SAN MARINO COIN SET

San Marino is a tiny, mountainous country completely surrounded by Italy. This five coin set from San Marino includes some attractive designs. The 1995 1 Lire features a young child with an olive branch standing on a broken sword. The 1994 10 and 100 Lire features St. Marino on one side and various stone cutters building San Marino on the other. The 2000 10 Lire portrays a child and a poinsettia with the globe behind. The 20 Lire shows a pair of hands about to grasp. All five coins are Uncirculated.

SCARCE 2009 VATICAN 2 EURO

Because the Vatican is not a Euro member, it is allowed to issue only a very limited number of Euro coins through a pre-existing treaty with Italy. The 2009 Vatican 2 Euro commemorates the International Year of Astronomy. It comes in a special yellow presentation folder.

FIRST MODERN COINS OF DARFUR FEATURE AFRICAN WILDLIFE

The Sultanate of Darfur recently released an attractive set of seven coins that include a bi-metallic, unusual shapes and feature African wildlife. The non-circulating coins are the first modern coins for the embattled sultanate that is engaged tragic war in an attempt to regain independence from Sudan. The Bi-metallic 500 Dinars features the Nile crocodile. The eight-sided 250 Dinars pictures an African elephant. The square 100 Dinars has a leopard. The scalloped edged 50 Dinars shows a hartebeest. The 25 Dinars pictures a camel. An African civet is on the 10 Dinars, and an African wild dog is on the 5 Dinars. All coins are dated 2008 and have an Arabic inscription on the obverse.

AFRICAN WILDLIFE COINS FROM SIERRA LEONE

SIERRA LEONE 2007 AFRICAN WILDIFE COINS: cheetah, elephant, rhinoceros, zebra

SIERRA LEONE 2006 AFRICAN WILDIFE COINS: chimpanzee, impala, camel, lion

SIERRA LEONE 2005 AFRICAN WILDIFE COINS: crocodile, giraffe, mountain gorilla, hippopotamus

Sierra Leone recently released the latest four coins in their annual series of African Wildlife coins. The 2007 coins feature a cheetah, elephant, rhinoceros and a zebra. We also have the first two sets in this series. The 2006 set includes the chimpanzee, impala, camel and a lion. The 2005 set includes the crocodile, giraffe, mountain gorilla and a hippopotamus. Each set contains four beautiful 39mm (silver dollar size) 1 Dollar coins in Brilliant Uncirculated with the animal on the front and the arms of Sierra Leone on the back.

SIERRA LEONE DINOSAUR DOLLARS

Dinosaurs are featured on these four 39mm (silver dollar size) copper-nickel 1 Dollar coins from Sierra Leone. The 2006 dated coins feature the Brontosaurus , Stegosauru, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the Triceratops. All four coins are Brilliant Uncirculated.

MACEDONIA WILDLIFE COIN SET

This attractive four coin set from Macedonia features wildlife. The 1993 50 Deni features a seagull in flight. The 1997 1 Dinar shows a Yugoslavian sheep dog. A leaping trout is on the 2001 2 Denari and a lynx is on the 2001 5 Denari. The reverse of the coins feature the denomination and a 16-ray sun symbol that supposedly was used by Alexander the Great.

WILDLIFE FEATURED ON OBSOLETE COINS OF SLOVENIA

With the introduction of the Euro, Slovenia's attractive wildlife coins are now obsolete and are being withdrawn from circulation. All six of the Tolar denominated coins feature native wildlife. The 10 Stotinov pictures an Olm salamander, an unusual blind aquatic salamander found in the caves of Slovenia. A barn owl is on the 20 Stotinov. A bee is on the 50 Stotinov. The 1 Tolar features salmon, the 2 Tolar shows a swallow in flight, an ibex is on the 5 Tolar, the 10 Tolar shows a horse, the 20 Tolar pictures a stork and a bull is on the 50 Tolar. It is an attractive animal coin set. The coins date from 1992 to 2005 and are Uncirculated.

SLOVENIA EURO COIN SET

In 2007 Slovenia, once the northernmost part of Yugoslavia, became the first of the former east European nations to adopt the Euro as their currency. It replaced the Slovenian Tolar. Because of the expansion of European Union the common side of the Euro coins have been redesigned to show the expanded European Union. The Slovenian Euro coins are the first to use the new design. The national side of the coins highlight Slovenian history culture. The bi-metallic 2 Euro coin features national poet France Prešeren and the first line of the Slovenian national anthem which was written by him. The bi-metallic 1 Euro pictures Primož Trubar, a 16th century Protestant reformer, superintendent of the Protestant Church of Slovenia and the author of the first book printed in Slovenian. Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest mountain and the constellation of cancer is featured on the 50 euro cent coin. Two Lipizzaner horses are on the 20 euro cent coin. The 10 euro cent coin features the "Katedrala Svobode" (Cathedral of Freedom), a national parliament building that has never been built! A man sowing stars and seeds is featured on the 5 euro cent coin. The design is based on Ivan Grohar painting "The Sower". The 2 euro cent shows the Prince's Stone. The stone was the base of an ancient Roman column. It was used to install the medieval prince's of Karatania. A stork is on the 1 euro cent. Every coin has 12 stars around edge interspersed with letters spelling “SLOVENIJA”. The coins are the first of what will be a major expansion of the Euro coin series.

NEW CYPRUS AND MALTA EURO SETS

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In January 2008 Cyprus and Malta, released their first official Euro coins into circulation. Each set includes eight coins. Cyprus chose to place the Mouflon, a native wild sheep, on their 1, 2 and 5 eurocents, an ancient sailing ship on their 10, 20 and 50 eurocent and the ancient Idol of Pomos, a prehistoric fertility sculpture dating from about 3000BC on their bimetallic 1 and 2 Euro coins. The coins have the name of the island in both Greek and Turkish. Malta chose to place the Neolithic Mnajdra temple altar on their 1, 2 and 5 eurocents, the Malta arms on their 10, 20 and 50 eurocents and a Maltese Cross on their bi-metallic 1 and 2 Euro coins. All coins have the common euro design on the reverse and are dated 2008.

MODERN COINS OF THAILAND

This five coin set includes the recent 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 Satang of Thailand. All coins have the King on the obverse. The lower three denominations have the Thai arms supported by two elephants on the reverse. The 25 and 50 Satang show a temple on the reverse.

MYANMAR COIN SET

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was at the time of its independence one of the richest nations in Asia. Due to continued misrule it is now one of the poorest. Its inability to respond to its recent diasterous flooding and its refusal to accept outside aid showed the paranoa and ineptness of the ruling military juanta. Due to continued inflation, Myanmar introduced a new series of coins in 1999. The four coin set included the 5, 10, 50 and 100 Kyats. The coins feature a stylized Burmese lion on one side and the denomination on the other. The coins were struck at the Myanmar mint located in Prome, one of the oldest cities in the country

JAMAICA COIN SET HONORS NATIONAL HEROES

This set includes the six coins Jamaica currently issues for circulation, from 10 Cents to 20 dollars. Jamaican born Marcus Garvey, a vocal advocate of Black Pride in New York City during the 1920s appears on the bimetallic 20 Dollar coin and the copper 25 Cent Blogger: coins and currency - Create Postcoin. The scalloped edged 10 Dollar coin pictures George William Gordon, a 19th century politician who tried to improve the well being of Blacks in Jamaica. Paul Bogle his associate appears on the 10 cent coin. Both were hanged in 1865 for their efforts. Norman Manley appears on the 5 Dollar coin, while Alexander Bustamante is on the seven-sided dollar coin. They both helped Jamaica gain independence. The coins date from 1996 to 2006. The coins are Uncirculated, however may have scratches or nicks due to improper handling at the mint.

HAITI COIN SET HONORS NATIONAL HEROES

Haiti is the world’s oldest Black Republic, having achieved independence from France in 1804. Nearly all of the country’s 5 million inhabitants are descendants from the original 480,000 African Slaves. It has been in the news due to the disastrous earthquake it experienced on January 12, 2010. The five coin set includes the 5, 20 and 50 Centimes, and the multi-sided 1 and 5 Gourdes. Four heroes of Haitian independence are shown on the 5 Gourdes: Toussaint Louveture, Henri Christophe (who constructed the Citadelle Laferriere), Jean Jacques Dessalines and Alexandre Petion. The 1 Gourde shows the famous Citadelle Laferriere, built in the early 1800's at a tremendous cost and loss of life to protect against an expected French invasion that never came. The 50, 20 and 5 Centimes portray Charlemagne Peralte, who led a guerilla movement against the United States occupation of Haiti during World War I. The obverse of each coin features the Haitian arms which includes cannons, guns, flags and a palm tree. The coins date from 1991 to 2003 and are Uncirculated

ATTRACTIVE PANAMA PROOF SETS

These attractive six piece Panama Proof sets include the beautiful 38mm, .900 fine silver 1 Balboa, the 40% silver 1/2 Balboa, the clad 1/4 and 1/10 Balboa, the copper-nickel 5 centavos and the bronze 1 Centavo. The sets date from 1966 to 1972 and are sealed in their original protective pilofilm holder. The 1 Centavo pictures native chief Urraca, who helped Panama gain its independence from Spain in 1821. The top four denominations picture Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the first European to "discover" the Pacific Ocean. The sets have a mintage of less than 24,000.

2 EURO COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Memembers of the Euro started to issue circulating 2 Euro commemorative coins in 2004. The coins have the same specifications as the regular 2 Euro and use the standard 2 Euro design on one side and the commemorative design on the other. They are the only commemorative coins allowed to circulate within all the Euro member nations. Each country may issue a maximum of one national commemorative 2 Euro per year. Some years there is an additional issue when all the Euro members issue a commemorative on the same theme with similar designs. Most countries do not issue coins every year. These bi-metallic coins have become a popular collectible as they are an interesting and affordable series with a wide variety of designs.

SLOVENIA BI-METAL 3 EURO 2010 WORLD BOOK CAPITAL

Slovenia issued this circulating commemorative 2010 bi-metallic 3 Euro coin to commemorate the selection of its capital city, Ljubljana, as the “World Book Capital” in 2010. The designation is an annual title bestowed by UNESCO and major players in the book industry on a city in recognition of the quality of its programs to promote books and reading. The coin is the third in an annual series of bi-metallic 3 Euro coins issued by Slovenia.