A stamp exhibition is an event where collectors showcase their collection (actually, part of it) to the general public and to the judges. The collections are presented according to certain rules of the game, which are designed to facilitate the viewers and create a fair basis for the judging process. Usually such an exhibition is held in a magnificent hall, but this time due to the corona plague, the Israel Philatelic Federation decided to hold a virtual exhibition, for the first time in Israel.

The current exhibition, Netbul 2021, is an Israeli national exhibition, so all the collections displayed in it are by Israeli collectors. The exhibition itself shows only part of the collection: each collector holds many albums in his home. In the display he mainly shows the most interesting items in his collection.

A stamp exhibition is divided into several “wings”, which are different areas of collection. The “Calsi” collection is of country-specific stamps. “Thematic” collection is by topic (e.g., “dogs” or “flowers”), and so on. The current exhibition includes for the first time in Israel a section of “Postcards”, where you can see some interesting collections.

A little about the judging in the exhibition: The judges in the exhibition are senior collectors, who have presented with great success in the past and have been trained to be judges. They operate in accordance with the rules of judgment set by the World Philatelic Federation. The rules of jurisdiction are quite complex and do not go into their details here. Based on these rules the judges give each collection a score and a medal, as well as feedback – comments on how the display can be improved in the future. The exhibitions that receive a high enough score will thus receive the entrance ticket to participate in exhibitions all over the world.