2021 COTY Nominees Determined

A pandemic won’t stop COTY.

The nomination process for the 2021 Coin of the Year awards looked a bit different this year, but the program is well under way despite travel and gathering restrictions due to COVID-19. One-hundred nominees – 10 coins in each of 10 award categories – emerged after the Nominating Committee met virtually Nov. 3, 2020, to consider 400 coin nominees curated by more than 45 issuing entities from around the world.

The 38th annual awards program, honoring coins dated 2019 and to be presented in early 2021, is presented by World Coin News and sponsored by The Journal of East Asian Numismatics.The competition begins each year when the committee convenes to select the nominees.

“Our COTY Nominating Committee traditionally has met in person to review and nominate coins from a large printed catalog of potential candidates,” explained Tom Michael, COTY coordinator. “The pandemic made that impossible in 2020, so our team created digital files, devised a two-step nomination process and moved our in-person meeting onto a virtual platform. The Nominating Committee was so pleased with the efficiency of this new approach that we are already planning to adopt many of its elements permanently.”

The change in process also had positive effects on the way coins were nominated, resulting in a broader scope of nominees.

“Completing the first phase of COTY nominating independently, rather than in a group setting, put the spotlight on some of the strengths inherent in our committee,” said Michael. “We all seem to agree on certain coins, but our backgrounds are so diverse that everyone finds a few great coins that the others did not notice.

“The result of this year’s restructured nominating procedure is a wonderful selection of 100 nominees in 10 categories, from more than 45 countries, which will certainly challenge our world-class Judging Panel as they cast their votes,” he said. “You’ll note that some subjects, the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing for instance, made appearances in multiple categories.”

Because the coin nominees are dated 2019, which marked 50 years since the monumental spaceflight that first landed humans on the moon, it was a common commemorative theme among the nominees. Coins marking the historic mission appear in four award categories, nominated by a total of four different countries.

Moon landing nominations in the Best Contemporary Event category came from Belgium, Spain and the United States. The Best Silver category contains a nomination from the United States. The U.S. garnered another nomination in the Best Crown category. And finally, the Most Inspirational category has a contender from Austria.

A complete list of the nominees in each award category follows.

MOST HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT COIN

Coins commemorating events, institutions or individuals deemed highly significant in terms of the historical heritage of a people, a country or mankind. The subject or theme must have passed into historical perspective at least 100 years ago.

Historical category nominations ran the full gambit this year, from pre-recorded history to the 100-year mark, and touched on a wide breadth of subjects.

BEST CONTEMPORARY EVENT COIN

Coins commemorating events, institutions or individuals of current or recent events influencing a people or mankind. The subjects or issues must have occurred within the past 99 years.

You never know what types of areas will be covered in the Contemporary category. This year there were coins nominated for scientific, political, economic, military, royal, religious and independence themes.

BEST GOLD COIN

Coins manufactured from gold, platinum, palladium or another exotic precious metal, which have all-around artistic appeal, both from aesthetic and a commercial standpoint.

Some highly respected series continue to produce coins that get nominated in the Gold category each year. This year the committee was pleased to be able to nominate a number of coins in the category representing a wide array of subjects and design approaches.

BEST SILVER COIN

Coins manufactured from silver, which have all-around appeal, both from an aesthetic and a commercial standpoint.

If you are strongly traditional collector, the Silver category is a great place to find quality coins for any modern collection.

BEST CROWN

Coins with all-around appeal, both from an aesthetic and a commercial standpoint. Consideration should be given also to the unique theme which the coin reflects, and how the coin fits historically into the “crown” definition, including a minimum size requirement of 37mm and a maximum size of 45mm.

While the Crown category holds some excellent traditional style coins this year, we were surprised by a few coins with special features. It is also interesting to note that the Mongolian Gobi Bear 500 Togrog represents the end of a long running series, whose first issue was a top COTY award winner in 2009.

BEST CIRCULATING COIN

Coins that are made of non-precious metals, possess all-around appeal, both from aesthetic and commercial viewpoints, and best meet the basic considerations of actual circulating monetary units.

This year the COTY Nominating Committee recognized a good selection of what could be called “uplifting” coin themes and placed these coins in categories other that the traditional Inspirational section.

BEST BI-METALLIC COIN

Coins which reflect the concept of a ring coinage, where outer ring and inner center are made of different, contrasting metals. This includes struck-through inserts, but excludes appliqués. Coins should have all-around artistic appeal, both from aesthetic and a commercial standpoint.

Each year at the COTY Nominating Committee meeting, one or two unusual bi-metallic coins are presented. This is often the category where you might find an anticipated dark horse candidate.

MOST ARTISTIC COIN

Coins are selected solely on the value of their outstanding artistic merit. No consideration should be given to their commercial potential, theme or popularity.

Requiring a subjective and personal perspective, the Artistic category of COTY often provides unexpected outcomes. This year there were more than enough strong coins in this category to satisfy any taste.

MOST INNOVATIVE COIN

Coins best fitting the term “innovative concept in coinage.” Pioneering metallic alloy issues, non-typical coinage materials, planchet shapes, distinct visual themes or other innovations. Special consideration should be given to technological advancements that forward minting ideas and mechanics.

As always, the Innovative category seems to be overloaded with excellent competitors. Nominating Committee members each had their favorites and opinions were varied, so expect this category to provide COTY with an exciting outcome.

MOST INSPIRATIONAL COIN

Coins must feature designs devoted to ideas, events, institutions or individuals that best exemplify man’s eternal aspirations for peace, freedom and human rights. Judges shall take into consideration theme, design and artistic merit.

There was an abundance of Inspirational themes on coins dated 2019, so the committee members looked for deeper international meaning to single out the finest examples for nomination.

A ballot of these 100 nominees will be sent to an international panel of judges, who will vote for their picks, and one coin will come out as the winner in each category. From there, the Judging Panel will consider these 10 finalists for the ultimate Coin of the Year award. Category awards and the top honor will be given to winners in early 2021. 

For more information about the Coin of the Year awards, including past winners, click here.

To view a PDF of this entire article as it appeared in World Coin News, click here.