The Central Bank of Costa Rica, as part of its mandate to keep businesses and the public informed, published the schedule for the entry and exit of coins to and from circulation for the year on in February. The new colón coin series shows different designs that allows each denomination to be readily identified and distinguished from the old series by the public.

According to the European Central Bank, gold has overtaken the euro to become the second largest global reserve asset after the US dollar. The ECB’s most recent annual report on the international role of the euro notes that central bank gold demand remained at record highs in 2024, accounting for more than 20% of global demand – in contrast to around one-tenth on average in the 2010s.

Monnaie de Paris has announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved the launch of a new bullion project, with the metal-investment offer providing both French and international collectors with the ability to acquire coins sold for their weight in fine gold.

The Royal Mint has unveiled a ground-breaking addition to its bullion portfolio with the launch of the new secure Britannia bullion bar. Security features previously exclusive to its world-renowned coins have been rolled out into its gold bar range for the first time.

ABC Refinery has announced its adoption of the ProvCheck app, allowing customers to authenticate the provenance of its ABC Bullion gold bars. Currently compatible with numbered 1kg ABC Bullion gold bars, the app enables customers to scan their bars and unlock the mine-to-market history of the product, including the gold’s origin and attributable carbon emissions.

Coin & Mint News™ continues our ‘Remarkable New Issues’ segment, in partnership with CoinsWeekly, by highlighting three new creative collectible issues – including an unusual shape, multi-faceted design, and colourful imagery.

The 32nd Mint Directors Conference took place from 27-29 April in Cape Town, South Africa. The event, co-hosted by the South African Mint Company, focused on exploring the fusion of traditional minting practices with modern technological advancements.

As CMN went to press, the US Treasury officially confirmed the end of penny production, following the Trump administration’s order to cease minting the coins earlier this year. The Department will stop issuing new pennies into circulation by early next year, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The World Money Fair is the world’s largest coin fair. This year’s event, held 30 January to 1 February, attracted more numismatics enthusiasts than ever before – with over 13,600 attendees and more than 300 exhibitors from 50 countries present. WMF Director, Goetz-Ulf-Jungmichel, commented that the event ‘shows that our industry is not only preserving history, but actively shaping the future’.

The latest figures from Eesti Pank on cash issuance detailed a fall in the number of coins issued in the first quarter of 2025. Approximately 1.5 million coins with a total value of €1.6 million were issued, with the most common being the €2 coin – which comprised half of the total number of coins issued into circulation.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has launched a new digital coin, backed by unallocated and certified physical gold. Those interested can purchase, and then sell, the digital gold coin via a mobile application called ‘Tabys’. Investors are also able to gift coins to another investor using the app.

The 32nd Mint Directors Conference (MDC) was held last week in Cape Town, South Africa. The event hosts the MDC Coin Awards, sponsored by MingFeng Packaging, which this year took place last night during the MDC Gala Dinner at Cape Point Vineyards.

Reconnaissance International, co-publisher of Coin & Mint News™, has launched DataVault™, the industry’s first dedicated, searchable online database for coins and banknotes – designed specifically for currency professionals who need fast, reliable, and up-to-date information.

The Bank of Zambia has begun issuing new families of both banknotes and coins. The currency showcases Zambia’s rich heritage, with its unique flora and fauna as the central theme; hence it is called the ‘Heritage Series’.

The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten began issuing a new family of banknotes and coins on 31 March. This is not just a redesign and upgrade for the coins and notes but a completely new currency, with the Caribbean guilder replacing the Netherlands Antilles guilder.

Reconnaissance, co-publisher of Coin & Mint News™, launched a new website – cashsustainability.com – on 22 April (World Mother Earth Day) as a cash community asset to capture and consolidate initiatives, work and research from every part of the cash cycle, and provide tools to support organisations on their pathway to a greener future.

The Royal Mint has made an equity investment in Canadian cleantech company Excir, its partner for precious metals recovery.

Gold has been viewed as a safe-haven asset for centuries, a role that is unlikely to change anytime soon. By its very nature, the precious metal asset holds store of value and is a hedge against volatility as a so-called safe and stable investment, in addition to providing protection against inflation. The current weakening of the US dollar only reinforces this.

Spain is reportedly the latest country considering cash rounding, after a proposal has been tabled to eliminate the one and two cent coins. The news closely follows the German National Cash Forum’s cash rounding advocacy last month, which asked the country’s Federal Ministry of Finance to ‘advocate for...a binding statutory rounding rule in Germany’.

The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) has released a new family of circulating coins for member countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). This includes Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo.