The starter packs of Euro coins, sometimes called familiarisation packs or education packs started to be released in a small number of states as early as Friday 14th December 2001, including Ireland, Netherlands, France and Germany. The purpose of these packs was, as their name implies, to familiarise the locals with the new coins.

One Per Person
Most countries limited the availability of starter packs to one per person, although some countries may have allowed slightly more. There was a danger that if they were handed out in unlimited quantities to individuals, the supplies could run out, and this would have disrupted the education programme. Because of this, we did not attempt to acquire starter packs in the early days.

Bagmarked Coins
The starter packs are packed loosely, therefore the coins they contain are likely to be somewhat bag-marked, and will not be as collectable as coins supplied in rolls or in sets. This is another reason why we originally decided not to offer starter packs. There is also a question whether the plastic will deteriorate in time, as it may well be bio-degradeable.

Popular Demand
We must admit to being surprised at the collector demand for starter packs originally, but having given the matter more thought, we can understand why collectors would want starter packs in their collections. The introduction of the Euro ranks as the biggest single event in the history of money. Starter packs were an important part of this change, and therefore a logical part of any collection relating to the Euro. Because starter packs were intended for education and familiarisation, it was not easy for dealers to obtain supplies of them in quantity. Because of this, they have been difficult for most collectors to find, and there have been some very high prices paid, particularly on internet auction sites. Some countries are much harder to obtain than others, and prices up to two or three hundred dollars or euros have been paid. We have had many requests and enquiries for starter packs, so have made an effort to acquire some from each country whenever we can get them at a reasonable cost. Typically when small dealers offer us starter packs and other euro coins, they often ask us ridiculously high prices. We try to offer starter packs for sale at reasonable prices.

Starter Pack Contents
It's not easy to find out from one source the contents of the starter packs from each country, so we have compiled the following table. We also show which sets we have available, and included links to the relevant pages.

Starter Pack Information

Country	Qty	Face	Issue Price
Austria	33	14.54	2,000 Schillings
Belgium	31	12.42	500 Francs
Finland	8	3.88	23 Markaa
France	40	15.25	100 Francs
Germany	20	10.28	10 Marks
Greece	45	14.67	5,000 Drachmae
Ireland	18	6.35	5 Punts
Italy	53	12.91	25,000 Lire
Luxembourg	29	12.40	500 Francs
Monaco	40	15.25	100 Francs
Netherlands	32	11.35	25 Guilders
Portugal	34	10.00	2,000 Escudos
San Marino
Spain	43	12.02	2,000 Escudos
Vatican

More about the EuroZone

Pattern ECU's