On 27 November 1997 a significant Catan achievement was recognised in the Austrian city of Wien (Vienna).
At a Gala organised by Kosmos, they celebrated the one millionth copy of Catan! In only a few years Catan had been a huge success. As well as the Kosmos representatives, Klaus Teuber was also invited to attend.
To recognise this milestone Kosmos made a 200,000 schilling donation (around 15,000 euros today) to the Ethiopian aid organisation "People for People." There is a report on this Gala and the donation in the Catan newsletter 1998/1 (p8), along with an explanation of how "People for People" provides it services.
So why, as a collector, do I think this Gala is worth reporting now?
The answer is because a rare and unusual memento of that Gala has recently been found by a collector in Austria.
He has an unpunched Catan game, that is not only signed by Klaus Teuber, it is dated the day of the gala, and it also has the number 1,000,000 written in large letters across the box.
After looking into the box and details, I am relaxed with the authenticity of the signature and writing, but what I am unsure of is whether this was a unique one-off item or if many boxes may have been signed at the event.
My uncertainty over this being the actual 1,000,000th box comes from the logo. By November 1997, Kosmos had moved to using the new blue logo on sets, so personally I think it is more likely that someone asked for the set to be signed. If this is the case, or if Kosmos gave some signed copies away, then there may have been others also auographed, dated and numbered in a similar manner.
This said, even if this signed set were one of a dozen or so boxes, it is still an amazing find. For me, it is without doubt the only box I have ever seen signed and with the hand-written 1,000,000 on the front. And apart from the reference to the gala and donation in the newsletter, I can find no records of this milestone event online.
As such I think this box is an incredible find. It is also possibly a unique memento of this significant milestone in Catan's sales history.
While I would love to have this set myself, I am equally happy that it has been found. I am excited that this rare game will now sit in a Catan collection and will be preserved for the future.
The history of this great game deserves to be remembered, recorded and protected.
