United States wins 2016 Coin of the Year Award
The United States Baseball Hall of Fame cupped clad half dollar has been named Coin of the Year by an international panel of judges in a vote that concluded Dec….
The United States Baseball Hall of Fame cupped clad half dollar has been named Coin of the Year by an international panel of judges in a vote that concluded Dec. 6.
An award trophy will be presented Feb. 6, 2016 at the World Money Fair in Berlin, Germany, by representatives of World Coin News, sponsor of the award.
Trophies will also be presented to the winners of the ten category awards chosen by a previous round of voting by the judges. All pieces considered were dated 2014, or the year’s equivalent in other calendars.
The United States hit a home run with its Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coin program, earning two awards for two of the three coins in it.
The Coin of the Year Baseball cupped clad half dollar won the Most Innovative Coin award. The coin, KM# 576, is the product of intensive engineering research by the United States Mint to develop the first cupped clad coin.
On top for the Best Gold Coin category was the Baseball gold $5 coin, KM# 578.
Another big winner for the year's awards is Austria, which came away with three category wins.
In Best Silver Coin, Austria's 20 euro silver coin, KM# 3233, commemorating the fall of the Iron Curtain struck a chord with voters.
Austria's popular bimetallic coin series of science-themed coins chalks up another winner with its silver and niobium 25 euro coin honoring the study of evolution, KM# 3227.
Finally, the Most Artistic Coin award went to Austria's 50 euro gold coin, KM# 3229, depicting famous Austrian painter Gustav Klimt's "Judith II" art piece. Last year's Coin of the Year Award winner was another Austrian 50 euro gold coin featuring Klimt's "The Expectation" painting.
The other category winners from which the judges made their final selection were as follows:
The Most Historically Significant category winner was Germany's 10 euro silver coin marking the 300th anniversary of Daniel Fahrenheit's invention of the mercury thermometer, KM# 332a.
At the head of the Best Contemporary Event category was Latvia's 5 euro silver coin, KM# 161, for the 25th anniversary of the Baltic Way demonstrations, where people from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania held hands and formed a human chain stretching through all three countries. This category honors historically important events that occurred less than 100 years ago, while the Most Historically Significant Coin category is for the important people and events of more than 100 years ago.
Best Crown Coin went to Canada's 20 dollar silver coin which colorfully depicts a maple leaf tree canopy, KM# 1759. Crowns are clad or silver coins with a diameter of 37 millimeters to 45 mm.
In the Best Circulating Coin category, Great Britain won with its bimetallic 2 pound coin featuring the iconic depiction of Lord Kitchener on a World War I recruiting poster, KM# 1279.
The Most Inspirational Coin category award went to Poland's 10 zlotych silver coin, Y# 902, minted for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jan Karski, a Polish World War II resistance fighter who smuggled evidence of Nazi concentration camps to the Allies in a hollow key.
Coin of the Year is an annual award first given in 1984. It is awarded to spur advances in numismatic artistry, technology and mass appeal among collectors.
World Coin News is published by Krause Publications.
About Krause Publications
Krause Publications, a division of F+W, a Content + eCommerce Company, is dedicated to serving antiques, collectibles, outdoors, hunting, and numismatics enthusiasts with trusted content, industry news, and pricing information. Today, the antiques & collectibles division includes books, ebooks, periodicals, and online destinations NumisMaster.com and ShopNumisMaster.com. The F+W portfolio offers books, ebooks, magazines, ecommerce sites, education, conferences and events, serving nearly 20 enthusiast communities. www.fwcommunity.com
More Collecting Resources
• Come on down to the Chicago International Coin Fair in Rosemont, Ill. on April 14 to 17, 2016 to see impressive world coins, meet new collectors and participate in Heritage Auction’s fantastic coin auction.
• Are you a U.S. coin collector? Check out the 2016 U.S. Coin Digest for the most recent coin prices.
