November 5, 2015 – Introduced in 2007, the Excellence in Currency Coin Awards recognise excellence in currency issue, production, processing, management, and distribution. This year, organisations from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Mexico and Hong Kong have all scooped prestigious awards from the International Association of Currency Affairs. Sponsored by Currency News, the awards in four categories were presented at a special ceremony during The Coin Conference, which took place in Madrid on October 22nd, 2015.
Bank of Papua New Guinea and Royal Australian Mint: Winners of Best New Circulating Coin or Coin Series.
Best New Circulating Coin or Coin Series
This award was won by the Bank of Papua New Guinea and Royal Australian Mint for the Papua New Guinea 50 ‘toea’ coin. The denomination celebrates the ‘XV Pacific Games’ and is a multi-coloured circulating coin, which features on its reverse the logo and colours of the Pacific Games.
Royal Canadian Mint and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Winners of Best New Commemorative or Test Circulating Coin.
Best New Commemorative or Test Circulating Coin
This award went to Royal Canadian Mint and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for the New Zealand 50 cent Anzac Centenary coin. It is New Zealand‘s first coloured circulation coin and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula during the First World War by Anzac, the joint corps of Australian and NZ armed forces.
Bank of Mexico: Winner of Best Public Education Program or Website.
Best Public Education Program or Website
The Bank of Mexico is the winner of the public education award, with a campaign to encourage Mexican’s to adopt a series of 20-peso commemorative coins. It was also recognised for its promotion of an improved Banknotes and Coins Exchange Service, which enables the public to obtain change in an efficiently and conveniently without fees.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Winner of Best Coin Innovation.
Best Coin Innovation
This award was won by Hong Kong Monetary Authority for its creative solution to stop coin hoarding. The HKMA uses Coin Carts that go out into the community to encourage people to deposit coins. The programme helps with the recirculation of coins and reduces minting costs.
Full details of this year‘s awards will be provided in the next issue of Currency News.
For more information on the organiser of the award, the International Association of Currency Affairs, please visit its official website.