November 21, 2013 – France and Australia are the top contenders following the first round of voting for 2014’s Coin of the Year Award sponsored by World Coin News. Both countries take home trophies in two of 10 categories.
For France, its Yves Klein 10-euro silver coin, KM-2087, with its distinctive blue hand of the artist against the silver background, is acclaimed Most Artistic Coin by an international panel of judges, which cast their ballots online Oct. 31-Nov. 10.
Top honors in the Best Silver Coin category go to the French Ocean Liner design, “Le France.” It is also a silver 10-euro coin, KM-2079.
For Australia, victory comes in the Best Crown category, which is for coins approximately silver dollar size. The winning coin is a silver $5 coin, KM-1853, showing the Southern Cross in a blue sky on the reverse.
Australia’s second category win is for Best Circulating Coin. Here an aluminum-bronze $1 coin, KM-1738, proclaiming the International Year of the Farmer won over the judges.
The six remaining categories winners are divided among six nations.
Greece topped voting for the Most Historically Significant Coin with a silver 10-euro coin called Greek Culture – Socrates, KM-248.
Best Contemporary Event Coin, which honors historically important events in the past 99 years, is Great Britain’s silver 10-pound coin for the London Olympic Games, KM-1227.
Canada’s idea factory, the Royal Canadian Mint, wins the Most Innovative Coin Award for its glow-in-the-dark Dino Skeleton nickel-plated steel 25-cent coin, KM-1252.
Best Bi-Metallic Coin is from Finland. It is the Helsinki – World Design Capital 50 euro where the outer ring is silver and the inner ring is gold, KM-180.
Italy claims the Best Gold Coin with its Fauna in Art – Middle Ages 20 euro, KM-352.
The Award in the Most Inspirational Coin Category goes to Alderney for a copper-nickel 5-pound coin for Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, KM-219.
The international panel of mint masters, artists and numismatists will now vote to determine which of the 10 coins will be named the Coin of the Year for 2014. Voting ends Dec. 8. The winner will be announced as soon as the ballots are officially tabulated.
The COTY winner, as well as all 10 category winners, will be recognized at a special awards ceremony held Feb. 8, 2014, at the World Money Fair in Berlin, Germany.
All coins in the competition are dated 2012. Nominations can be made by anyone. A nominating committee met in the offices of World Coin News in Iola, Wis., on Oct. 4. The committee placed 99 coins on the first round COTY ballot.
The Coin of the Year Award was first given in 1984. The award was created by World Coin News to encourage great art, usefulness and innovation in world coinage and to recognize the mints that create these qualities.
You can find a comprehensive list of all COTY winners ever on the Krause website.