Coin of the Year
The Coin of the Year is an awards program founded and annually conducted by the American publisher Krause Publications of Iola, Wisconsin, and directed at the coin producing industry. Awards are given for numismatic design, artistic vision and craftsmanship. A panel of international judges chooses the coins from those issued two years prior to the year of the award.
About
The COTY was awarded for the first time in 1984, in which coins issued in 1982 were assessed. A panel of judges chooses ten coins to be nominees for each of ten categories. These nominees will then be reviewed by an international panel of judges who are numismatic experts, journalist, authors, coin designers, and mint, bank and museum officials. Category winners are selected in the first round of voting and Coin of the Year in the second round, chosen from the category winners.Categories
Awards are currently given in ten categories. When the awards were first started, there were six categories. Five categories have since been added and one was dropped.- Best Bi-metallic: Bi-metallic coins are composed of two metals which can be seen, generally one metal in an outer ring and one in the inner ring.
- Best Contemporary Event: Coins which commemorate events, institutions physical entities, or individuals which are deemed to be most important in terms of current or recent events influencing a people or mankind.
- Best Crown: Coins which have all-around aesthetic and commercial appeal, and have a minimum diameter of 33mm.
- Best Circulating: Circulating monetary unit coins which are made of non-precious metals, possess all-around aesthetic and commercial appeal.
- Best Gold: Coins fabricated of gold, platinum, Palladium, or another exotic precious metal which have all-around aesthetic and commercial appeal.
- Best Silver: Coins fabricated of silver which have all-around aesthetic and commercial appeal.
- Most Popular: Coins with commercial sales and artistic caliber which appeals to the general public internationally.
- Most Artistic: Coins selected solely on the value of their artistic merit.
- Most Historically Significant: Coins which commemorate events, institutions, physical entities, or individual which are deemed to be most important in terms of the historical heritage of a people or mankind.
- Most Innovative: Coins which contain pioneering metallic alloys, non-typical coinage materials, planchet shapes, thickness, sizes, themes, distribution methods or other innovations.
- Most Inspirational: Coins featuring themes, events, institutions, physical entities, or individuals that represent peace, freedom, and human rights.
List of award winners
2023 (minted in 2021)
2022 (minted in 2020)
Reference and images:2021 (minted in 2019)
Reference and images:2020 (minted in 2018)
Reference and images:2019 (minted in 2017)
| Category | Face value | Metal | Mintage | Mint | Topic |
| Coin of the Year | 50 euro | Silver | 500 | Monnaie de Paris | French excellence – Guy Savoy |
| Best Bi-metallic | 2 euro | Copper, nickel | 10,000 | Monnaie de Paris | The fight against breast cancer |
| Best Circulating | 20 Ouguiya | Brass, nickel bronze | Central Bank of Mauritania | Camels | |
| Best Contemporary Event | 2 rand | Silver | 1,000 | South African Mint | South African inventions: the heart transplant |
| Best Crown | 5 dollar | Silver | 499 | Coin Invest Trust | Scarab collection: Red Dawn |
| Best Gold | 100 dollar | Gold | 100,000 | United States Mint | American Liberty – US Mint's 225th anniversary |
| Best Silver | 50 euro | Silver | 500 | Monnaie de Paris | French Excellence – Guy Savoy |
| Most Artistic | 50 euro | Gold | 20,000 | Austrian Mint | Vienna Schools of Psychotherapy – Sigmund Freud |
| Most Historically Significant | 25 euro | Silver | 30,000 | Austrian Mint | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's 175th anniversary |
| Most Innovative | 20 dollar | Silver | 499 | Powercoin | Great Micromosaic Passion – The Birth of Venus |
| Most Inspirational | 1 dollar | Silver | 12,256 | United States Mint | Boys Town centennial commemorative |
Reference and images:
2018 (minted in 2016)
| Category | Face value | Metal | Mintage | Mint | Topic |
| Coin of the Year | 5 euro | Copper, nickel | 2,000,000 | German Mints | Planet Earth with polymer ring |
| Best Bi-metallic | 25 euro | Niobium, silver | 65,000 | Austrian Mint | Time |
| Best Circulating | 20 yuan | Bronze, nickel, steel | 8,000,000 | China Banknote Printing and Minting | Year of the monkey |
| Best Contemporary Event | 20 francs | Silver | 30,000 | Swissmint | Gotthard Road Tunnel |
| Best Crown | 50 euro | Silver | 500 | Monnaie de Paris | Van Cleef & Arpels |
| Best Gold | 100 dollar | Gold | 30,000 | Austrian Mint | Wildlife in Our Sights, the fox |
| Best Silver | 5 dollar | Silver | 5,000 | Royal Australian Mint | Northern sky Cassiopeia, dome-shaped |
| Most Artistic | 5 euro | Silver | 3,000 | Lithuanian Mint | National entrepreneur, multi-faceted and QR code |
| Most Historically Significant | 200 euro | Gold | 500 | Monnaie de Paris | Joan of Arc |
| Most Innovative | 5 euro | Copper, nickel | 2,000,000 | German Mints | Planet Earth with polymer ring |
| Most Inspirational | 20 dollar | Silver | 7,000 | Royal Canadian Mint | Mother Earth, 3-D droplet |
Reference and images:
2017 (minted in 2015)
| Category | Face value | Metal | Mintage | Mint | Topic |
| Coin of the Year | 10 euro | Silver | 6,000 | Italian State Mint | 70 years of peace in Europe |
| Best Bi-metallic | 5 euro | Copper, nickel | 45,000 | Mint of Finland | Lapland reindeer |
| Best Circulating | 25 cent | Copper, nickel | 776,800,000 | United States Mint | America the Beautiful quarters – Kisatchie National Forest |
| Best Contemporary Event | 10,000 Yen | Gold | 2,188 | Japan Mint | 2011 2011 [Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|Great East Japan Earthquake] reconstruction program |
| Best Crown | 5 pound | Nickel | 10,000 | Royal Mint | Winston Churchill |
| Best Gold | 100 euro | Gold | 30,000 | Austrian Mint | Capercaille |
| Best Silver | 10 euro | Silver | 10,000 | Mint of Finland | 70th anniversary of peace after World War II |
| Most Artistic | 10 euro | Silver | 6,000 | Italian Mint | 70 years of peace in Europe |
| Most Historically Significant | 20 dollar | Silver | 10,000 | Royal Canadian Mint | 100th anniversary of "In Flanders Fields" |
| Most Innovative | 2 dollar | Silver | 1,500 | B. H. Mayer Mint | Space time continuum |
| Most Inspirational | 1 dollar | Silver | 24,742 | United States Mint | March of Dimes – Salk polio vaccine |
Reference and images:
2016 (minted in 2014)
| Category | Face value | Metal | Mintage | Mint | Topic |
| Coin of the Year | 50 cent | Copper, nickel | 257,000 | United States Mint | Baseball |
| Best Bi-metallic | 25 euro | Niobium, silver | 65,000 | Austrian Mint | Science of evolution |
| Best Circulating | 2 pound | Copper, nickel | 5,720,000 | Royal Mint | WWI – Lord Kitchener |
| Best Contemporary Event | 5 euro | Silver | 10,000 | Royal Dutch Mint | 25th anniversary of the Baltic Way demonstration |
| Best Crown | 20 dollar | Silver | 7,500 | Royal Canadian Mint | Maple leaf tree canopy |
| Best Gold | 5 dollar | Gold | 17,677 | United States Mint | Baseball |
| Best Silver | 20 euro | Silver | 50,000 | Austrian Mint | Fall of the Iron Curtain |
| Most Artistic | 50 euro | Gold | 30,000 | Austrian Mint | Gustav Klimt painting, Judith II |
| Most Historically Significant | 10 euro | Silver | 195,000 | German Mints | Fahrenheit’s invention of the mercury thermometer |
| Most Innovative | 50 cent | Copper, nickel | 257,173 | United States Mint | Baseball |
| Most Inspirational | 10 zloty | Silver | 30,000 | Polish Mint | Birth of Jan Karski |
Reference and images:
2015 (minted in 2013)
| Category | Face value | Metal | Mintage | Mint | Topic |
| Coin of the Year | 50 euro | Gold | 30,000 | Austrian Mint | Gustav Klimt – The Expectation |
| Best Bi-metallic | 25 euro | Niobium, silver | 65,000 | Austrian Mint | Tunneling |
| Best Circulating | 25 cents | Copper, nickel | 920,695 | United States Mint | Mount Rushmore National Memorial |
| Best Contemporary Event | 1 rubel | Silver | 5,000 | Polish Mint | 90th year of BPS-Sberbank |
| Best Crown | 10 euro | Silver | 10,000 | B. H. Mayer Mint | James Joyce |
| Best Gold | 50 dollar | Gold | 30,000 | Austrian Mint | Gustav Klimt – The Expectation |
| Best Silver | 1 Lats | Silver | 5,000 | Royal Dutch Mint | Richard Wagner's 200th birthday |
| Most Artistic | 1000 euro | Gold | 30,000 | Austrian Mint | Wildlife in Our Sights – red deer |
| Most Historically Significant | 5 euro | Silver | 17,500 | Royal Dutch Mint | Peace of Utrecht |
| Most Innovative | 500 tögrög | Silver | 2,500 | Coin Investment Trust | Mongolian wolf |
| Most Inspirational | 3 dollar | Silver | 15,000 | Royal Canadian Mint | Fishing |
Reference and images:
2014 (minted in 2012)
| Category | Face value | Metal | Mintage | Mint | Topic |
| Coin of the Year | 10 euro | Silver | 30,000 | Monnaie de Paris | Yves Klein |
| Best Bi-metallic | 50 euro | Gold, silver | 5,000 | Mint of Finland | Helsinki – World design capital |
| Best Circulating | 1 dollar | Aluminum, Bronze | 20,000 | Royal Australian Mint | Australian year of the farmer |
| Best Contemporary Event | 10 pound | Silver | 7,500 | Royal Mint | 2012 Olympic games in London |
| Best Crown | 5 dollar | Silver | 10,000 | Royal Australian Mint | Southern Cross in night sky |
| Best Gold | 20 euro | Gold | 1,500 | Italian Mint | Flora in the art: Middle Ages |
| Best Silver | 10 euro | Silver | 10,000 | Monnaie de Paris | Ocean liner |
| Most Artistic | 10 euro | Silver | 30,000 | Monnaie de Paris | Yves Klein |
| Most Historically Significant | 10 euro | Silver | 5,000 | Bank of Greece | Greek Culture: Socrates |
| Most Innovative | 25 cent | Nickel, steel | 25,000 | Royal Canadian Mint | Glow-in-the-dark dinosaur skeleton |
| Most Inspirational | 5 pound | Copper, nickel | 3,000 | Royal Mint | Remembrance Day |
Reference and images: