FAO Money Panel Sets Issued by Food and Agricultural Organisation

Hi,

I wanted to check if FAO Money Panel sets issued by Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN be listed as sets. The sets were officially issued by them by sourcing coins from various participating Nations. My recent request got rejected with reason “ This is not official set issued by government or mint”. While not issued by a government, the sets are indeed issued by a body of Nations (UN)

More details and history here

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/48146498/fa0-money-food-for-all-fao-albums-and-boards/11

https://www.fao-coins.info/

Link to rejected set addition request - https://en.numista.com/catalogue/contributions/voir_set.php?id=15069803

Definition of a set for Numista: official packaging from the mint containing one or several numismatic items. It contains only new items (not repackaging of older coins). In this case the FAO would not be considered the mint/issuer of the coins.

You can appeal the rejection to the catalog Admins.

rsirian1

Definition of a set for Numista: official packaging from the mint containing one or several numismatic items. It contains only new items (not repackaging of older coins). In this case the FAO would not be considered the mint/issuer of the coins.

 

You can appeal the rejection to the catalog Admins.

Thanks !!

Coins (and banknote) in this set are from different years 1970-1974 and from multiple countries and territiories. How this could be an official issue according the Numista definition and not the repackaging of the older coins? 

I think that even this was authorised by FAO (international organisation with noble reputation) this is kind of post-issue repackaging and combination of earlier issues from different states/mints. The kind of sets that Numista wanted to avoid when added the set section.

I can imagine that the 1970 coins from East Carribean States (denomination 4$) are an official set issued by the mint or by ECCB but I doubt that all other coins were co-issued with these as official set.

@Xavier what do you think about? 

I guess the clearer guidelines for sets could be helpful.

MMowiec

Coins (and banknote) in this set are from different years 1970-1974 and from multiple countries and territiories. How this could be an official issue according the Numista definition and not the repackaging of the older coins? 

I think that even this was authorised by FAO (international organisation with noble reputation) this is kind of post-issue repackaging and combination of earlier issues from different states/mints. The kind of sets that Numista wanted to avoid when added the set section.

 

I can imagine that the 1970 coins from East Carribean States (denomination 4$) are an official set issued by the mint or by ECCB but I doubt that all other coins were co-issued with these as official set.

 

@Xavier what do you think about? 

I guess the clearer guidelines for sets could be helpful.

My understanding is that FAO asked for specimens as donations directly from the issuing Mints to be included in the Sets consolidated by them. We can comfortably assume that those coins sourced from Mints are new and not taken from general circulation.

I have made the following appeal against the rejection 

Dear Numista Team /  Admins

I respectfully request reconsideration regarding the inclusion of the FAO Money Panel sets under the “Sets” category. Although these sets were not issued by a single government or mint, they were officially produced and distributed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (Most important Inter-governmental body worldwide). The FAO Coin Programs represent the first international initiative to issue coordinated numismatic sets across multiple nations, marking a significant milestone in the history of collectible coin sets. This program continues to stand out as one of the rare examples of international numismatic collaboration.

Furthermore, participating countries issued coins with the FAO theme and were required to submit specimens to the FAO for the assembly of these sets. This demonstrates not only official oversight but also a level of organization and legitimacy comparable to government or mint-issued sets. Recognizing FAO Money Panel sets as official “Sets” on Numista would honor their unique role in numismatic history and offer collectors a more comprehensive catalog.

I would also like to highlight that, based on the current criteria for rejection, no international sets—regardless of their historical significance or the official nature of their issuing body—can ever be listed on Numista. This position risks excluding important numismatic collaborations between nations and undermines the diversity and richness of the catalog. I kindly urge you to reconsider the decision and grant these sets their rightful place within the “Sets” category.

PS - (Detailed history can be found in the links provided in the original creation request

Thanks again for your consideration

If I buy coins directly from different mints (I usually purchase coins this way) and put them in my own packaging will it be the official set? No.

Same situation with FAO in my opinion.

MMowiec

If I buy coins directly from different mints (I usually purchase coins this way) and put them in my own packaging will it be the official set? No.

Same situation with FAO in my opinion.

Launched in 1968, the FAO Coin Program (Money and Medals Programme) was an international initiative by UN-FAO where over 140 nations have issued more than 1,600 coins and medals to raise awareness about global hunger, agricultural development, and poverty eradication. All participating nation issued Sets and circulation coins in their respective countries. On top of it UN-FAO also sourced  (via donation) coins directly from various Mints to create the multinational sets called FAO albums or Money Panels (currently listing is one of the examples). So the coins are new and directly sourced from various country mints, Consolidation and creation of the “Set” was done by FAO. Just to repeat that it was FAO which initiated and worked with all the nations to get the coins issued to raise awareness about hunger and urgent need to increase crop production.

MMowiec

If I buy coins directly from different mints (I usually purchase coins this way) and put them in my own packaging will it be the official set? No.

Same situation with FAO in my opinion.

It is very different from us personally packaging it .

1. FAO worked directly with all the participating governments to get the FAO coin issued at the first place.

2. It was part of a global initiative which was led by FAO only

3. All coins bear the Words "FAO" 

Personally, I agree that FAO sets should be listed on Numista. They are a bit of an odd duck, but no other international coin program has been run like this one, and most importantly it influenced the coin designs themselves in many (not all) situations.  You will see the letters FAO on many individual coins from many different countries, and it was this coin set subscription program that started those designs.  I would say that these sets make up an important part of coin collecting history (and currency notes too in at least one case).  The program went far beyond simply re-packaging existing items.

It makes sense to make FAO as a unique, one-off set issuer, but only a set issuer and not a coin issuer. I don't know if this is technically possible or not on the site. Otherwise I'm afraid people will start to move the individual coins in those FAO sets into FAO as an issuer and the separate referees would have to push back on it.

Numista does not have a “set issuer.”  The issuer on sets is pulled from the coin issuer, not a user input. So an FAO set with multiple coins from multiple countries will have multiple issuers (and multiple mints).  Nothing in the structure of Numista sets would be an issue for these sets.  The only evidence that FAO put these sets together would be in the comments section.

I too agree that FAO sets should be allowed.

Edit… I think my phone just resent that post. Whoops!