TMS Coins's Bio
I was born in the beautiful island of Cyprus and studied medicine in Greece and the United Kingdom.
Collecting stamps, watches, matchboxes and other collectibles for many years as a hobby, I went into collecting banknotes in 2008.
The passion for coin collecting started in 2009 when I virtually appreciated the art, beauty, rarity and the history behind the modern piastre coinage of Cyprus (1879-1949).
The big challenge was to accomplish a complete collection with coins in the best possible condition; the low mintage and rarity of these coins though, made this goal very difficult.
After completion I submitted all raw coins to NGC for grading, conserving most of them by NCS.
Cyprus was under British Administration from 1878 until 1960 when it became an independent Republic. During the period 1879-1949 the copper piastre was the unit of currency and was fixed at the rate of 180 to the British sovereign. The gold sovereign became the standard measure of value and remained legal tender throughout the period from 1878-1960. Due to this relation I started collecting gold sovereigns and half-sovereigns as well.
Being in NGC's Registry I submitted several collections to the competition in 2011.
I would like to thank NGC for awarding my "Cyprus Piastre Coinage Complete Collection 1879-1949" as one of the 2011 "Best World Sets" and the "Great Britain, Gold Half-sovereign Type Set 1817-2009" as one of the 2012 "Best World Sets". In 2015 the set "Great Britain, Gold Half-sovereign, Victoria, 1838-1901, Circulation Issues", and in 2017 the set "Great Britain, Gold Half-sovereign, 1817-2017, Complete Circulation Issues" got the "Best Presented Set" Award.
Appreciations also for the 2020 " Best Classic Set " award, for the set: " Great Britain, Gold Half-Sovereign 1821-1828, Circulation Issues " and for the 2021 " Best Classic Set " award for the set: Great Britain, Gold Half-Sovereign, Circulation Issues 1817-1915.
I would like to congratulate all other winners and to all members to give my best wishes for good luck and happy collecting.
THANK YOU