Coins - Millennium Coin and Currency Set

The United States Mint released a Coin and Currency Set in the year 2000 and titled it "The United States Millennium Coinage and Currency Set."

Now, some believe the year 2000 is the beginning of the third millennium. Others claim that 2000 was the last of the second millennium. The dictionary shows the word "millennium" means a period of 1000 years.

Therefore, people could continue that argument by debating whether the Millennium Coin and Currency Set celebrates the end of the second or the beginning of the third millennium.

Regardless, the US Mint's packaging for the set is certainly celebratory with its imagery of multicolored fireworks recognizing the year's stature. The Mint held this colorful set containing a burnished golden dollar and a silver dollar minted at West Point, New York to a limited edition of 75,000.

The Millennium Coin and Currency Set consists of the outer sleeve, the coin and currency holder and a six page booklet with information about the coins and currency of millennia, in general, and the specific coins and currency in this set. 

The coin and currency holder continues the fireworks theme on a dark background and set off with a royal blue border. 

Click on the picture at left to access the purchase information for the Millennium Coin and Currency set

Opening the holder from right to left, the text begins with "The New Millennium" on the left with the obverse of each of the two coins protected behind plastic on the right. 

The text remembers the voyages of Marco Polo and the historical coinage and currency he found on his travels. What he found in his era would now be considered ancient.

The Mint hints at new changes to our coin and currency in the years to come with the advantages of computers and improved processes. 

On the right, a golden dollar featuring Sacagawea and her infant son and an American Eagle Silver Dollar show off their designs behind their protective covering highlighted prominently by a royal blue background.   

The golden dollars tend to darken over time, however the coin still clearly shows Sacagawea with her infant son asleep on her back and looking over her shoulder. To be special, the US Mint burnished the Sacagawea golden dollar for this distinctive Millennium Coin and Currency Set.

Many collectors and investors consider the American Eagle coin to be one of the most beautiful coins minted by the US Mint. On the obverse, Liberty walks with her right hand outstretched and an olive branch held in her left arm as the sun rises in the east. Normally minted in Philadelphia, the American Eagle Silver Dollar for the Millennium Coin and Currency Set was struck in West Point, New York but does not contain the "W" mint mark.

Click on the picture at left to access the purchase information for the Millennium Coin and Currency set

The coin holder further unfolds to show the reverse of the coins and to reveal the front of the one dollar Federal Reserve Note in its protective cover.

The golden dollar and the silver dollar shine amid the blue background. 

The golden dollar's reverse shows an eagle soaring in flight.

 The reverse of the American Eagle silver dollar includes an adapted version of the eagle on the Great Seal of the United States.

Below the coins, the one dollar Federal Reserve Note is contained in its own separate section. Though the bill is noted as Series 1999, the note came from the first printing in the year 2000 by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Look closely at the serial number.  Notes with the number "2000" in their serial number were specifically pulled for inclusion in this celebratory Millennium Coin and Currency Set.   

The back of the folded closed set shows the reverse of the one dollar Federal Reserve Note behind its clear protection. 

Instead of adding the Certificates of Authenticity separately, the Mint chose to print the certificates on the back of the outer sleeve. On the left, the certifications for the golden Sacagawea dollar and the American Eagle silver dollar are described and signed by Jay W. Johnson, Director of the US Mint. On the right, the certification for the George Washington One Dollar Federal Reserve Note is described and signed by Thomas A. Ferguson, Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Department of Treasury Seals for both organizations are included below their signatures. 

The coins "float" inside their protective covers and can easily rotate. The Mint included an explanatory diagram and note showing how to rearrange the coins when necessary. 

The Mint added even more information in their Millennium Coin and Currency Set Booklet.

Certainly, the US Mint succeeded with the packaging and the coins in the Millennium Coin and Currency Set to celebrate a new beginning of years starting with "2." 

Click on the picture at left to access the purchase information for the Millennium Coin and Currency set