The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has launched Coin Deposit Machines in partnership with several retailers, aiming to promote efficient coin recirculation in the country. According to the bank, the machines are ‘accessible, convenient, and efficient coin exchange facilities’.

We continue our periodic series of articles on the latest annual reports from central banks and the information they provide on circulating and commemorative coins.

The Italian government has appointed a new President and a new managing director for Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca della Stato (IPZS), the Italian Mint.

Leondaro Abdias, Director of Innovation and Market at the Brazilian mint, Casa da Moeda do Brasil, announced measures to combat illegal gold trade in Brazil during an event held in May titled ‘Ways of Gold: the Importance of Traceability to Prevent Illegality and Irregular Extraction’.

The Reserve Bank of South Africa runs the South African Mint as a wholly owned subsidiary. In its 2022/23 annual report it highlighted the issue of the fourth decimal coin series on 3 May 2023, the first new coin series in 34 years.

Hosted by the Royal Canadian Mint and scheduled to take place this October, the 2023 Mint Directors Conference (MDC 2023) has announced the second keynote speaker for the programme.

The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten has selected the Royal Canadian Mint to produce and supply the countries’ new Caribbean guilder coins, which are scheduled for introduction in the second half of 2024.

The Currency Conference gala dinner on 16 May hosted the presentation of the latest International Association of Currency Affairs 2023 Excellence in Currency Awards.

The South African Reserve Bank has issued a new coin series, which is the fourth series since decimalisation in 1961 and the first coin redesign in 34 years.

Data and trends, managing circulation well, optimising specifications, and the role and value of coins were the key topics of the Currency Conference Coin workshop. Minting and circulating coins have challenges but a vibrant and bustling story was evident in all areas with much to discuss and debate.

To celebrate 50 years of the Van Gogh Museum, the Royal Dutch Mint produced 50 silver coins which feature glass enamel sunflowers. The sunflowers were handmade by the Mint’s silversmiths in-house and are, of course, based on the famous Sunflowers painting created by Vincent van Gogh in 1889.

A number of central banks have recently released their annual reports, which include the latest figures on coins in circulation. Below are a selection of these reports and the figures noted within.

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 Royal Canadian Mint has published its results for 2022, stating that, whilst its financial performance was below 2021 levels, this was expected given the exceptional performance seen in 2021, and planned operational maintenance in 2022. The Mint still exceeded its financial goals for 2022, as set out in the Corporate Plan.

The Mint of Poland, which trades on the Warsaw Stock Exchange as the only publicly-listed mint, has three distinct business segments – mint products, electronic payments, and real estate development, representing 82.7%, 16.54%, and 0.76% of revenue in 2022, respectively.

In its annual report for 2022, INCM (Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda), described the year as a period of recovery, with a progressive increase in international business, despite the challenges posed by the conflict in Ukraine, the scarcity of raw materials and inflationary pressures.

On 6 April, the soon to be crowned King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla participated in a centuries old British ceremony that traditionally takes place on the Thursday before Easter Sunday, Maundy Thursday.

Nominations are now open for the MDC’s prestigious Coin Awards. Last held in 2018, the awards recognise industry achievements in the design, production and packaging of coins, as well as, for the first time, sustainability in minting.

In the last two issues of Coin & Mint News™, we covered 10 of the presentations made in the first two sessions of the World Money Fair Technical Forum 2023. This month, we conclude the review with four presentations covering surface finishing and inspection, the recovery of e-waste, packaging and commemorative coins.

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?