George Roll Breifmaken GMBH started as a one-man-company in the new issue stamp business many decades ago and up until one year ago the company was one of the most important philatelic agencies and wholesale philatelic companies in the German speaking countries in Europe, Swiss and the Benelux market.

The company represented over 50 Postal Administrations and had a contract with German Post for representation at major philatelic exhibitions worldwide. All of a sudden and without anyone expecting it, the prestigious company went into liquidation and according to credible sources in the industry, several Postal Administrations have been left with considerable unpaid debts.

The worldwide philatelic press has not said much about the matter.

Why the silence? Did the economic crisis affect their business? What happened to the customers of George Roll?

Their website still seems to be live but if you try and communicate with the company by phone there is no answer.

Although we might never know what really happened to a company with a 50 year track record, thankfully German Philatelic companies such as Philgentur and Sieger are still there to provide an efficient and reliable service to the many thousands German collectors for many years to come.

(History of the company Georg Roll Briefmarken GmbH according to their website )

1956 Mr Georg Roll establishes his wholesale for the Im- and Export of new issue stamps in Munich at that time a difficult business, because the procurement of stamps from exotic countries was not easy, it almost seems to be an adventure.

1971 Jürgen Schneider brings the company (Georg Roll Nachfolger) to Brake to the Northern part of Germany near the North Coast and develops the idea in a determined way. The dealers in the German speaking countries of Europe get their material for very reasonable price of new issues from all around the world.

1978 The company gets the agency for Portugal Post, the first stamps agency, to which many agencies for representation in the last 10 years will follow. Today approximately 50 postal administrations are represented by Georg Roll as an official agent in the German speaking Europe. Therefore the company is particularly efficient with the products of these countries.

1994 Georg Roll takes the Swiss agency Philart to the entrepreneurial group.

1998 – 2000 Trading under the name as Georg Roll Briefmarken GmbH the company is a subsidiary company of the well-known Bundesdruckerei in Berlin.

2001 Mr. Jürgen Schneider and his son Tomke Schneider acquire all shares for 100 % in the company and buy the company back in a management-buy-out. With a staff of 35 employees is the company the leading specialized German new issue dealer. 2002 Georg Roll Briefmarken GmbH takes over of the database of the dealer customer of the leading Dutch company Visser for new issues in Dordrecht. Herewith the company Georg Roll Briefmarken GmbH covers also the Benelux market with new issues.

published June 7th, 2010