Coin of the Year race features two U.S. coins

Two U.S. coins are competing for the 2015 Coin of the Year Award.

An enhanced uncirculated 2013 silver American Eagle is one of 10 nominations in the Best Silver Coin category and a Mount Rushmore quarter is one of nine nominations in the Best Circulating Coin category.

An internatinal panel of judges began the first round of voting Oct. 28 to pick winners in each of 10 categories.

These winners will then contend with each other to be named Coin of the Year in a second round of voting by the 80 judges.

In all, there are 94 nominations.

The Coin of the Year Award is sponsored by World Coin News, sister newspaper to Numismatic News.

Presentation of the Coin of the Year Award will occur Jan. 31, 2015, in Berlin, Germany.

Below are the nominees for the 2015 Krause Publications’ Coin of the Year Awards.

Most Historically Significant Coin

Australia - 1 Dollar, KM# 1941, Silver, The Land Down Under - Captain James Cook
Canada - 50 Dollars, KM# 1429, Silver, HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake - Battle of Boston Harbor, War of 1812
Denmark - 500 Kroner, KM#957, Silver, Niels Bohr and Atomic Theory
Germany - 10 Euro, KM# 319, Silver, Heinrich Hertz and Electric Rays - 125th Anniversary
Guyana - 2000 Dollar, KM# 57, Copper-Nickel, 1763 Slave Revolt - 250th Anniversary
Netherlands - 5 Euro, KM# 326, Silver, 1713 Peace treaty of Utrecht
Peru - Nuevo Sol, KM#370, Silver, Sol Coinage - 100th Anniversary
Poland - 5 Zlotych, Y# 863, Silver, History of Polish Coins - Denarius of Boleslaw I the Brave
Slovakia - 10 Euro, KM#130, Silver, Jozef Karol Hell - 300th Anniversary of Birth
Spain - 50 Euro, KM# 1287, Silver, Balboa Discovers the Pacific Ocean - 500th anniversary

Best Contemporary Event Coin

Australia - 1 Dollar, KM# 2148, Silver, Korean War Ends - 60th Anniversary
Belarus - Rouble, KM# 436, Copper-Nickel, BPS-Sberbank - 90th Anniversary
Canada - 50 Cents, KM# 1444, Copper-Nickel, Superman - 75th Anniversary (Lenticular image of classic & modern Superman)
Croatia - 25 Kuna, KM# 94, Bi-Metallic, Croatian entry into European Union
France - 10 Euro, KM# 2091, Silver, Franco-German Friendship - 50th Anniversary
Great Britain - 5 Pounds, KM#1242b, Silver, Elizabeth’s Coronation - 60th Anniversary
Lithuania - 50 Litu, KM# 195, Silver, Sajudis Independence Demonstration - 25th Anniversary
Poland - 2 Zlotych, Y# 876, Copper-Aluminum-Nickel, Polish Society for the Mentally Handicapped - 50th Anniversary
Russia - 100 Roubles, Y#1451, Gold, Russian victory over Germany at Battle of Stalingrad - 70th Anniversary
Spain - 10 Euro, KM# 1280, Silver, Juan Carlos - 75th Anniversary of Birth

Best Gold Coin

Austria - 50 Euro, KM# 3218, Gold, Klimt and his Women - The Expectation
Canada - 50 Cents, KM# 1348, Gold, Eagle Head
China - 100 Yuan, KM# 2086, Gold, Chinese Sacred Buddhist Mountain - Mount Putuo
France - 50 Euro, KM# 2100, Gold, Notre Dame - 850th Anniversary
Great Britain - 50 Pence, KM#1253b, Gold, Benjamin Britten - 100th Anniversary of Birth
Italy - 20 Euro, KM# 365, Gold, Botticelli’s personification of Spring
Mongolia - 500 Tugrik, KM# 327, Gold, Howling Wolf
Netherlands - 10 Euro, KM# 338, Gold, Rietveld Schroder House
Slovakia - 100 Euro, KM# 132, Gold, Maximilian - 450th Anniversary of Coronation in Bratislava
South Africa - 10 Rand, KM# 563, Gold, Nature - Zebras

Best Silver Coin

Australia - 1 Dollar + 25 Cents, KM# 1916 + 1917, Silver, Australian Holey Dollar and Dump - 200th Anniversary
Austria - 20 Euro, KM# 3219, Silver, European Writers - Stefan Zweig
Canada - 100 Dollars, KM# 1441, Silver, Three Bison
Cook Islands - 10 Dollars, KM# 1656, Silver, New York Grand Central Terminal Clock
France - 10 Euro, KM# 2095, Silver, Rudolf Nureyev
Latvia - 1 Lats, KM# 140, Silver, Richard Wagner - 200th Anniversary of Birth
Mongolia - 500 Tugrik, KM# 326, Silver, Argali Sheep with Crystal Eyes
Niue - 1 Dollar, KM# 1127, Silver, Tropical Coral Fish - Puffer Fish
Turkey - 50 Lira, KM# 1293, Silver, Turkey Statehood - 90th Anniversary
United States of America - 1 Dollar, KM# 273, Silver, Enhanced Uncirculated silver American Eagle

Best Crown Coin

Andorra - 5 Diners, KM# 364, Silver, Aguila Daurada eagle
British Antarctic Territory - 2 Pounds, KM# 9, Copper-Nickel, Emperor Penguin - Three Penguin Chicks
Finland - 10 Euro, KM# 202, Silver, Sophie Mannerheim - 150th Anniversary of Birth
Great Britain - 5 Pounds, KM# 1259, Copper-Nickel, Christening of Prince George
Hungary - 5000 Forint, KM# 855, Silver, Weöres Sándor - 100th Anniversary of Birth
Ireland - 10 Euro, KM# 80.2, Silver, James Joyce
Lithuania - 50 Litu, KM# 197, Silver, Uprising of 1863-1864 - 150th Anniversary
Poland - 20 Zlotych, Y# 879, Silver, Animals of the World - European Bison
Russia - 3 Rouble, Y# 1422, Silver, Female athlete holding Kazan Universiade banner above city skyline
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands - 2 Pounds, KM# 60, Copper-Nickel, Blue Whale

Best Circulating Coin

Australia - 20 Cents, KM# 2010, Copper-Nickel, Mechanisms of Mining
Denmark - 20 Kroner, KM# 960, Aluminum-Bronze, Ole Rømer
Finland - 2 Euro, KM# 190, Bi-Metallic, Parliament, 150th Anniversary
Great Britain - 2 Pound, KM# 1239, Bi-Metallic, London Subway, 150th Anniversary
Greece - 2 Euro, KM# 252, Bi-Metallic, Plato
Italy - 2 Euro, KM# 357, Bi-Metallic, Giuseppe Verdi, 200th Anniversary of Birth
Lithuania - 2 Litai, KM# 190, Bi-Metallic, Stelmuze Oak
Singapore - 1 Dollar, KM# 314, Bi-Metallic, Lion and Flora
United States of America - 25 Cents, KM# 546, Copper-Nickel Clad Copper, Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Best Bi-Metallic Coin

Austria - 25 Euro, KM# 321, Silver and Niobium, Tunneling
France - 2 Euro, KM# 2102, Bi-Metallic, Pierre de Coubertin - 150th Anniversary of Birth
Germany - 2 Euro, KM# 314, Bi-Metallic, German States - Baden-Württemberg and Maulbronn
Japan - 500 Yen, Y# 198, Bi-Metallic, Hiroshima Prefecture
Lithuania - 2 Litai, KM# 187, Bi-Metallic, Distaff (Spinning Tool)
Luxembourg - 5 Euro, KM# 126, Silver and Niobium, Beaufort Castle
Netherlands - 2 Euro, KM# 324, Bi-Metallic, Kingdom - 200th Anniversary
Palau - 2 Dollars, KM# 472, Bi-Metallic, 30th Anniversary of Panda coinage
Portugal - 2 Euro, KM# 830, Bi-Metallic, Cathedral tower view
Switzerland - 10 Francs, KM# 146, Bi-Metallic, Silvesterchlausen

Most Artistic Coin

Australia - 1 Dollar, KM# 2051, Silver, Land Down Under - Surfing
Austria - 100 Euro, KM# 3225, Gold, Austrian Wildlife - Red Deer
Canada - 20 Dollars, KM# 1363, Silver, Canadian Maple Canopy - Spring
Fiji - 10 Dollars, KM# 366, Silver, Malachite Room - Hermitage
Finland - 20 Euro, KM# 204, Silver, Multicultural
Kazakhstan - 50 Tenge, KM# 264, Copper-Nickel, Hedgehog
Latvia - 1 Lats, KM# 137, Silver, Rudolfs Blaumanis - 150th Anniversary of Birth
New Zealand - 1 Dollar, KM# 373, Silver, Maori Art - Koru
Slovenia - 2 Euro, KM# 112, Bi-Metallic, Postojna Cave Discovery - 800th Anniversary

Most Innovative Coin

Australia - 50 Cents, KM# 2141, Silver, Australian red one penny stamp centennial coin packaged with $10 commemorative stamp
France - 10 Euro, KM# 2217 - 2120, Silver, Tour de France - 100th Anniversary - Different Colored Cyclists’ Jackets
Latvia - 1 Lats, KM# 143, Silver, Last Lats - Linear Calendar
Mongolia - 500 Tugrik, KM# 328, Gilded Silver, Wolf Laser Cutout
Niue - 50 Dollars, KM# 1279, Silver, Fortuna Redux - Mercury
Niue - 100 Dollars, KM# 1256, Silver, Moon gilt within rays and 12 crystals

Most Inspirational Coin

Australia - 1 Dollar, KM# 2045, Aluminum-Bronze, ANZAC Day - Engineers
Belarus - Rouble, KM# 437, Copper-Nickel, Christianization of the Rus - 1025th Anniversary
Canada - 3 Dollars, KM# 1485, Silver, Grandfather and grandson fishing
Estonia - 7 Euro, KM# 73, Silver, Raimond Valgre
Finland - 10 Euro, KM# 201, Silver, Frans Eemil Sillanpåå
France - 250 Euro, KM# 1764, Gold, Dove and peace in various languages
Israel - New Sheqel, KM# 508, Silver, Yad Vashem - 60th Anniversary
Portugal - 2.5 Euro, KM# 831, Silver, International Committee of the Red Cross - 150th Anniversary
Slovakia - 2 Euro, KM# 128, Bi-Metallic, Saints Cyril and Methodius
Vatican City - 2 Euro, KM# 446, Bi-Metallic, World Youth Day - Rio

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