RARE 1999 Australia LUNAR SERIES 1 Year of Rabbit 3-coin Proof Set w/COA #500

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This is a ra re set. It was the very first year of issue for Perth Mint's highly popular Lunar Se ries coins, which is now int o its second run. The first run began with 1999's Year of the Rabbit and ended with 2010's Year of the Tiger. This set is the Series One three-coin Proof Set. It has the 2 ounce. 1 ounce and 1/2 ounce proofs. Of 1,000 sets authorized to be produced, only 487 were sold, according to Perth Mint's own mintage figures. The others are presumed to have been melted down for the silver to be used for fut ure issues . It seems apparent that a particular buyer could request a particular set number, explaining this set's number being higher than the actual number of sets sold. Withou t question, low-numbered items of any limited-edition are very sought after, but an e ven, round number 500 would be desirable to own. This set's Certificate of Authenticity shows it to be set #500, and a small sticker on the outside of the red cardboard protective sleeve has this matching number, hand written. This set is rarely seen on eBay. I have not seen one sold here in over a year. Sin gle coins do come up occasionally, but not the Proof Set. And, the proof coins are not to be confused with the uncirculated versions, which have much higher mintages. To give you just one example, let's look at the 2 ounce coin. You can find numerous examples of the complete 12-coin uncirculate d set 1999-2010 being sold here in the $1,000 range. Those sets had to be put together a coin at a time, one from each year of issue. For the first year 1999 , the 2 ounce uncirculated coin ha d an unlimited maximum min ta ge and actual declared mintage of 12,869. That is quite low. In contrast, the 2 ounce Proof had a maxim um mintage of 2,500 (1,000 to be sold individually, 1,000 to be included in the 3-pie ce sets like this one, 500 to be included in a 5-piece set). Actual decla red mintage was 1 ,040 - (424,487,129). The mintages on the 1 o unce (4,000 maximum, 2,106 declared) and 1/2 ounce (6 ,500 maximum, 1,697 declared) are also very small. In 1999, 63,644 uncirculated 1 ounce and 1 6,913 of the uncirculated 1/2 ounce were issued. Condition of the coins is as perfect as you can get without being certified perfect by the grading companies. The coins are en cased in the capsules of issue and housed in a soft, velvet-like red display box, which comes in the aforementioned red cardboard outer sleeve. The sleeve shows some shelf wear. As Perth Mint products continue to grow in popularity, especially the Lunar coins, the desirability of this set will only continue to go up. It is the first in the Proof series and one may collectors will need to complete their run. One more thing - I'm sure many of you, when you read these ads detailing all the great things about an item, surely must be wondering why, if it 's so great, d on't the se sellers keep it themselves, and if they aren't, they must be overpricing it. In my case, being a collector, I can't keep everything I come across, as much as I'd like to. I search for things I like with an eye toward making a profit to put toward that which I really, really want to keep. I picked this set up for a decent price some time ago and have decided to part with it now to help pay for a really great vintage set of 100 year old baseball tobacco cards. My listed price is what one expert I consulted with told me was in the range of what the set is worth in the market at this time, but I am open to reasonable offers. If you live in New York, I must collect 8% sales tax, or receive a completed, valid exemption certificate prior to shipping. read more

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