To close the year, Coin & Mint News™ continues its ‘Remarkable New Issues’ segment in partnership with CoinsWeekly to highlight new collectible issues that are notable for one reason or another.

The history of Pakistan, as reflected through its coinage, offers a fascinating narrative of the country’s development and it’s shifting political and cultural landscape.

Despite the rapid rise in digital payment systems and methods, cash still remains as an important and necessary payment option. This is seen clearly in the latest payment surveys conducted by both the ECB and Monnaie de Paris.

The United States Mint has unveiled the designs for the fourth and final year of the American Women Quarters Program, with the 2025 coins set to honour Ida B. Wells, Juliette Gordon Low, Dr Vera Rubin, Stacey Park Milbern, and Althea Gibson.

According to production figures from the US Mint as of the end of October, just under 4.62 billion coins have been manufactured this year. Annual mintage for 2024 is estimated to reach 5.5 billion coins – a 56.5% decline compared to the same period in 2023.

This year has seen much change that has impacted world of coins, and yet much remains the same. Three key trends were remarked upon by Coin & Mint News™ last year – environmental sustainability, effective circulation, and industry collaboration – and these only continue to grow in importance.

During the recent Coin Conference speakers presented on coin circulation in their respective countries or regions – with shifting circulation trends, efficiency issues, and collaboration as key to solving these as common themes. Here, Coin & Mint News™ focuses on the United States.

The Royal Dutch Mint has announced the launch of bullion coins as a new category of products available for purchase on its e-commerce sites, in addition to confirming that it will produce Finland’s new coins under the brand name of Helsinki Mint.

The World Money Fair Technical Forum has announced the first set of presentations for next year’s event, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 29 January, whilst nominations are open for the MDC 2025 Coin Awards, which are set are set to be presented at the 2025 Mint Directors Conference (27-30 April) in Cape Town, South Africa.

The MKS PAMP Group has announced two key leadership appointments for both the Group and subsidiary Manfra Tordella & Brookes (MTB).

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Banque de France signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on currency management and other areas of central banking at the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC last month.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released its circulation figures for 2023-24, documenting in its annual report that both the total value and volume of coins in circulation increased during the year – by 10.4% and 3.5% respectively.

The Royal Canadian Mint has produced a $2 commemorative circulation coin to celebrate Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland, a vast area that encompasses land, water, and ice and a source from which Inuit draw unity, strength, resilience, and identity.

In announcing the publication of its annual report, the Perth Mint stated that the 2023-24 financial year was a challenging one for the organisation.

The Coin Conference 2024 took place in Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, situated on the River Tagus and one of the oldest cities in the world. Taking place 28-30 October, Lisbon’s combination of the historic and modern was the perfect location for an event focused on the future of circulating coinage and its challenges.

As technologies and minting techniques develop suppliers and mints are producing ever more advanced coins and precious metal products. To that end, Coin & Mint News™ is beginning a new segment in partnership with CoinsWeekly to highlight new collectible issues that are notable for one reason or another.

Following the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, there was much conversation about it meant for the countries whose currency – notably coins here – bore her portrait. Two years on from the succession of King Charles III as monarch, where do these countries stand with updating their coins?

The Royal Dutch Mint has signed a multi-year agreement with Finland’s Ministry of Finance for the production, marketing, and distribution of circulation and commemorative euro coins.

Titled ‘Change’, the Royal Australian Mint’s 2023 annual report is aptly named for an organisation, and industry, that experienced multiple significant changes over the course of last year.

Minting of the final coins in the new Caribbean guilder series, the 1 and 5 guilder, has been initiated at the Royal Canadian Mint’s facility in Winnipeg, Canada.

The 2024 IACA Excellent in Currency Awards are set to take place at The Coin Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. This month, Coin & Mint News™ closes its summary of the finalists with the remaining two award categories.

Earlier this month, IACA held a webinar titled ‘Cash Visibility: How the Royal Canadian Mint Manages Canada’s Circulation Coins in Real-Time’, in which the Royal Canadian Mint detailed their strategies and systems for managing cash visibility for coin in Canada.

ABC Mint has launched a five coin series entitled ‘Untamed Landscapes’, celebrating the natural beauty of Oceania.

The fourth edition of the Directory of Circulating Coins has now been published. With nearly 200 pages, the Directory is the only guide to every current circulating coin in the world, providing up-to-date information, specification and images on every coin in one concise and easy-to-use volume.

Estonia is set to introduce new rounding rules next year, with the country also planning to cease minting 1 and 2 cent coins.

Earlier this year, the US Mint published a proposal to abolish its Mutilated Coin Redemption Program, relating to the face value exchange of bent and partial coins. Further to the consultation, which concluded at the beginning of July, the Mint published a final rule detailing the permanent closure of the program.

The US Mint’s coin production has increased for the second month in a row, from 235.2 million coins in July to 405.2 million produced in August – with the latter consisting solely of cents (254.4 million) and quarters (150.8 million). The Mint has not reported any nickel or dime production for the fourth time this year.

HM Precious Metals opened this year by announcing the addition of powder blanks producer Reischauer to its portfolio, followed shortly by the acquisition of Royal United Mint. Coin & Mint News™ spoke to Thomas Frey, CEO of HM Precious Metals, about its aim to provide a complete portfolio, recent rebrand from Heimerle + Meule, and future plans for the Group.

In the August issue of Coin & Mint News™, we provided a brief overview of the ten finalists in the three categories of the 2024 IACA Excellent in Currency Awards. This month, we take a closer look at each of the finalists’ projects in the first category: Best New Commemorative/Limited Circulation Coin.

To commemorate 100 years of the Swiss Franc in Liechtenstein, CIT has released a new coin design crafted in smartminting® Ultra Deep Relief. The coins depict a three-dimensional coloured model of the Rhine Valley with topographical accuracy on the reverse, symbolising the bond between Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Earlier this year, the Belgian Treasury launched a #spendyourchange campaign encouraging citizens to use their loose change, following warnings from several key trade federations in Belgium of an artificial coin shortage.

The US Mint’s ‘Liberty Through Perseverance’ $100 gold coin has been awarded the top prize in this year’s Coin of the Year awards. The 2024 awards honour coins dated 2023 in 10 categories of competition, as decided by an international panel of judges.

The Mint of Finland (Suomen Rahapaja) is to cease operations and wind down in an orderly manner by next year, bringing to an end a 160-year business which first began minting coins in 1864.

The Coin Conference takes place in Lisbon, from 28-30 October, against a backdrop of considerable change in the world of circulating coinage. The agenda is busy and full of substance, reflecting the key challenges, and opportunities, that face issuers and producers.

The Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten has unveiled the designs for the new Caribbean guilder coins and banknotes via simultaneous events held on both islands. The designs draw inspiration from the World Under the Sea where fish swim freely, seeing no borders, noted the Bank during the unveiling.

The finalists for the 2024 IACA Excellence in Currency Awards have been announced, with presentation of the winning submissions scheduled to take place at this year’s Coin Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Global Coin Solutions was established in Toronto, Canada in 2015 with charitable support at the heart of the business. Coin & Mint News™ spoke to founder and CEO, Scott Hutchings, about the company’s ethos and process, the challenges facing coin repatriation, and why collaboration is key to efficient and sustainable coin recirculation.

The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) has produced a coin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) being formed entirely of Indigenous peoples.

AI is an inevitable evolution in many aspects of the minting business. At its core, it automates repetitive tasks, making it a powerful tool for numerous applications within a modern mint.

Precious metal producer and supplier Heimerle + Meule Group has announced its rebranding to HM Precious Metals, with immediate effect. The rebranding has occurred in the course of the Group’s ongoing internationalisation and, it says, is an adaptation of the company’s name to optimise it for worldwide use.

No orders for new coins intended for general circulation have been sent by the Treasury to The Royal Mint this year, in what is believed to be a historic first. The Royal Mint issued just shy of 16 million coins last year, in comparison to the 162 million issued in 2022-23.

Uganda has become the latest African nation to look to gold as support for its currency, as the Bank of Uganda initiates a Domestic Gold Purchase Program with the objectives of building the country’s foreign reserves and minimising risks on reserves investments.

The Royal Mint has published its latest annual report for the year ended 31 March 2024, noting total revenue of £1.4 billion – a 28% reduction from the previous year. In its report, the Mint noted that it had experienced challenges during the year, but it also emphasised the continuation of its five-year diversification strategy.

In June, the Mint Director’s Association held a webinar focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool and how it can be implemented to improve productivity. Titled ‘The Future is Here: How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Modern Minting’, the webinar was hosted by Aditya Berlia – an entrepreneur, educator, and AI advocate – and sponsored by Carveco.

A few recent personnel updates from The Royal Mint, Royal Dutch Mint, MKS PAMP, and Schuler.

During most Olympic and Paralympic Games, there have been a variety of products released to commemorate the occasion and celebrate the athletes taking part. The 2024 Paris Games are no different, and here we cover a selection of commemoratives minted to mark the event.

The Royal Mint has signed an exclusive distribution deal with RARCOA to grow its commemorative coin business in the US, and which is projected to turnover £100 million over the next three years.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of 'D-Day' and several European mints have produced coins to commemorate the occasion – amongst them The Royal Mint, Monnaie de Paris, and the Royal Dutch Mint.

Earlier this month, Banco de Moçambique began issuing a new currency series, which includes an updated set of circulation coins. The previous nine coin denominations have been reduced to seven, with the 20 and 5 cent coins discontinued.

The tagline for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Annual Report 2023 – ‘Anchoring Stability and Sustainable Growth amid Challenging Times’ – takes note of the inflationary challenges and other pressures that the Philippines faced last year.

Many central banks continue to issue their annual reports for 2023 as the year progresses – including the Central Bank of Ireland (Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) and Reserve Bank of India.

The next edition of the Directory of Circulating Coins is currently being compiled, and is scheduled for publication this Autumn. First developed by the publishers of Currency News in 2014, the upcoming issue will be the fourth edition published.

The high-level programme and award categories for the next edition of The Coin Conference have been announced, with the event scheduled to take place 28-30 October in Lisbon, Portugal.

In commemoration of its 50th anniversary, the Central Bank of the Bahamas has issued a painted version of the country’s 25 cent coin into circulation. The coin is the first painted circulation coin issued by the central bank, and the first circulation coin in the world to feature colour on both sides.

Researchers at the Centre for Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada have utilised image-mining techniques and machine learning algorithms to identify flaws in counterfeit coins, enabling greater detection of fakes.

The US Mint is seeking public comment on its announcement in the Federal Register that it plans to close its Mutilated Coin Redemption Program relating to the face value exchange of bent and partial coins.

‘The Future is Here: How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Modern Minting’ is the title of the Mint Directors Association’s webinar focusing on artificial intelligence as a tool and how it can be implemented to improve productivity.

Coin collecting platform Coiniverse enabled purchasing ability on its mobile application at the end of March, following this with an announcement that the first coins sold out within 72 hours.

The Royal Canadian Mint has published its annual report for 2023, noting a fall in revenue of 34% to C$2.162 billion and a reduction in profit by 52% to C$16.6 million. It has, however, noted a good start to the financial year despite decreased consolidated revenue.

The Coin Workshop started this year’s Banknote Conference – which took place in Fort Worth, Texas from 13-16 May – with a mix of data, storytelling, and discussion.

Beside cashless payments, coins are still a part of modern life. Minting, circulating and recirculating of coins remains a great responsibility for mints and central banks. Depending on the quality of the coin, the lifespan of hard cash can be 10 years or more.

Earlier this year, the World Money Fair Technical Forum celebrated its 20th anniversary, with 15 papers presented at the event in total. This article is the third and final summary of the remaining five papers which have yet to be reviewed in previous issues of Coin & Mint News™.

A new website, a new online shop, a new layout for its customer magazine – these are just some of the innovations Swissmint has in store for us. The mint has changed profoundly over the past two years. Ursula Kampmann explains how.

The Royal Mint, the UK’s oldest company, has announced that it is to stop taking orders for foreign circulating coins and blanks, bringing to an end a 700-year old business in producing coins for overseas countries.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has begun the roll out of a new structured currency to replace the beleaguered Zimbabwean dollar, seeking to tackle hyperinflation and stabilise the country’s economy.

The Royal Dutch Mint, in collaboration with the Royal Belgian Mint, has released a new limited issue silver €10 coin to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It has also released two special commemorative coins to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM).

This year the Technical Forum celebrated its 20th Anniversary at the World Money Fair, with some 280 people attending either in person or online. A total of fifteen papers were presented, with this month’s review continuing on from the March issue and covering the middle third of these presentations.

Imprensa Nacional – Casa da Moeda has released two commemorative coins, one of which is a circulating commemorative and the other a collector’s coin, and a medal to mark the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April.

The Mint of Poland and Monnaie de Paris have recently published their annual results for financial year, with the former noting a more than doubling of operating profit year-on-year and the latter a 9% increase in turnover from the previous year.

Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting is rapidly becoming a normal part of organisational life. In this context the Mint Directors Association (MDA) organised a webinar on 13 March to hear from three practitioners about their experience in this area.

The World Money Fair Technical Forum celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, just two years after the main event commemorated its half-centennial, having been established in 1972. In this month’s issue of Coin & Mint News™, we review the first five papers from the Technical Forum, with subsequent issues to cover the remainder.

The Perth Mint has announced two new partnerships during the month of March, with the first relating to the Mint Directors Association (MDA), and the second to numismatic platform Coiniverse.

Three of France’s circulating coins are being updated to honour three exceptional French women. The updates to these coins follows those made in 2022 to the €1 and €2 coins, and marks the first time that the national sides of the coins have been updated since France’s adoption of the euro as its currency.

The Casa da Moeda do Brasil celebrated its 330th anniversary earlier this month with the launch of a commemorative medal featuring augmented reality (AR) technology. The medal is available in either bronze or silver and features invisible ink in addition to the AR technology.

The Central Bank of Kosovo has released details of its efforts to fight counterfeit currency, noting that it had successfully coordinated inter-institutional meetings to design and implement effective strategies to combat the circulation of counterfeit coins, especially €2 coins.

Belgian businesses and shopkeepers will soon be obliged to accept cash payments following the Federal Government’s approval of legislation around cash acceptance. This follows a rise in the number of establishments that do not accept cash and subsequent complaints about the issue.

Many societies have a long-standing tradition of gifting money (banknotes and coins) to mark auspicious occasions – births and birthdays, weddings and other special events, where the value of the gift is as much social as it is financial.

The Royal Mint has partnered with the United States Mint in ‘a groundbreaking collaboration’ between the Chief Engravers of both mints to produce a design for the 2024 Britannia and Liberty commemorative coins.

The central bank of Estonia, Eesti Pank, ended last year with an announcement that its Omniva coin collection campaign would continue into 2024. Although the programme had only been running for three months (as of December 2023), it had already collected around 3.3 million coins – 65% of which were 1 and 2 cent coins.

The Royal Canadian Mint has released several coins in varying designs and denominations to commemorate the Year of the Dragon. Amongst these are a 1kg gold coin with an extremely limited mintage and a pair of silver and gold coins featuring Extraordinarily High Relief.

The Mint Directors Association’s Sustainability Group has announced a webinar focusing on ‘ESG Reporting – Insights from Within the Industry’, scheduled to be held on Wednesday 13 March at 10:00 and 16:00 GMT.

The Paris 2024 Organising Committee has unveiled the medals for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Monnaie de Paris has been charged with production of the medals, exactly a century after the previous Parisian Games in 1924.

The dates have been announced for The Coin Conference 2024, which will take place 28-30 October in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Mint of Poland has opened this year with the release of the ‘world’s first flying coin’. Unveiled at the recent World Money Fair Technical Forum in Berlin, it floats in the air via a motor hidden inside the coin itself.

In its recently published Annual Report for the 2023 fiscal year, the United States Mint reported a 12.1% fall in revenue to $4.68 billion. In volume terms, the Mint shipped 10.5 billion circulation coins to the Federal Reserve Bank compared with 12.1 billion in 2022, a decrease of 1.6 billion coins (-13.2%).

Swiss-based Numisstaxx has launched as a new platform for the digitisation of coin collecting, providing users with the ability to digitalise and share coins easily online.

Held last October during the Gala Dinner at MDC 2023 in Ottawa, Canada, the MDC Awards paid tribute to a sometimes-underrepresented part of coin design when it comes to awards, namely ‘Best Packaging (of a collectible coin)’.

The Royal Dutch Mint has launched its latest ‘good-cause’ coin issue, in collaboration with the Dutch Hartstichting (Heart) Foundation.

The Royal Australian Mint has teamed up with EQL, the commerce platform built to ensure reliable and fair product launches, to improve its e-commerce infrastructure and the experience for collectors as they aim to get their hands on new coins.

The People’s Bank of China has issued a series of commemorative coins to celebrate 2024’s Lunar Year of the Long (Chinese Dragon), which began on 10 February. Comprised of one gold coin, one silver coin, and one bi-metallic copper alloy coin, the set is all legal tender.

A few recent personnel updates from The Royal Mint, Monnaie de Paris, Mint Directors Association, and Bavarian State Mint.

The Royal Australian Mint has collaborated with the Australian Space Agency to mint the world’s first coin of 2024, which pays homage to the country’s space exploration history.

Royal Joh Enschedé, in collaboration with The Global Note™, has released a gold embellished commemorative banknote in honour of footballer Dennis Bergkamp, which includes an augmented reality (AR) experience provided via mobile app

Following its acquisition of Reischauer, the Heimerle + Meule Group has announced its purchase of the Royal United Mint from the Belgian Heylen Group, which is the world’s second largest private industrial holding company in the production of coins.

With the end of The Royal Mint’s year including the release of a new gold bullion design, and the beginning of this year marking announcements of its sustainability progress and a partnership with the Ministry of Defence to recycle electronic waste, Coin & Mint News™ covers the most recent updates from the organisation below.

The Royal Canadian Mint has released a series of coins to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The centennial commemoration series features a fine silver proof $1, gold proof $100, and rose-gold plated $1 which is available solely as part of a seven-piece Canadian circulation coin set.

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.