Some time ago (Issue #10, to be exact), I told the story of my quest for Year 2000 (or Millennium) mint sets. This started innocently enough with a trip to visit family (in laws) in Australia at the start of 2000. Little did I know…

    Now, 3 years later, I continue to seek these (sometimes elusive) sets. My collection now represents 59 different countries on five continents. Believe it or not, I have no coins from ANY South American country. I am beginning to think they do not make or market "Mint" sets. Although my original goal was to obtain "official issue" sets of the various countries, I have had to purchase third party uncirculated sets for several, because of availability.

    So far, my collection represents these countries:

    I've never been a world coin collector, so this has been quite an adventure! Space obviously doesn't allow pictures of this entire series, but I will be happy to send scans of any set or sets to a member for review. Ray has graciously allowed me to include a few pictures, so I've picked out some that I find most interesting. All pictures show (l to r) the package, obverse coins, reverse coins.

    What started it all: Australia - Purchased in January, 2000 while my wife and I enjoyed a holiday "down under", at a Post Office (in Brisbane) of all places. What a neat idea. Why can't WE buy coins at the Post Office??

    Most beautiful coins: Hard to choose, but here are my two favorites.

    Mexico - Seven coins, ranging from 10c to $10. Four of the coins are bimetallic. The obverse shows the eagle and serpent, common to all coins; each reverse depicts a different part of an ancient (Aztec or Mayan, not sure which) calendar, which is illustrated on the face of the package.

    France - Say what you will about the French, but they make some beautiful coins. A 10-coin set (second largest), 1 centime to 20 Francs (the 10 and 20F are bimetals) in BU, but they look proof-like. The 20F is a ring AND plug bimetal. Really neat!

    Most beautiful packaging: This is another toughie, because so many of them are gorgeous. Many, many countries put the US to shame. Here are two of my favorites

    Norway - Slipcase and coin holder have scenes of Norwegian landscape in winter. Note the picture on the back of the slipcase (bottom right). If you're Norwegian, you have to like fish!

    Lithuania - Photos of insects trapped in amber. Maybe they are doing some "Jurassic Park" research. (The coins are nice, too.)

    Most artistic packaging: Singapore -The envelope is Chinese red with hot stamped gold foil printing. The coins are housed in a cardboard holder illustrated with a full color dragon and gold stamping.

    Most unusual: Somalia - 12 coins depicting the years of the Chinese zodiac (animals). Nothing very fancy, but an interesting theme. With twelve coins, this is also the largest set (not counting the US, with the state quarters).

    Smallest set: Qatar - Two coins, 25 dirhams and 50 dirhams, about the size of our quarter and nickel.

    Most unique: Would you believe Snoopy? Yes, the island of Nuie issued a commemorative coin to honor 50 years of Peanuts (Charles Schulz), portraying Snoopy, his doghouse, and Woodstock. Cute! I guess, to be politically correct, they couldn't use the "Red Baron" with Queenie on the other side. Where is Nuie, you say? It is a small (about 1½ times the size of Washington, DC) tropical island in the South Pacific, east of Tonga

    Most historically significant: Greece - With the advent of the Euro, the Greek Drachma has disappeared. The drachma is thought to be the oldest coin in use, dating from before Christ. The designs on these coins are an interesting mix of ancient and modern images.

    Most obscure country: Transnistria (Trans-WHICH-nia?) - A Soviet Republic located between Moldova and the Ukraine, about the size of Rhode Island. And, yes, they have their own coinage! Small country, small coins.

    Hardest to obtain (so far): A tossup between Japan and Mexico. Both of these were found on eBay. I missed each one twice, and finally stayed up until 12:30AM (for Japan) and 2:00AM (for Mexico) to snipe them the third time around. I waited over three months between the second and third appearance of the Mexico set. The Japan set (below) is housed in a plastic case like our proof sets. The diamond shaped piece in the center is a medal, not a coin.

    So, there you have my latest obsession. For the "investors" among us, I haven't the slightest idea how I would ever value these sets. But, I do know it has been a fun and rewarding adventure to find and obtain these coins. To see the variations in design and artistry from country to country is absolutely fascinating. And, isn't "fascination" what this hobby is all about? I have square coins, holed coins (intentionally), coins of many metals and alloys, and more bimetals than I ever dreamed existed.

    I understand now why so many of us are begging for coin redesign. The US Mint efforts on our circulating coinage pale in comparison to some of these sets. Not only that, I would probably never have known there was a country called "Transnistria". Now, if could just find some sets from South America…