New Coin Issues

Commemorating the People’s Volunteer Corps

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has issued new commemorative coins to mark the 50th anniversary of the Malaysia Volunteers Corps Department (Jabatan Sukarelawan Malaysia, or RELA). The coins were issued in two denominations, RM 10 and RM 1.

The RM 10 coin is a coloured sterling silver proof coin with a mintage of 1,000 pieces. The RM 1 coin is a Nordic BU coin comprised of copper, zinc, aluminium, and tin with a mintage of 5,000 piece. The coins were also available for sale in a set, which contained one of each coin.

The coins were made available to purchase through the Bank Negara Malaysia online system, with orders limited to one set of 2, one silver proof coin and up to five Nordic gold coins per person.

RCM Honours Queen Elizabeth II’s Historic Reign

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has announced the launch of a new numismatic coin collection to honour the life and reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Each coin in the collection is wrapped in special commemorative packaging and features a special obverse design. The tribute obverse displays the dates of reign either side of a Tudor rose, plus the four effigies of Queen Elizabeth II that have appeared on Canadian coins since 1953.

‘The passing of Queen Elizabeth II is a pivotal event that the Mint is acknowledging with dignity and respect,’ said Marie Lemay, RCM's President and CEO. ‘Our numismatic collection honouring her historic reign is both our thank you and farewell to the late Queen for her unwavering years of service’.

Two of the coins are available to purchase now – the 2022 $5 Fine Silver Coin: A Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the 2022 $2 Special Wrap Roll: Honouring Queen Elizabeth II – with the remaining products either available to pre-order or scheduled for release later this year. Further information about each of the coins in the collection can be found on the RCM’s website, here.

China Celebrates the New Space Station and Year

The People’s Bank of China has issued two new commemorative coins to celebrate the completion of China’s first space station. They were minted Shenzhen Guobao Mint and sold by the China Gold Coin Corporation.

The 50 yuan 24-carat gold commemorative coin features the T-shaped Tiangong (‘Heavenly Palace’) on its reverse, with both Shenzhou crew spacecraft and Tianzhou cargo vehicles docked at either end of the Tianhe (‘Harmony of the Heavens’) core module. The design also features the logo of the Chinese Manned Spaceflight Project (CMS), ‘China Space Station’ in Chinese, and the denomination. Mintage is limited to 20,000 pieces.

The 10 yuan silver coin is partially coloured on the reverse, with the background of space depicted in colours of pink, purple, blue and green. The main design depicts two taikonauts (Chinese astronauts) working outside of the space station, with one mounted to the end of a robotic arm and the other halfway out of an airlock. The left hand side of the coin features small depictions of the ‘three-step’ development phases of China’s space programme. The design features the same CMS logo and wording as the 50 yuan gold coin. Mintage is limited to 50,000 pieces.

Both coins feature the same design on the obverse, which includes the emblem of the People’s Republic of China. The coins are dated 2022 as this was the year that the space station was officially completed.

The central bank also issued several commemorative coins to celebrate Chinese New Year on 22 January, including a set of three coins of varying metals. All coins in the collection are legal tender, with the set including one 10 yuan gold coin, 3 yuan silver coin, and 10 yuan two-colour copper alloy coin.

The gold and silver coins feature the national emblem and year on the obverse, whilst the reverse features the Chinese character ‘Fu’, which represents happiness and good fortune, plus traditional festive designs such as a lion dancing. The copper alloy coins features the image of a rabbit to represent the current Year of the Rabbit, New Year prints, and traditional Chinese paper- cutting patterns.

75th Independence Day for Sri Lanka

The government information department of Sri Lanka has announced that a special 1,000 rupee commemorative coin and two stamps will be issued to mark the country’s 75th Independence Day, which falls on 4 February this year.

The coin will be issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, with the stamps to be issued by the Postal Department.

New Design for Britannia Bullion Coins

The Royal Mint has unveiled its 2023 Britannia bullion coins, which are the first coins of this type to feature the effigy of King Charles III.

The new coin effigy was designed by British sculptor Martin Jennings. The reverse of the Britannia fine gold bullion coins remains the same, featuring Philip Nathan’s design of Britannia.

According to the Mint, the coin features four notable overt security devices; a latent image, surface animation, tincture lines and micro-text.

Celebrating the 50th Birthday of Queen Mathilde

The Belgian Royal Mint has announced that Queen Mathilde will feature on a new commemorative coin in honour of her fiftieth birthday.

The €12.5 gold coin will feature the queen’s effigy on the obverse of the coin alongside her monogram and the number ‘50’. The reverse will feature the effigy of the King, with this coin marking the first time that both King Philippe and Queen Mathilde have appeared on an official commemorative coin.

The coin is legal tender in Belgium, although mintage has been limited to 2,500 pieces.