New Coin Issues

Germany Unveils Two New 2024 Commemoratives

The country has unveiled the designs for two new collector coins scheduled for issue next year, with the first a €20 silver coin commemorating the 300th birthday of philosopher Immanuel Kant, and the second a €50 gold coin named ‘Mobility’.

The former is scheduled to be issued from April 2024 in two embossing qualities, uncirculated and mirror-polished, and will be composed of sterling silver.

Designed by Czech artist Martin Dašek, the image side of the coin depicts the silhouette of Kant in the foreground with a sky full of stars as the backdrop. The dates of birth and death and name of the philosopher are inscribed at the bottom of the design. Inscribed at the top of the coin is an extract from one of Kant’s most famous remarks in German, ‘the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me’ which exemplifies key constructs of Kantian philosophy.

The alternate side of the coin features an eagle, the country and year of issue, and the denomination, with the twelve stars of Europe depicted at the top. The edge of the coin will be inscribed with the words ‘Criticism, Reason, Will, Peace’ in German.

The €50 gold coin is scheduled for released in August 2023 and will be the second issued in a five-part ‘German Crafts’ series, with a coin to be issued annually between 2023 and 2027. Designed by Leipzig-based artist Stefanie Radtke, the alternate side of the coin features the same emblems as that of the €20 coin above, in a different style and placing.

The image side of the coin features the word ‘Mobilitat’ (Mobility) in the centre, with the ‘O’ comprised of a spanner and nut held up by a hand designed to look like a neural network. Several interconnected hexagons branch off the hand and end of the spanner, with six of them depicting a different mode of transport in each.

Chapultepec Collection from Casa de Moneda de México

As part of centenary celebrations for the Chapultepec Zoo, and in partnership with the Mexico City Ministry of the Environment and specialists from the Zoo itself, Casa de Moneda de México has launched a series of commemorative medals. The medals have also been named coins due to their size and general design characteristics, although they have no exchange value and therefore cannot be used in transactions.

The collection is comprised of seven medals, with the seventh – the flamingo – chosen following a design contest held for primary schoolchildren by the Mint and the Federal Educational Authority in Mexico City. Each of the medals in the collection features a different animal found at the Zoo – the American bison, Mexican wolf, teporingo (volcano rabbit), Xochimilco axolotl, California condor, giant panda, and Caribbean flamingo.

The reverse design is the same for all coins in the collection and depicts the Zoo’s coat of arms in the centre with ‘100 años’ and ‘1923-2023’ above and below, respectively. Inscribed around the edge of the coin are the words ‘Zoológico de Chapultepec’, the country of issue, and ‘Alfonso L. Herrera’ – the founder of the zoo.

Magyar Nemzeti Bank Honours Its Archives

The National Bank of Hungary (Magyar Nemzeti Bank – MNB) has issued a special collector coin to commemorate the tercentenary of the establishment of Hungary’s countrywide independent archives, and the centenary of the opening of the purpose-built archives building at Buda Castle.

The MNB has issued two forms of the coin, with one a silver coin denominated at 15,000 forints, and the other a non-ferrous metal (cupronickel) version with a value of 3,000 forints. Produced by the Hungarian Mint, mintage for the coins has been limited to 7,000 pieces of each type.

The obverse of the coin depicts the ‘country chest’ – which signifies a time when the nation’s key documents fitted into a chest – based on a mural painting by Hungarian artist Andor Dudits held at the National Archives. ‘ORSZÁGLÁDA’ (country chest) is inscribed below and ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’ (Hungary) above the chest. The denominations are also inscribed, at the bottom of each coin type, with the mint mark to the left of the chest and year of issue to the right.© Magyar Nemzeti Bank – MNB.

The reverse of the coin depicts the central building of the National Archives, with the building’s spire in the background. The spire features contrasting polishing as it does not currently exist, following extensive damage during World War II and its subsequent demolition. ‘Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár’ (Hungarian National Archives) is inscribed along the top-left quarter edge, with ‘1923’ and ‘ORSZÁGOS LEVÉLTÁR’ (State Archives) at the bottom of the coin.

Both collector coins have a diameter of 38.61mm, with a finely reeded edge and the inscription repeated twice in Latin ‘UNIVERSALE ARCHIVUM REGNI INSTITUATUR – 1723:XLV.’, which refers to the law establishing the General National Archives, and the words ‘Let a General National Archives be established’.

Royal Australian Mint Celebrates the Matildas

As co-hosts of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Australian women’s national football team, the Matildas (so-called due to the country’s famous folk song, ’Waltzing Matilda’), have now been immortalised on a series of commemorative circulating coins by the Royal Australian Mint.

Working in partnership with Football Australia, the Mint has produced seven coins in total – three $2 coins featuring a coloured element and four $1 coins.

The $2 design depicts a football in the centre surrounded by a coloured circle (one a light green, one dark green, and the last yellow) with the tournament’s logo above and the team’s name and year of establishment below.

Four designs feature on each of the $1 coins, with a player in a dynamic pose in the foreground – one striking, one heading the ball, one tackling or defending, and the last goalkeeping – and the pitch and stadium in the background. ‘Australian Women’s National Football Team’ and ‘MATILDAS’ are inscribed on each of the coins.

All seven coins feature the Jody Clark effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II, with the monarch’s name and years of reign also inscribed.

Released exclusively in Woolworths shops across the country, customers are able to collect the coins as part of the change they receive in store.

Spain Commemorates EU Council Presidency Role

The Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (FNMT) has begun issuing a new €2 coin design to commemorate the country assuming the role of the Presidency of the EU Council, which rotates every six months amongst the bloc’s member states. An estimated 1.5 million units are set to leave the country and circulate around Europe.

The obverse of the coin features the logo of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in the centre, with the Mint’s mark depicted underneath. Inscribed around the edge of the gold inner circle are the words ‘España 2023 – Presidencia Española’ and ‘Consejo de la Unión Europea’. The outer ring of the coin features the twelve stars of the European Flag.

As with all other circulating commemoratives issued by eurozone countries, the new coin has the same technical specifications, with the reverse design remaining the standard Map of Europe design by Luc Luycx.

Royal Canadian Mint Honours ‘Trailblazing Engineer’

The Royal Canadian Mint has launched a new $1 commemorative circulating coin honouring Canadian aeronautical engineer and women’s rights advocate Elsie MacGill. Nicknamed ‘Queen of the Hurricanes’ for her involvement in the production of Hawker Hurricane fighter planes during the Second World War, MacGill paved the way for women to follow in both the pursuit of engineering and through her lifelong advocacy for women’s rights and professional equality.

Unveiled in the city of Calgary’s Hangar Flight Museum, the coin depicts the engineer on the right of the coin holding a pair of rolled-up blueprints, whilst a Maple Leaf Trainer II plane – designed by the honoree herself – flies overhead. On the left of the coin flies one of the over 1,450 Canadian-made Hawker Hurricane fighter planes that she helped produce, with her name inscribed underneath.

The reverse of the coin features Susanna Blunt’s effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II, with the monarch’s name, years of reigns, and the coin’s year of issue inscribed around the portrait.

Mintage has been limited to three million coins, of which two million will be coloured, with the coloured versions featuring the Hawker Hurricane in one of its characteristic camouflage designs.

The coin will reach Canadians through their change as bank branches and businesses replenish their inventories of $1 coins.