I am thinking of using the libccoin and picocoin code as the basis of an alternative currency I am developing.

More details here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=399728.0

The main purpose of this alt currency is educational for me and to be a challenge to which I hope I can rise. I do not want to follow the same route as a lot of other alt currencies, cloning the bitcoin code and making a few minor changes. Not much can be learned from this.

Before I jump in and start writing code I would like an expert opinion. For the type of altcoin I intend to develop is libccoin/picocoin a good foundation to build upon or am I wasting my time? I know the picocoin code is not complete but that is part of the challenge I have set myself.