Round Up on Coins and Numismatics from Central Bank Annual Reports

In this article, we summarise the information from central bank reports on circulating and commemorative coins and numismatic programmes.

Coin Supply Increases

Bank of Uganda – cash in circulation grew by 487 billion Ugandan shillings, or UGX, (7.1%) from UGX 6.8 trillion in FY 2021/22 to UGX 7.3 trillion in 2022/23. The net value of banknotes in circulation increased by UGX 477 billion, from UGX 6.6 trillion in June 2022 to UGX 7.1 trillion in June 2023, while that of coins increased by UGX 9.9 billion.

Bank of Russia – to provide a higher velocity of coin circulation, the Bank has introduced the Coin Platform – an information service supporting the direct communication between banks and merchants regarding the delivery of coins to each other. In 2022, the number of regions where the Coin Platform was operating increased from 14 to 21, and the number of participants increased from 198 to 277. The Platform’s turnover increased by 55.1% over the year.

In 2022, the Bank issued 48 kinds of commemorative coins (one gold coin, 35 silver coins, and 12 base metal coins) and three investment coins (two gold coins and one silver coin).

Reserve Bank of India – the total value of coins in circulation increased by 8.1% in 2022-23, while the total volume increased by 2.6. The RBI launched a pilot project for a QR code-based Coin Vending Machine (QCVM) using the country’s UPI (Unified Payments Interface) to improve public accessibility to coins.

Central Bank of Kosovo – demand for coins during 2022 saw an increase of about 36.2% compared to 2021. The demand for the euro coins was dominated by the small- value coins of 1, 2 and 5 cents, together accounting for 67.4% of the total demand.

Bank Al-Maghrib (Morocco) – in 2022, metallic coins increased by 3.1% to 3.1 billion, equivalent to 4 billion dirhams in value terms.

Bank of Albania – at the end of 2022, there were 257 million coins in circulation, compared to 241 million at the end of 2021. The value of coins reached 6.44 billion leks, compared to 5.96 billion leks at the end of 2021.

Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Hungary) – MNB issued 28 collector coins in 16 thematic schemes in 2022, of which three were gold coins, nine were silver coins, and 16 were non-ferrous metal collector coins (of these, six had an independent theme, and ten were issued as the non-ferrous metal versions of precious metal coins). Six previously started series were continued, and three new ones were launched in 2022. Furthermore, 2 million 100 forint commemorative coins entered into circulation, marking the opening of the Money Museum.

Compared to the end of the previous year, the volume of forint coins in circulation expanded by 6%. The denomination distribution of the coins in circulation is stable – the ratio between the different denomination values changing by less than 1% point in the five years between 2018 and 2022.

National Bank of Romania – at the end of 2022, the number of coins outside banks was 5.445 billion (a 5.1% increase year on year), their value standing 7.3% higher than at the end of 2021. As a result of the high demand for coins, the number of all denominations increased in comparison to 2021, with percentages varying between 2.1% (for the 1 ban) and 8.9% (for the 50 bani). The 10 and 5 bani coins accounted for the most significant shares of the total number at 42.5% and 26.2%, respectively.

In terms of value, the 50 and 10 bani denominations covered 88.3% of the total value of coins outside banks, the largest share being held by the former (54.8%). At the end of 2022, the number of banknotes and coins outside banks per capita amounted to 87 and 286 respectively, 4 notes and 16 coins more than at the end of 2021.

Reserve Bank of Fiji – the value of coins in circulation increased by 5.8% to $74.3 million (Fijian dollars) during the financial year. The $1 and $2 coins registered a growth of 5% to $18.9 million and 8.9% to $22.1 million, respectively.

National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic – in 2022, the total amount of cash in circulation increased by 42.1%, amounting to KGS 198.8 billion. The cash turnover was represented by 463.8 million sheets of banknotes and 545.3 million pieces of coins. The share of banknotes accounted for 99.1%, and the share of coins 0.9% of the total cash in circulation.

Central Bank of Kenya – currency in circulation increased by 3.5%, or Ksh 10.6 billion, to Ksh 316 billion (coins were up 4.14% to Ksh 10.5 billion, and banknotes up 3.16% to Ksh 305 billion) compared to an increase of 10.2% in the previous financial year.

Bank of Botswana – the net issuance of coin denominations increased by 10.7% to 338 million in 2022. The value of coins in circulation increased marginally by 1.3% to P135.3 million.

European Central Bank – the value of coins in circulation rose by 4% to €32.5 billion in 2022. 145 billion coins were in circulation.

Coins Circulation Drops

Bank of Japan – the number of Japanese coins in circulation fell 5.5% from its peak in 2021, declining for six consecutive quarters to Q2 2023. The sharpest drop has been in circulation of the largest denomination ¥500 coin. Ironically, the Bank will issue a new ¥500 coin in 2024 (along with new banknotes).

The ¥500 is the most common coin given to children to keep in their piggy banks, a tradition that seeks to establish solid patterns of saving and deferred gratification at an early age. Parents traditionally set aside any ¥500 coins in their change and add it to their children’s piggy banks, whose contents are transferred to bank accounts when full. But from the start of last year, Japanese banks began imposing stiff charges of up to ¥1,100 on anyone depositing large numbers of coins.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand – banknotes and coins in circulation decreased by NZ$0.06 billion (to NZ$8.92 billion) in the year to 30 June 2023. According to RBNZ, currency in circulation is influenced by public demand for cash, which is impacted by several factors, including changing payment and shopping preferences and reduced access to bank branches for cash services for individual and retail customers.

Its report called for resilience in cash as Cyclone Gabrielle caused extensive damage to payments-enabling infrastructure in some areas of New Zealand. Electronic payment systems such as EFTPOS were unavailable for several days. This disruption highlighted New Zealand’s cash system’s lack of resilience and vulnerability to power, data, and road network outages, exacerbated by banks reducing branches and ATM networks and retreating from offering in- branch cash services for retailers. RBNZ supported the cash industry response to Cyclone Gabrielle by coordinating industry, central government and local responses to facilitate cash availability in areas affected by the cyclone.

‘The increased likelihood of extreme weather events resulting from climate change means that the lack of resilience in the cash sector will need to be addressed’, the report said.

‘In assessing the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle on the cash system, we have monitored and assessed the state of the cash system through engagement with the cash industry, businesses and communities, establishing new data collections, and making progress on developing a monitoring framework. Work is required on cash system redesign, infrastructure and stewardship.’

Federal Reserve Bank – in 2022, Reserve Banks issued 43 billion coins into circulation, a 7% decrease from 2021, and received 31.9 billion coins, a 5.1% decrease.

Collectable, Bullion Coins, and Numismatics

National Bank of Kazakhstan – the Bank minted and issued 5,319,500 pieces of collectable coins in 2022, of which 29,000 pieces were silver, 140,000 pieces cupro-nickel, and 505,000 pieces nickel silver/nickel brass. The Bank continued to sell collectable coins via the pilot platform of www.kazcoins.nationalbank.kz online shop – selling nearly 350,000 coins in 2022.

National Bank of Romania – in 2022, the Bank launched 14 numismatic issues, including 15 coins, of which four were gold and 11 were silver. The maximum mintage differed depending on the metal the coins were made of, namely 4,000 gold coins and 55,000 silver coins. For numismatic purposes, the Bank also put into circulation a mint set with a maximum mintage of 5,000 coins to mark 150 years since the inauguration of Bucharest’s railway station (the North Station).

Reserve Bank of Fiji – the Bank realised $2 million in numismatic income in 2022. During the year, it signed several agreements with partner mints for various new numismatic currency programmes, along with the sale of existing silver and coloured coins, singles, pairs, and uncut note sheets, including other collectable items.