What is the name of a collector of champagne capsules?

What is placomusophilia?

Placomusophily is the art of collecting snout plates. These are the small circular metal plates found on bottles of champagne, sparkling wine and even cider. The snout, often referred to as a ‘champagne cork’, is personalised by the champagne house, which makes the collection particularly interesting.

The history of placomusophily

We have to go back to the 19th century to discover the origin of champagne capsules. The date of 5 July 1844 is a pivotal moment in the history of placomusophily: on that day, Adolf Jaxson filed a patent application with the Ministry of Agriculture. He was working for the family business, Jacquesson & Fils, and was constantly seeking to improve champagne-making techniques. Consequently, he invented the muzzle plate – a capsule that enhanced the watertight seal of the cork. The muzzle would no longer pop out of the cork of a champagne bottle. Today, manufacturers personalise these capsules, which can also be used as an advertising medium. Who are placomusophiles and what do they collect? Placomusophiles are adults or children who wish to collect these muzzle plates. Like stamp collectors, or those who collect banknotes, coins and even postcards, the vast majority of placomusophiles are on the hunt for rare gems – old pieces to add to their collections, and rare and precious champagne glasses. Champagne capsules are the most famous and valuable. However, many bottles of fizzy drinks also have such caps. This is the case with bottled cider, sparkling wine or wine. Placomusophilia has no rules: the important thing is to have fun, whether it’s collecting champagne caps or beer caps.

How do I collect bottle caps?

Caps are collectable items, much like stamps. They have become small works of art, some of which are highly sought after. There are more than 30,000 different caps: how do placomusophiles organise their collections? Here again, collectors follow their own instincts and do not adhere to any set rules. For example, some specialise in the capsules from a particular champagne house. You might also choose to focus on a specific era, region or country. There is a wide variety of capsules, some featuring illustrations. In that case, why not collect snout plates whilst focusing on themes such as nature or champagne houses?

Some tips for getting started with placomusophily

Are you interested in placomusophily and want to start a collection? The first step is to acquire your first muzzle plate. As well as browsing online shops or garage sales, don’t forget to tell your friends and family that you’re starting to collect. That way, your friends and family will be able to keep an eye out for champagne capsules or other sparkling drinks! Also remember the reference for placomusophiles: the comprehensive catalogue of champagne capsules – the Lambert catalogue 2016

Store and organise your capsule collection properly

To display, sort and store your capsule collection, there is a variety of binders, display cases and other boxes available to showcase your precious sparkling wine capsules. Organisation is key: consider regularly categorising your acquisitions according to your favourite themes. Finally, you can store the muzzle plate in a dedicated binder or photo album. Your capsule collection will be perfectly protected.

What do you call a champagne bottle cap collector?

Collectors of rare objects share a common passion. There are many items to collect, such as stamps, playing cards, banknotes and champagne bottle caps. Some people with this interest focus on the art of collecting bottle caps, which is known as placomusophilia.

People with placomusophilia derive sexual pleasure from plastic. There are two types of placomusophilia: tactile and visual. People with this paraphilia tend to feel the urge to rub, touch or caress plastic in some way, or to look at it. They may also combine these two urges, looking at the plastic whilst touching it, or smelling it whilst looking at it.

Champagne, beer and sparkling wine all have bottle caps on top of the bottle. Some people collect these metallic, spherical objects. This is known as placomusophilia. People who like champagne-coloured bottle caps are called placomusophiles. These are the most commonly collected bottle caps.

There are no rules to the art of collecting muzzle plates. The placomusophile will search for the muzzle plates in specialist magazines or on the internet. He will appreciate the appearance and value of the muzzle plates, and then add them to his collection. Some third-party suppliers also sell muzzle plates. The older and rarer the muzzle plate, the more money it is worth. The owner may choose to store the muzzle plate in a display case, in an album or in drawers.
The history of placomusophily began on a small scale but has grown over time.

On 5 July 1844, Adolphe Jacquesson filed a patent for an improved champagne capsule with the French Ministry of Agriculture. His invention created a secure seal between the metal plate and the cork, using twisted wire to hold the metal plate in place.

Originally, all bottles of Champagne had a cap labelled on the outside with the brand name. Since then, each champagne producer has customised their capsules so that their brand is recognisable. This is when the collection of champagne capsules began and people started to be known as placomusophiles. Originally, the term was used only by Claude Mailliard in Vertus in the 1980s. Every year on 11 November, champagne capsule collectors exchange their collected capsules in Vertus. This began in the 1990s and continues to this day.
The champagne bottle cap collection

There are more than 30,000 different caps on the market today. Each colour variation represents a new vintage, much to the delight of collectors. Placomusophily was born, and a wide variety of capsules have been available ever since. Some capsules are made exclusively for collectors. They are given names that are easy to remember.

Some people enjoy collecting capsules, whilst others prefer to collect different types of capsules. Another group of placomusophiles are avid collectors who seek out rare items and organise their collections around a theme. Placomusophiles may focus on collecting capsules from a single producer. Their search may take longer and the capsules are likely to be more expensive. They use the Placomusophile’s Bible to find the items they are collecting.
The collection of capsules is organised in a specific way.

Keeping champagne capsules for a long time is important for collectors, so they have to look after them carefully. Collectors can organise the capsules into:

The theme can be anything (celebrities, animals, vines, ridges, etc.).
Champagne brands and houses are arranged in alphabetical order.
The colours of the capsules can be black, brown, red or purple.
The material used to make the product.
How the product is made.

The machine can also classify champagnes by their vintage or the shape of the bottle caps.
What do you need to bear in mind when grouping bottles of champagne?

When storing the capsules, it is important to sort them into groups so that they can be found easily, if you collect several capsules.
A binder is used to hold the capsules together.

Collectors appreciate the large capacity of this storage unit. They can store 250, 300 or even 400 capsules inside the cabinet. The dividers in the binder help keep the capsules in place. This filing cabinet is great because if you collect more items, you can add more dividers. It can also be moved around the office easily.
Briefcase

Champagne capsule carrying cases have a lock to protect your product from theft and a handle for carrying the case. Inside are plastic dividers to hold the capsules.
The display was presented in a glass case.

Some people like to show off their precious collection of champagne bottles in the display case. The showcase consists of a glass lid resting on velvet platforms, where the bottles are stored.

It is an elegant box with a large capacity, so you can easily store a large number of champagne capsules in it. This box also serves as a decorative feature and can add character to a room.

The capsules are carried in a box comprising several velvet platforms. The boxes can be stacked and are covered with a protective film to keep the capsules safe.

More and more people are becoming collectors of champagne capsules. Enthusiasts of places and spaces invest time in finding special capsules to complete their collection, whether they are beginners or experienced collectors.