Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i World Coin News

The Paris Mint, Monnaie de Paris, is doing its part to support Ukraine in light of the ongoing armed invasion of the nation. The mint has issued a “Solidarity with Ukraine” mini-medal to support the nation defending its freedom and those suffering from the conflict. The 34mm, white metal piece costs 10 euros. For each mini-medal purchased, Monnaie de Paris will donate 8 euros to the Red Cross for the Ukrainian population. This donation aims to provide humanitarian assistance to protect the life and dignity and provide assistance to victims of this armed conflict, according to the mint. The medal’s obverse features the Eiffel Tower displaying the two-colored Ukrainian flag. The flag also features the French national motto, “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity), a motto that resonates beyond its…

Croatia’s currency system has been criticized for some time. The current 1,000-kuna bank note features a vignette of 19th-Century nationalist Ante Starcevic, whose philosophy is thought to have inspired the Nazi-era Ustashe movement. The currency is denominated in kuna, a name that originated via a unilateral decision made in 1994 by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. Tudjman named the currency allegedly on advice of right-wing radicals within the ruling Croatian Democratic Union. Many view that the currency is now named after a weasel (actually a martin), evoking memories of the World War Two era Nazi quisling state, glorifies Croatian nationalism, and encouraging current Serbian rebels who don’t want an independent Croatia. On July 21, 2021, the Hrvatska narodna banka or Croatian National Bank Currency Committee proposed scientist Nikola Tesla appear on…

Coins marking the modern Olympic Games have been issued since 1951 when Finland marked the Helsinki Games. The number of countries issuing coins peaked during the late 20th century, at which time countries that didn’t even send athletes to compete in the Games were issuing non-circulating legal tender coins. Times have changed. The Olympic Committee guards the use of the symbol of the five Olympic rings on coins more carefully. There is less fanfare and marketing surrounding commemorative Olympic coins than in the past. Nonetheless the interest in not only Olympic coins, but in commemorative Olympic bank notes has reached the point of ‘irrational exuberance’ in China, host country to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. As Promo Marketing explained it on Feb. 15, “An event like the Olympics captures international…

SEVEN EXTENSIVE AUCTION catalogs with world-class special collections: that’s just too much for a normal auction week. Therefore, Künker takes a new approach in 2022. The Spring Auction Sales will be divided into two parts. Part 1 will be held from 21 to 25 March 2022. The sale offers an important special collection containing issues of the various lines of the Brunswick principalities under the title “The Minted Splendor of the Welfs”, the second part of the Lottie and Mark Salton Collection as well as the second part of the Annemarie and Gerd Köhlmoos Collection. Added to this, there is the usual varied offer of medieval and modern coins. It includes the Dr Albrecht Ullrich Collection with Gothic gold coins of excellent quality, not to forget substantial special collections of…

TO CELEBRATE International Women’s Day, The Royal Mint has unveiled a new depiction of Britannia, one of Britain’s oldest and most enduring feminine icons, on a collectable UK coin. The new design is inspired by Gustav Klimt’s classic 1905 painting ‘The Three ages of Woman’ and features Britannia moving from girlhood to maturity. It is the first time that Britannia has appeared three times on one UK coin, and champions women of all ages as equal. It was created by Italian artist and sculptor, Sandra Deiana and updates a classic theme for modern collectors. A second design also features in the Britannia range, capturing Britannia’s time-honored and classical look. Made with pioneering laser technology to incorporate intricate details, this second unique design retains Britannia’s classical appeal, while displaying a modern…

Unless the only coins you collect are extremely modern, you should be concerned with what has been evolving using Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and an increasing number of other countries regarding the import and ownership of foreign and ancient coins. A MOU is unlikely to impact a modern non-circulating legal tender coin sold to raise funds for a government, mint, or organization. Even some 20th century circulation strike coins are by at least one foreign government now being considered to be national patrimony that may no longer be exported or owned abroad. A MOU is a legal document describing arrangements through which two parties agree to work together to meet an objective. The recent history of MOU regarding import or ownership of certain foreign coins into…

Welcome to the 20th anniversary of the EU currency union. Despite all the challenges the EU has faced its currency union, dubbed the Eurozone by the press, has continued and appears to be expanding to additional EU members. Despite the controversies and scandal involving Croatia’s plans to convert from kuna to euro currency, the nation will join the Eurozone in 2023. Romania leads the list of EU member nations with designs on joining the common currency zone as well, with Euronews reporting about 75 percent of those Romanian citizens surveyed would like to see their nation dump its leu denominated currency in favor of euros. The same Eurobarometer survey indicated 69 percent of people surveyed in Hungary would like to see the euro replace the Hungarian forint. The other EU…

THE ROYAL MINT auctioned a rare ‘pattern piece’ in early March. The piece was used to create the famous Una and the Lion coin design. Although they resemble coins, pattern pieces are early prototypes used by The Royal Mint to test the finish and quality of new designs. Pattern pieces rarely became available to the public, making them highly desirable additions to a collection. On March 6, The Royal Mint offered the 1 kilo, solid gold Una and the Lion trial pattern piece along with 74 other lots (85 total pieces with one lot containing ten pieces) to the public via an online auction. As The Royal Mint reports the rising popularity of rare and historic coins as portfolio diversifiers, the opportunity to own an Una and the Lion piece…

COVID-19 VACCINES USING messenger RNA (mRNA) played a key role in containing and overcoming the global pandemic. International cooperation among scientists and researchers was needed for the breakthroughs that paved the way for the development of mRNA-based vaccines. Two Hungarian researchers played critical roles. Katalin Karikó was responsible for making it safe to introduce the mRNA molecules into an organism, while Norbert Pardi figured out how to solve the problem of introducing mRNA into an organism and overcome the instability by packaging it in a lipid nanoparticle. To honor their accomplishment, the Hungarian Mint is striking a 15,000 forint silver and 3,000 forint nonferrous commemorative coin entitled “The Hungarian discovery forming the basis for mRNA vaccines.” The square coin is oriented as a diamond, with a stylized depiction of two…

BEGINNING IN 1755 the government of Empress Elizabeth, under increasing economic and military pressure, made great changes in the Russian monetary system. These innovations were played out against an increasingly dangerous situation in Europe, which culminated in the Seven Year’s War (1756–1763). Russia did not enter the conflict until the spring of 1757, but already had been deeply committed to the coalition that aligned itself against Prussian King Frederick II. The war had its origins in the ambitions of Frederick to enlarge the Prussian kingdom at the expense of his neighbors. At first Great Britain was part of the anti-Prussian league of nations, but in an about-face became an ally of Prussia to save its possessions in Hanover. (George I of England had been king of Hanover before being called…

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MINT, a wholly owned subsidiary of the South African Reserve Bank, launched the lion design in the second series of the Big 5 coin range to coincide with the advent of the 2022 World Money Fair in Berlin, Germany. This is the second animal theme to be released in the second series of the Big 5 collectable coin range, following the Elephant that was issued in August 2021. The Big 5 Series II unveils the long awaited second portrait design of the obverse, while the reverse design remains unchanged from series I. This split portrait features a unique construct, which reveals a complete portrait of a lion only when placed side by side with another coin. In this way, an entire pride can be built by placing…

FROM 1997 THROUGH 2016 at the time of his retirement from the Austrian Mint, Thomas Pesendorfer was involved in the design of 18 Coin of the Year award winning coins. I say involved because the Austrian Mint has a fine tradition of working as a tightly woven team, producing coins often created by two or more team members, with many of the COTY winners having obverse and reverse designs attributed to different designers. While it is an achievement in itself that a team can create award winning combinations such as this, it sometimes complicates the process of awarding the COTY Lifetime Achievement Award. But having more than enough deserving candidates is certainly a “problem” which we are pleased to navigate. Bullion traders and collectors will surely know Pesendorfer as the…