April 2023: What’s New in NumisMaster

Recently we had a question from our readership regarding purchasing the new issue coins we feature in our articles and Coin of the Year awards program coverage. The first clarification to be made is that our company does not buy and sell coins; we leave that to our advertisers. Which leads us to the matter of how collectors find the coins they seek, in particular how do they find the modern commemoratives we write about in this magazine.

A couple of issues back in World Coin News I touched on the subject of how to go about collecting modern issue coins. My advice was specific to one country, however, the same advice holds true for most country issues and in particular for COTY caliber coins, so I’ll share it with you here with a bit more detail:

“You will see many of these coins marketed through distributors in Europe and America, but they tend to sell out quickly so if you are trying to complete a series it’s very important to watch those outlets continually. You might also want to check the striking mints website periodically for news of new programs and continuing series.”

One of the best examples of this is the website of the New Zealand Mint, a contract mint producing commemorative coins for south pacific island nations. NZM maintains a tightly structured website, where you can search for specific items, series, or particular licensed material from all sorts of pop culture franchises. You can also set up notifications for items that will be produced in the near future, making sure you do not miss a coin in the series you are collecting.

Some of the best websites to watch for COTY caliber coins, or specialty production coins, say NCLT in general, belong to contract mints and their distributors, as well as government mints and sometimes their distributors in your own country. For instance, the Monnaie de Paris, the French mint, sells coins through their fluid, well organized website, but you may also find many of their coins available from A-Mark and APMEX in the United States. The Royal Canadian Mint offers coins for sale directly through their website and I think most North Americans find it easy to shop there, as prices are recorded in both U.S. and Canadian dollars.

Long standing contract producers of legal tender coins and bullion have bought or developed their own distributors, like MKS PAMP has done making MTB their distribution arm in a larger parent company structure. Others, like CIT, have developed partners in production and distribution, who enjoy working quietly behind the scene, while a marketing presence remains with CIT’s gracious website promoting their products to all.

Perth Mint maintains an excellent website from which you may order coins directly, or you can search at a U.S. based distributor like Modern Coin Mart to find many of the Perth Mint offerings closer to home. Kagin’s established a connection with the FNMT – the Royal Spanish Mint – to distribute their creative gold bullion series in the United States and announced this deal at the 2022 ANA’s World’s Fair of Money. PandaAmerica and Mish International have been distributing Chinese commemorative coins and bullion for many years, but this year we have noticed several of the 40th Anniversary Panda bullion issues offered through MCM.

NumisCollect and PowerCoin are great examples of firms that contract with and produce their own designs for countries that do not maintain their own mints, read Niue, Cook Islands, Palau and others. Like CIT these firms also work with partners to develop and execute their coin projects. But there are many others’ who do this also, the difference with these two is that they also maintain easy to navigate websites offering many other contract mints coinage as well, making them prime sources for investigating what’s happening in this arena of the coin market.

In earlier issues of World Coin News, you will find additional comments about finding modern issue coins. So check back in previous issues or on our website for additional bits and pieces of information.

The way we collect modern issues has certainly seen dramatic changes over the past 30 years and as we move forward this will always be an area where the collector will need to be ever vigilant, as distribution channels will likely continue to change and evolve on a near constant basis. Here are the main things to keep in mind:

• Government mints still promote and market their coins with direct connections to customers

• Find their websites, and keep watch for new releases

• Add your email to their mailing list to receive updates on new series.

• Independent mints work with several different countries on contract to produce their commemorative coins

• Most Independent mints have well organized websites

• Locate their websites and stop back often to keep up with new issues

• Some of them have emailing lists you can join, but many do not

• Coins are usually presented by release date and country of issue

• Pay close attention to the newly released coins and search distribution networks to find them for sale

• Third party sales sites, such as eBay, serve as primary distribution networks for products of contract mints.

• Buying directly from independent mints is possible, but many coins sell out to independent distributors very quickly

We hope some of this information proves helpful in your pursuit of modern issue coins in this fantastic age of exploration and development. World Coin News will continue to bring you news of current issues and advances in technology and the COTY program will strive to help the modern coin market to progress in beneficial and productive directions.

Next issue we will refocus on developments in the Numismaster website, but be assured that progress continues. Check out the Republic of India listings right now for proof of that fact.