A mint that has been working since 1158 striking a currency only months old: this 8-coin euro set of 2002 with mint mark D comes from the Bavarian Central Mint in Munich. On 1 January 2002 euro cash replaced the German mark, and this set records the very first year of the new money.

Three German motifs share the eight denominations. The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins bear Professor Rolf Lederbogen’s oak twig, reminiscent of the pfennig. The 10, 20 and 50 cent coins show Reinhard Heinsdorff’s Brandenburg Gate, symbol of Germany’s division and reunification. The €1 and €2 carry the eagle, emblem of the country’s sovereignty, among the stars of Europe, by Heinz Hoyer and Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer.

The Munich mint received the letter D in 1871, after the founding of the German Empire, and still uses it today. On the common side of the 10 cent to €2 coins in this set is the map of the European Union before the 2004 enlargement, and the €2 edge carries the motto EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT.

In 2002 the five German mints struck euros side by side, each producing hundreds of millions of cent coins for circulation and, separately, coins for sets. The Munich set of the first year is an anchor piece for a run of the D mint.

UNC condition means the coins never circulated: no wear, mint lustre intact, with only minor storage marks possible. All eight denominations are in the state in which the mint issued them.

For those who collect coins by subject, whether wildlife, architecture, famous people or sport, the VPcoins catalogue offers other themed issues too.