The Central Bank of Curaçao and St Maarten has said it expects that the introduction of the new Caribbean guilder will be completed in the second half of 2024.

In last month’s issue of Coin & Mint News, we covered five of the presentations made in the first session of the World Money Fair Technical Forum 2023. This month, we cover the five presentations made in the second session, which focused on PVD coating and toolmaking.

Sustainability remains a topic of interest for the cash industry, both coins and banknotes. Government mints were early adopters of sustainability and have offered for many years programs where the public or businesses could redeem damaged or mutilated coins.

The US Mint has commenced its 2023 American Women Quarters (AWQ) programme with the release of the first two coins in this year’s series.

The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the global currency sector, has published a Cash Policy White Paper. It wants policy makers to recognise that the benefits of cash to society may be lost without practical steps to protect the supply and acceptance of cash in society and promote its further development.

At the upcoming Currency Conference, a workshop will be held on 15 May dedicated to coins, focusing on their intrinsic, essential and yet often overlooked role in the cash cycle, examining their importance for payments, the challenges they face, and how they can be made more cost-effective and accessible.

Under section 104 of the US Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-145), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is required to submit an annual report to Congress on the Presidential $1 Coin Program.

With the awards ceremony scheduled to take place at the Currency Conference in Mexico City (15-16 May), the finalists for the 2023 Excellence in Currency Awards have now been announced.

Royal United Mint, the parent company of the Royal Dutch Mint and the Belgian Mauquoy Token Company, has acquired Osborne Coinage Co, based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the oldest private mint in the US.

Both the Monnaie de Paris and the Mint of Finland have published their results for 2022. The French mint had a good year, the Finnish Mint did not.

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.

Hosted by the Royal Canadian Mint and scheduled to take place 15-18 October in Ottawa, the Mint Directors Conference has announced that the keynote speaker will be economist and former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen Poloz.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing to launch a new pilot project using QR code-based Coin Vending Machines in order to improve coin distribution in the country.

Back by popular demand, the latest edition of The Directory of Currency & Technology Suppliers is now being compiled. This sought-after directory is an essential resource for central banks and issuers, printers and mints, and everyone in the cash cycle.

To mark what would have been the 70th anniversary of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation this year, the Pacific territory of Tokelau has issued three new commemorative coins.

Currency Research will be holding the inaugural Silk Road Cash & Payments Conference in Almaty from 27-29 March.

A new event will be taking place later this year, namely the International Money Exposition, which is scheduled to take place between 26-29 October 2023 at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Last month, the ECB released its 2022 banknote counterfeit figures. Whereas the ECB publishes counterfeit banknotes statistics promptly one month after the year end, the figures for euro coin counterfeits are less timely.

Counterfeiting is nothing new – indeed it has often been called the world’s second oldest profession. Counterfeiting of money has been going on ever since the invention of physical money in around the 6th century BC.

Three years to the day after first joining the South African Mint as its Managing Director, Honey Mamabolo sat down with Coin & Mint News™ to discuss the last few years as a leader and overcoming the challenges caused by the pandemic, the upcoming refreshed coin series, and the importance of coin in South Africa.