Four coins and four very different Eritrean animals, from a graceful gazelle to an elephant: this set of 1, 5, 10 and 100 cents of 1997 brings together the smallest and the largest denominations of the first nakfa series, with a leopard and an ostrich in between.

The red-fronted gazelle on the 1 cent, the leopard on a tree branch on the 5 cents, the North African ostrich on the 10 cents and the elephant cow with her calf on the 100 cents appear on the side inscribed «STATE OF ERITREA». The other side is the same on every coin: fighters raising a flag, the date «1991» and the motto «LIBERTY EQUALITY JUSTICE», a memorial to victory in the thirty-year war of independence.

The most interesting coin of the set is the 100 cents: the series has no separate 1 nakfa coin, so this piece serves as the main unit of currency. The nakfa is named after the town where Eritrean fighters won their first major victory, and it replaced the Ethiopian birr in 1997. All the coins are struck in nickel-clad steel.

Grade UNC: the coins have never circulated, show no wear and keep their mint lustre. The set is a foundation for an Eritrea collection, and adding the 25 and 50 cents with the zebra and the kudu completes the series.

VPcoins is a numismatic shop where coins from many countries are gathered in a single catalogue.