By 1999, the illy collection espresso and cappuccino cups were starting to take off as something to "collect". Prices started going up. A thing called "eBay" made it possible for collectors to fill holes in their collections. Others noticed, and the prices for old cups have been rising steadily. It became a seller's market.

The argument about collecting illy cups, and their "collectability" is simple: they are a canvas featuring limited edition, numbered and signed works of art by famous and upcoming artists from around the world. Collectors pay premium prices for limited edition prints signed by artists; cups are no different.

Also, we started to see more and more cups designed for specific artistic events. One that illy is heavily involved in is the Bienniale Venezio, an artist exhibition every year in Italy.

My collection is much larger from this time period as compared to the previous (1991-1998), but I'm still missing some key (and rare) sets. A lot of the sets listed below include "doubles" (I have two or more of the same set) that I bought in order to conduct trades with.

Cups I Own - 1999-2005
1999	Bus Stops (cappuccino set) Artist: Darryl Pottorf	Schwung (6 cups) Peter Roesch	Zebra (6 cups, 2 sets) Artist: Roberta Pietrobelli	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---
2000	Textures of Home (6 cups, 2 sets) Artist: Francis Ford Coppola	Modus Operandi (6 cups, 2 sets) Artist: Joseph Kosuth	Minimalia (6 cups, 2 sets) Artist: Mimmo Paladino	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---
2001	Alien Cups (4 cups, 3 sets) Artist: David Byrne	PS1 (bar set only. 2 sets) Artist: Multiple artists	Artistas do Brasil (6 cups, 2 sets) Artist: Multiple artists	Jeff Koons (6 cups, 2 sets) Artist: Jeff Koons	Miss Illy (single cup, 4 sets) Artist: Matteo Thun	--- ---	--- ---
2002	International Flight (6 cups) Artist: Norma J	International Flight (2 cappa cups) Artist: Norma J	Beach Balls (6 cups) Artist: Marina Abramovic	People & Places with No Name (single cup) Artist: Michel Comte	Pistoletto (2 cups, S1, S3 Artist: Michelangelo Pistoletto	No Water No Coffee (6 cups, 2 sets) Artist: Maria Calisto	Senza Titolo (single cup) Artist: Jannis Kounellis
2003	Dreams (6 cups, 2 sets) Artist: Shizuka Yokomizo	Dreams (6 cappa cups) Artist: Shizuka Yokomizo	Haim Steinbach (4 cups) Artist: Haim Steinbach	Haim Steinbach 5th Cup Artist: Haim Steinbach	In Principo (single cup) Artist: Sebastiao Salgado	Dreams and Conflicts (single cup) Artist: Francesco Bonami	Dreams and Conflicts (4 bar cups) Artist: Francesco Bonami
2004	Pen Tests (6 cups) Artist: Padraig Timoney	Love Difference (single cup) Artist: Michelangelo Pistoletto	Green and White (4 cups) Daniel Buren	Coffee Flower Ideas (2 cup mug set, 4 sets) Artist: James Rosenquist	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---
2005	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---

These are the cups I'm currently missing. If you have any of these, and want to trade, contact me at mark@coffeekid.com - as noted in the previous table, I have a lot of "doubles" I would be willing to trade.

Cups I Do Not Own - 1999-2005
1999	Tazzine Ballerine (6 cups) Artist: Marco Lodola	Bus Stops (espresso cups) Artist: Darryl Pottorf	--- ---	--- ---
2000	Sugar or Salt? Minimalia - 7th Cup Artist: Mimmo Paladino	Central St. Martins (6 cups) Artist: Multiple Artists	--- ---	--- ---
2001	Alien Cups Special Set (in UFO Box) Artist: David Byrne	PS1 (6 cups, collection set) Artist: Multiple artists	Jeff Koons (Cappuccino set) Artist: Jeff Koons	--- ---
2002	International Flight (cappa, IF3 to IF6) Artist: Norma J	Pistoletto, S3, D1-D3 cups Artist: Michelangelo Pistoletto	Spirit Cup (single cup) Artist: Marina Abramovic	--- ---
2003	Le Jour La Nuit Le Jour (6 cups) Artist: Louise Bourgeois	Je T'Aime (7th Cup) Artist: Louise Bourgeois	--- ---	--- ---
2004	Blue and White (4 cups) Artist: Daniel Buren	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---
2005	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---

As mentioned above, if you're interested in trading or selling me cups I'm missing from my collection, contact me at mark@coffeekid.com - as noted in the top table on this page, I have a lot of "doubles" I would be willing to trade.