecting when he was young. At the early age of eight, with encouragement and active help and guidance from his parents (who were not collectors themselves) Alex began with postage stamps and with color pictures which were available as an add-on to chocolate candy bars. His interest in stamps prevails to this day although the collecting of chocolate bar accompaniments has somewhat taken a back seat to both philately and his more recent involvement with telegery. He is world renowned as an expert on the subject of stamps and since 1970 has been regularly consulted professionally to assess and appraise the authenticity and/or value of specific world-class stamps or major collections.
Many phonecard collectors have entered the door to telegery through stamp collecting, as our research has shown, and Alex is no exception. In fact, the pivotal moment for him actually took place in the well known Stanley Gibbons stamp shop in London in October, 1988. As Alex and his wife Maureen were browsing through philatelic catalogues, Maureen called his attention to the Hiscocks world catalogue. He relates that he began to page through the catalogue, the world's first, and that this particular moment in the shop was the one at which he became intrigued with the possibility that phonecards would be a wondetfull pursuit for him. As he said to me, "From that moment, the rest is history!"
Alex relates the story that, previously in his travels, he had briefly seen a few phonecards. In September, 1988, one month before that day in Stanley Gibbons', he had been walking through Milan airport and had seen on display most of the first edition Italian phonecards (now prohibitively expensive for most of the world's collectors) all for sale at a reasonable cost since the hobby had not yet become
established. Unfortunately, he had not yet been bitten by the telegeric bug so he passed by the chance to purchase them at this low figure, not foreseeing his soon-to-emerge interest in phonecards or the value that those cards would ultimately reach. It was another four years and many explorations later before Alex reached the milestone that allowed him to state that he had acquired all of those particular cards which he had seen in the airport showcase.
Three months after purchasing the Hiscocks book on that October day in 1988 Alex returned to London on business and actually spent some time going around London picking up as many phonecards as he could in local phonebooths. This was his
initiation into his now long-standing interest in this hobby.
The first phonecard that he ever collected was the 20-unit, second issue, definitive green phonecard (pre-notched type) from British Telecom (Hiscocks D8). His favourite card is the first phonecard that was publicly sold as a debit card, the one commonly referred to as numero uno' in the collecting world, which was issued in Italy in early 1976. In fact, there are 11 variations of this initial card and Alex has all of them. He considers this set his most treasured phonecard'. A close second is his copy of the card issued by the Frantel Windsor Hotel in 1978, of which there exist only two, his and one other.
The single phonecard that Alex most desires and, does not yet have, is one of the two early Saudi Arabian optical phonecards which Alex knows all about but has so far never been able to locate. The most unusual phonecard that Alex believes he has in his collection is what is called the Russian 'Exiton' card. There are many major color and printing variations to this card and it is one of the thickest cards ever produced. Next to this card as a most unusual phonecard in his collection is the odd-sized Russian cardboard phonecard which also has a number of significant variations in color and printing.
For many of us, collecting phonecards is a wonderful and fulfilling hobby. For Alex, it is almost a full-time activity and this is exactly
how he describes it. Whenever the conversation turns to the subject of phonecards, it is immediately evident how much he enjoys collecting and what great delight and fun he has doing so. Pressed further, he tells how there are really several ingredients. One is the great variability and flexibility in the make-up of phonecards. In this regard, what specifically appeals to him is that you can collect on the basis of these many variations, anywhere in the world and in any price bracket that you wish. He enjoys locating the many different versions of cards from highly technical differences, such as control numbers or notches or errors, to more mundane differences such as printing changes in card color.
These different considerations together play a major role for Alex in his collecting but what is most important to him and comes across as his main driving force is what we commonly call 'the hunt' or 'the chase' to locate cards. He points out that, with stamps and coins, a collector can obtain almost any collectible desired from anywhere in the world using the help of any number of global collectors and dealers. But phonecards arc still such a young hobby that it is often difficult, if not impossible, for the existing dealers around the world to obtain the major specialities and rarities that Alex Rendon seeks so fervently. The net effect is that he has to locate them himself. This need leads to his regular international travel and unrelenting pursuit of certain phonecards and is the central aspect of the chase that so characterizes Alex's phonecard collecting.
Given the depth and longevity of his involvement with phonecards and the contacts that he has with global telecoms, manufacturers, dealers, and collectors, one might think that Alex would by now have been involved somehow in the creation of a phonecard or two. Yet the reality is that he never has. Nonetheless, Alex feels that were he to do so it would perhaps be some kind of 2 x 3-card or 2 x 4-card puzzle since this format appeals to him.
Alex particularly enjoys Disney and Warner Brothers' films and is very much a
reader, primarily of history and detective or spionage books. Although he often spends time with easy listening music, his leaning is more towards opera. He sees his most characteristic quality to be tenacity, the aninterrupted, strong and persistent sticking with something all the way to completion. His general philosophy of life is to do what is comfortable and makes you happy and keeps you healthy. When asked about what living person he most admires, rather than name a single human being he reflects and talks about how very much he admires scientists as a group. And, finally, asked what he would like most to see as the epitaph on his tombstone, Alex unhesitatingly replies 'He accomplished most of what he set out to do.'
We have now come to see some elements of what makes one of the world's leading phonecard collectors. Alex is a most interesting man to spend time with, fascinating to listen to, and delightftil to talk with on any subject. Perhaps some readers of ITC will take the opportunity to meet him and talk with him at the next major international event which Alex will be visiting which is CardEx 95 in Maastricht, Netherlands, in September. It would be well worth your while to watch out for this easily approachable man and introduce yourself particularly if you talk with him about the 'behind the scenes' comings and goings of phonecards. He much prefers to talk along these lines than to explore how many cards he has in his collection. That is one of his least
concerns and is not really why he collects at all. Whatever else takes place in any conversation you may have with Alex Rendon, it is most likely that you will walk away feeling 'What a fascinating person!'
Article lifted from International Telephonecard magazine, July 1995
Dr Gary S Felton
10780 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 450
Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
Interview with Alex Rendon
A
s of mid 1995, there are more than five million phonecard collectors worldwide. Naturally, their collections vary in many ways such as size, content, arrangement, countries of origin, degree of rarity, stories behind specific acquisitions, manner in which thc cards are stored, and so on. Probably every country has its better known collectors, some of whom have built splendid collections and have highly sought after cards in them. There must be many such nationally renowned individuals throughout the world.
