MINTAGE: ONLY 5000 !!

Coins are in perfect condition, sealed, never opened, come in original Government Envelop, set 9 Coins and includes one unique Silver 10€ Ag 92,5% of 2009 in perfect BU condition, that is available only in the official proof sets and issued for Yiannis Ritsos Year.

Denomination: 10, 2 and 1 Euro, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 Cent

Yiannis Ritsos was born in Monemvasia in Peloponese, on 1909. He's consindered one of the great Greek poets of the twentieth century, alongside Konstantinos Kavafis, Kostas Kariotakis, Angelos Sikelianos, Giorgos Seferis, and Odysseas Elytis. The French poet Louis Aragon once said that Ritsos was "the greatest poet of our age." He was unsuccessfully proposed nine times for the Nobel Prize for Literature. When he won the Lenin Peace Prize in 1975, he declared "this prize is more important for me than the Nobel. His poetry was banned at times in Greece due to his left wing beliefs. Notable works by Ritsos include Tractor (1934), Pyramids (1935), Epitaphios (1936), Vigil (1941–1953), Romiosini (1954) and 18 short songs of the bitter Motherland (18 lianotragouda tis pikris patridas) (1973). Yiannis Ritsos died in Athens on 1990 and buried in his hometown Monemvasia.

Yiannis Ritsos (May 1, 1909 - Athens November 11, 1990) was a Greek poet and left-wing activist and an active member of the Greek resistance during World War II. His landmark poem Epitaphios, published in 1936, broke with the shape of Greek traditional popular poetry and expressed in clear and simple language a message of the unity of all people.

The Yannis Ritsos Year Blister 2009 was issued on 26 October 2009 with a mintage of 5,000 pieces. It contains the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent coins and 1, 2 euros (unc), along with a silver 10 euros 2009 coin commemorating the poet

Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a large number of islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres (9,573 ft). The country consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands (including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands.

Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization,^[a] being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama.^[12] From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century BC, with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, spreading Greek culture and science from the eastern Mediterranean to the Indus River. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, wherein the Greek language and culture were dominant. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World. Falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greece's rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe and the world.

Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to join the European Communities (precursor to the European Union) and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. It is also a member of numerous other international institutions, including the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). Greece's unique cultural heritage, large tourism industry, prominent shipping sector and geostrategic importance^[b] classify it as a middle power. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor.