After three successive years of bumper coin production to meet COVID-induced shortages in the cash cycle, volumes of coin produced for circulation by the US Mint in 2023 finally fell back to pre-pandemic levels.

In December 2022, Coin & Mint News was still in its fledgling stages, and we published a round-up of three key trends that became ever more apparent over the course of last year – environmental sustainability, effective circulation, and industry collaboration.

The Royal Australian Mint has been awarded the ‘Best CashTech Award’ for its Donation Dollar at the recent CashTech Innovation Awards held earlier this month at the Future of Cash Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye.

The International Mint Industry Association (IMIA) has issued a position paper on the European Commission’s (EC) draft regulations on the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins.

In this article, currency designer Michael Berman touches on his background in the coin design world and explores the use of ProImage’s Arziro software – to design coinage.

In the start of a new, periodic, series in Coin & Mint News™, we will be looking at the history of coinage in countries around the world, starting in this first article with Pakistan.

Back in December, Coin & Mint News posed the question ‘how important is ethical sourcing?’, highlighting a few organisations that are considering the sourcing of their metals and looking at ways to make the process more transparent and sustainable.

Earlier this year, Royal United Mint acquired Osborne Coinage Co, which is based in Cincinnati, Ohio and is the oldest private mint in the US. Coin & Mint News™ caught up with Vincent Van Hecke, CEO of RUM and the Royal Dutch Mint, to find out more about the acquisition, his plans for the company and where he sees the market for coins, bullion and tokens going in the next 10 years.

The lowest denomination coins – cents, pennies, whatever – are a headache, for issuers and, increasingly the public. The rising costs of production increasingly mean that the face value of the coins are outstripped by their production costs – resulting in negative seigniorage. On this basis, why do countries keep on minting and issuing them?

Whilst some central banks are turning to technology to solve issues with coin distribution, the option of using coin-operated machines is steadily being replaced in many areas by those offering cashless payment options only. These options may be more convenient, but they can come at the expense of those who rely on traditional cash-accepting machines.