tabbs

Neat! Hehe, I have to be in Ehrenbreitstein in about four hours ... Christian

Got mail from Finland today (thank you, "Sir" ). And since I am too lazy to get my camera out, this is what it looks like ... http://www.zwei-euro.com/zwei-euro/finnlan...uenze-gross.jpg Christian

Got an African coin today - a new 200 escudos commem from Cabo Verde. African pieces are usually not among what I collect "actively" but, well, I will keep this one :-) The coin commemorates the anniversary of the country's independence ("30 years of independence - 30 years of education for development"). The side with the face value is quite sober; the other side shows people, figures, characters, and even Einstein's famous relativity theory formula ... Christian

Considering that it's a colored (ugh) coin, it is not all that bad. Certainly better than the French "Fairy Tales" series for example. (Said he who will soon buy his next Austrian niobium piece ...) Christian

Don't you already have a phone? Christian

Don't quite think so. That would be a violation of the Monetary Agreement between the EU and the Vatican. ("The Vatican City State undertakes to use the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato and no other establishment to mint its coins as long as this Agreement remains in force.") Christian

The San Marino coin has been issued. A week ago the AASFN sold a couple directly; the rest has been or will be mailed. Here is a picture (not mine) of the folder and the actual coin: What I don't really like is the concept of selling what is supposed to be a "circulating" commem" in folders only, at €12.50 each. But it sure is a neat piece ... Christian

My credit card bill. Boring? No, non noioso affatto, a causa di questa linea ... FILATELICO NUMISMATICA CITTA' DEL VA Christian

Wait until next year. There will be a €5 coin from Austria (10 May), a €10 coin from Germany (5 Jan), and a €50 gold piece from Austria (1 Feb). Christian

Got the French "Jules Verne" quarter today, and also the Belgian €10 coin from the European "60 Years Peace and Freedom" series. To view images (not mine) of the pieces, click the links below. FR "Jules Verne" http://www.honscha.de/bilder/14fr05g.jpg BE "1945-2005" https://ssl.herchermuenzen.de/shopimages/BE00507.jpg The 1/4 euro brass coin is a little cluttered, but its motto is the "Phantastic World of Jules Verne", and they tried to combine elements from various novels. (The silver and gold coins from the Verne series focus on one novel each.) The central motif of the 10 euro coin from Belgium is Phoenix rising from the ashes, with soldiers in the background. Here is a larger image showing that side: https://ssl.herchermuenzen.de/shopimages/gross/BE00507.jpg Christian

Right. For "2s only" notes there are two possibilities, I think: Portugal (M) and Spain (V). But I am not sure about that ... Christian

The coolest serial number I have had on a euro note so far was one that started with "V0000". (Got that €5 bill about four months ago; I participate in EBT, some kind of European Where's George, but don't enter many notes, nor do I check all my notes.) My best find however was a mini-series of three €50 notes with consecutive serial numbers that I got in May. From an ATM and not "in the wild" but still neat. One problem with finding cool numbers on euro notes is that the last digit is not actually part of the serial number but a checksum. So something like Z11111111111 will not be possible. Also, there seems to be a correlation between the printer code and the serial number. On Austrian euro notes for example, the last two elements of the printer code correspond to the first two digits of the serial number. France has a similar system, and I assume others do too ... Christian

The Spanish €12 Don Quijote coin, a 10 kr piece from Denmark with a swan (refers to Andersen's Ugly Duckling), and a 2 zl coin from Poland with a 1 zl coin on one side. That was from the "History of the Zloty" series :-) Christian

Or maybe two, hint hint Now that the mintage has been upped to 2 million coins, it may actually be a little easier to get the pieces ... Christian

No coins but brochures from the Royal Mint (UK) and the Münze Österreich (AT). By the way, next year's niobium piece from Austria will be dedicated to "European Satellite Navigation" and be issued on 1 March ... Christian

Update concerning the date of first issue: 24 October it is. http://www.mint.fi/en/press-releases/1342/ Christian

Neat! That is actually the only year for the grapes type 2 DM coin. (People found it to be too close to the 1 DM piece, size and design wise, so after a few years it was replaced by another type.) Not exactly rare but still worth more than the "mass pieces" that came out later ... Christian

Got nothing today. Niente. Nichts. Nada. Oh wait, today is our national holiday in Germany ;-) Christian

Got back from a great vacation on the Dutch (actually Zeeuws) North Sea. We had mostly gorgeous weather, except for the last two days. (But I like it that way - makes getting back to "real life" easier, hehe.) And I have mail from some great Coin People here. Auction coins from Anton and Tiff, and a neat package from Sir Sisu. Thank you all! (And now, back to unpacking and doing the laundry.) Christian

Right, asking cannot hurt. It is too late, I think, to get the Sede Vacante issues from the UFN. But they may well add new customers to their mailing list, for future issues. Christian

Update - Here are pictures of the folder that the San Marino coin will come in: http://www.2-euro.net/Daten/News/sm05_folder_i_g.jpg http://www.2-euro.net/Daten/News/sm05_folder_v_g.jpg In general I support the concept of "Buy the coin, not the folder". Well, this folder is at least interestingly designed: The coin is dedicated to the World Year of Physics, as I mentioned. Now the folder shows a pendulum, and in the background you see the nave of a cathedral. That refers to Galileo Galilei and the idea of the gravity pendulum. The description says that he got the idea while seeing a swinging chandelier in a cathedral. Not only is the coin placed where one might imagine a round rose window ... the folder actually contains a working pendulum! Yeah, a gimmick alright. But heck, if I cannot get the coin raw anyway, I sure want a plastic pendulum with that. Christian

Yes, I like them too. If you could get me one of the bimetallic pieces, that would be nice :-) Christian

Got this Ukrainian coin from josemartins today: (from one of trantor_3's Projecto Niños auctions) Christian

Yikes, that seller has a bunch of those rolls ... I bought a 2005 set where that €5 coin sits in the middle. (To crack or not to crack, that is the question ) Paid quite a lot for that set, about €30. But since the purchase also supports the national team of handicapped athletes, that was OK by me. Christian

Please note that the rumors I spread here should not be considered official information But two websites dedicated to those €2 commems say it will be issued between 15 and 24 Oct ... We'll see. Christian