The Hungarian Philatelic Company was founded by the Minister of Transport and Postal Affairs with effect from 1 May 1950. (From the outset, the company used the name Philatelia Hungarica internationally.)
Operations began at what is now Oktogon Square with 17 employees. The initial stock came partly from the inventory of the Hungarian Post Stamp Office, which was closed at the same time (Hungarian sets and souvenir sheets), and partly from stamps seized from private stamp dealers who had been nationalised. The great majority of the first employees also came from these two sources.
From 1958 onwards, the company gradually occupied the Post Office building at 24 Sas Street in Budapest. In 1999 it moved to Gyömrői Road in the capital, and in 2008 to its present headquarters in Cserkesz Street, Budapest.
Thanks to the excellent specialists who had been with the company from the beginning, as well as its fruitful cooperation with the Post Office, the company developed rapidly. At its peak in 1979, its 240–250 employees generated annual revenue of 5 million US dollars and profits that were outstanding even on a national scale. Its main source of revenue was the import and export of new stamp issues, followed by the production and distribution of stamp packets and assortments. From 1958, it represented the stamps of the Mongolian Post worldwide for 25 years, and for many years it also participated in the printing of Lithuanian stamp issues and those of several other countries.
In the 1990s, the political transition—together with the rapid worldwide decline in demand—created entirely new circumstances and requirements. Instead of selling new stamp issues, the production and distribution of stamp assortments gradually became the company’s principal activity.
Since its privatisation in 1992, the company has operated under the name Philatelia Hungarica Kft. both in Hungary and abroad.
Since 2005, it has served stamp collectors as a member of the Danish NORDFRIM Group, which has a similar business profile. Its main activity is storing and processing Hungarian and foreign stamp issues, primarily for the group, international wholesalers and postal administrations, according to a wide variety of requirements. It has published “The Catalogue of Hungarian Stamps” since the first edition appeared in 1951.
Its specialist retail shop welcomes collectors and other interested visitors with stamp packets and accessories for stamp and coin collecting: