A Gift from Oleg in Siberia

I returned from a vacation/road trip last week, and found a surprise waiting for me: An envelope had arrived from the Netherlands with seven coins inside. But who was it from? I do did not know. (But now I do! Update at end of article.)

Over the years I have been contacted many times by collectors around the world who want to help out with the Coin Zoo. This is very satisfying for me, because it shows that what started as a project for myself has become a real resource for other coin collectors. Sometimes, those people even send me a package of coins, like this one.

The problem is, there was no message inside with the coins. I was sure a quick search of my Gmail would remind me (it can be months between an email conversation and a package showing up). But, I could not find anything. Maybe my gmail searching skills are deficient, because I must have communicated my mailing address. 

And what makes this extra-special is that the coins in this gift represent two completely new countries for the Coin Zoo: South Sudan and East Timor. So, to the unknown patron of the Coin Zoo who mailed me these coins from the Netherlands a great big THANK YOU! (Also, please contact me again so I can update this article and the coin entries.)

UPDATE: Yesterday I received an email from Coin Zoo friend "Oleg" from Siberia to let me know that it was him who had sent the coins. Oleg previously sent another set of coins last November through the Netherlands, but I had forgotten about the Netherlands part of the mailing. Now I know, and now I can send out a great big thank you to Oleg!