News in Brief

New Caribbean Guilder Coins Approved

The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten has announced its approval of samples of the 1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, and 50 cent coins for the new Caribbean guilder currency. Now that the samples have been approved, the Royal Canadian Mint – the chosen supplier of the new coins – can begin pre-production trials for the lower denomination coins.

The central bank has said that it is continuing to work on samples for the 1 and 5 guilder coins, which would complete the new coin series samples once finalised.

The introduction of the new Caribbean guilder is expected to be completed during the second half of next year, with the new currency to pegged to the US dollar and issued at par with the Dutch Antilles guilder.

First Gold ATM for Egypt

Master Gold Egypt has launched the country’s first ATM selling gold bars during the third Nebu Gold and Jewelry Exhibition, held at the end of last month in Cairo. In partnership with local e-payment technology company Finway, the machine will provide bullion ranging from 1 to 10 grams, and is updated continuously and in real time so that the buyer is properly billed.

The company announced that the machine will be available first at its branch in the Fifth Settlement, with plans to expand into additional branches, gold merchants, and commercial malls during the next phase of development.

Two New Partnerships for The Royal Mint

The Royal Mint has partnered with FinTech Wales, described as the independent membership association and champion of the Fintech and Financial Services industry in Wales, to support its digitisation plans. The partnership will enable the mint to connect with Welsh fintech organisations to develop relationships and access new resources, according to the company.

‘We might be Britain’s oldest company but we are firmly focused on the future. We look forward to collaborating with FinTech Wales and aligning closely with the community it has cultivated, while leveraging our strong relationships with local educational establishments, partners, and the technology sector to further foster growth and contribute our expertise’, said Rich Hobbs, Group IT Director at The Royal Mint.

Continuing to look to the future, The Royal Mint has also partnered with the University of Hull to redefine its coin capsules through the use of acrylic. The partnership is ‘a key stride in our commitment to becoming net zero by 2050, without compromising the crucial protection and quality of our products’, noted the mint in its announcement.

Italy Dismantles Counterfeit Coin Syndicate

Working with Europol, the Italian police have dismantled an organised crime syndicate and arrested four individuals accused of involvement in the counterfeiting of euro coins, with the former noting that the fake coins were difficult to detect as counterfeits.

The investigation began over two years ago, following the discovery of 668 counterfeit €2 coins in the possession of two people and the subsequent discovery of counterfeit coin distribution throughout several European countries.

Law enforcement officials uncovered the use of blockchain by a ‘vendor’ selling counterfeits for half their value and accepting payment in cryptocurrency. Additional members of the syndicate were then responsible for shipping the physical, and fake, coins to buyers via private international post services.

Destined for several countries, including Italy, France and Switzerland, investigators tracked down 60 parcels of these counterfeit €2 coins, weighing 100,000 kg and valued at €102,000. 107,000 bitcoins, along with forged coins and a section of the coin press machine used for manufacturing, have also been seized.

RCM Holds Coin Exchange

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has held coin swaps at both its Ottawa and Winnipeg sites, inviting collectors to be among the first to get their hands on new coins featuring the effigy of King Charles III. The mint noted it as ‘a unique opportunity’ for people to collect one of each circulating denomination, with collectors receiving a package continuing one of each coin denomination featuring the King’s effigy and dated 2023.

‘People love grabbing a little piece of history and this is the first time in 70 years that we’ve seen a new monarch on our coins’, noted RCM Senior Manager Alex Reeves.

New Australian Coins Enter Circulation

The first Australian coins bearing the effigy of King Charles III have been released into circulation, beginning with the new $1 coin. Mintage of the coins is planned to be 10 million pieces, with the first batch of 3.5 million entering circulation via the banking system last week.

The other denominations will be progressively released in 2024, based on bank demand. The Royal Australian Mint has already said that it will continue to use the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Obverse until May 2024.

Lithuania Urges Caution Over Gold Purchases

The Lithuanian Chamber of Assays has cautioned those intending to purchase gold investment bars to be careful, following its discovery of counterfeit gold bars primarily made of tungsten.

Three 100g yellow metal ingots were marked with a recognised manufacturer’s logo and declared as legitimate, but upon submission to the Accredited Assay and Stamping Laboratory of the Lithuanian Assay Chamber were found to be counterfeit.

Following examination of the presented ingots, the Chamber discovered that whilst the upper layer of the ingots was comprised of the usual pure gold alloy, the interior and thus bulk of the ingots were filled with a grey metal – tungsten. Tungsten has a near identical density to gold and so the counterfeits appear legitimate. The Chamber also noted that signs of tampering were only able to be seen when the ingots were removed from the package.

RDM Holds Strike Ceremony for Free a Girl Coin

The Royal Dutch Mint (RDM) has held a strike ceremony for its recent Free a Girl coin issue (see CMN November 2023), with the ceremonial striking taking place at the Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam.

Ambassador Monia Geuze struck the coin in Amsterdam, with co-founder and ambassador of charitable organisation Stop Kindermisbruik, Yolanthe Cabau, overseeing proceedings in Los Angeles. Free a Girl co- founders Evelien Hölsken, Arjan Erkel and Roelof van Laar were also amongst the first to receive copies of the coin.

The Free a Girl coin is available for collectors to purchase, situated in a coincard featuring the mint’s first ever NFT with the overall concept of the product, the digital and physical issues together, telling the story of 15 years of Free a Girl; before and after liberation. The release has been received very positively by many customers, press and stakeholders, said the RDM.