Gift from the FAO of the UN
Today was a red-letter day for the Coin Zoo. I was at work sitting at my desk when an envelope arrived from Rome.
Being in Barrie, Ontario, Canada (population 125,000), that can be quite exciting. I noticed that the return address indicated it was from the FAO of the UN. I cut the package open and slid out the contents which brought a huge smile to my face.
Backtrack ten days, to 28 May, 2007. My Coin Zoo guest book was signed by a Mr. Harold Angel who left an fao.org email address and an offer of some coins from my seeking list. I contacted Harold and sent him my mailing address, and now ten days later I have this wonderful package in my hands.
Inside was a nice hand-written card, along with an FAO 'Coins of the World' folder containing ten beautiful animal coins. A small wax envelope containing an FAO Junior Coin Collector pin was attached to the corner. Well, I may not quite be in the 'junior' phase, but I sure loved it!
I had fun showing off this treasure during the day and later to my family. I am particularly pleased with two of the pieces, both from San Marino. In this part of the world San Marino coins are hard to come by. All the coins in the package are beauties and I thank Harold for taking the time to look through my seeking list and to put this together for me. I also applaud the FAO for their efforts, for, until seeing this, I did not realize they had a junior collector program like this.
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations was founded in 1945 and leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, the FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. The FAO is also a source of knowledge and information.
The Coin Zoo has several FAO coins on display, and more to come. To see them all, just click on the 'FAO' link in the 'Quick Collections' box on the right.
For more information on the FAO and their important work, please visit their web site.
Thank you Harold!
