About Me
Welcome to the Turulbélyeg site! I am László Bartha – the creator, developer, and long-time fan of the Turul series. I also work as a programmer; I started programming in 1988, and I have been developing web systems since 2008. This is where the name B74 comes from, as I was born in '74. This website has been a long-standing idea of mine, but it is only now that I felt the time was right to bring it to life.
I have been collecting stamps since I was 12 years old, back from an era when we managed trades by mail, through newspaper classifieds, or at personal meetups. The internet was not yet part of a collector's daily life back then, so every new piece had its own unique story – a correspondence, a stamp fair, a lucky encounter.
My collecting areas include: Hungarian series (plus fiscal and postage due stamps), foreign wildlife series – with a special emphasis on mushrooms, as I am very fond of mushrooms too (I also develop the milyengombaez.hu site). Additionally, I collect unaddressed Hungarian FDCs with unique postmarks, and I have also started separately sorting stamps that do not feature a face value.
The world has changed a lot over the past 30-40 years, but my enthusiasm for stamps has remained the same. The Turul series is particularly close to my heart: due to its historical significance, diverse printing methods, and countless rare varieties, it remains one of the most exciting areas of Hungarian philately. Enthusiasts of the "Krajcár" (Kreuzer) issues might see this differently, and of course, they are right too, as the pre-1900 period is another highly colorful collecting field.
I created this site so that collectors – whether beginners or advanced – can browse, compare, and discuss the world of Turul stamps on a clean, ad-free, community platform. My goal is to establish a database and community space where everyone can find information of value to them, and where the joy of collecting becomes a shared experience once again. After all, the value of stamps increases in direct proportion to our knowledge about them.
As a programmer, it was only natural for me to dedicate a custom website to this hobby of mine as well. I hope you find the site useful and that I can offer you plenty of help through it. Be sure to follow me on YouTube and TikTok too, if you would like to see my videos first-hand.
Respectfully yours, László Bartha
Budapest, December 14, 2025.