The results of the only international competition of commemorative coins held in Russia – “Coin Constellation” – have been summed up. More than 250 coins participated in the competition. Among them were both coins made in the classical style, and items that not everyone would call coins (for example, in the form of a butterfly, a key or an oyster).
The international competition of commemorative coins “Coin Constellation” was held for the sixth time. This year, more than 250 coins and 28 coin series from 29 countries were presented to the international jury.
According to the rules of the competition, all competing coins had to be put into circulation from January 1 to December 31, 2011.
The themes of the coins submitted for the competition reflected not only various events and memorable dates (for example, the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth II, the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, the Olympic Games and the European Football Championship). A significant part of the coins was devoted to flora and fauna, architectural monuments, historical figures, works of literature and art.
The competition was held in 9 main nominations, in each of which the winner coin was determined, as well as the coins that took 2nd and 3rd places.
In the nomination “Unique ideological solution” the square silver coin issued by the Bank of Latvia “Window is crying in the fog” won. The name of this coin, which has a square shape, uses a line from a popular song, the lyrics to which were written by Alexander Chaka.
This is the Charles Dickens 200th Anniversary coin.
In the nomination “Successful artistic solution”, the first place was won by another coin presented by the Bank of Latvia – a silver coin “Riga Dome Cathedral”.
The second place belongs to the Charlemagne coin minted at the Paris Mint.
The winner in the Original Technology category was the Oyster silver coin presented by Numbs collect. With its outlines, this coin really resembles an oyster shell; in addition, a pearl and a hologram were used in its manufacture.
The second place was taken by the Stone Coin issued by the Bank of Latvia (with a granite insert). Third place was awarded to the “Tulip with Ladybug” coin, which was made at the Royal Canadian Mint (the ladybug on this coin is made of Venetian glass).
The second place was taken by the Rundle Palace coin issued by the Bank of Latvia. Third place went to the coin “200th Anniversary of the Tsarkoselsky Lyceum”, issued by the Bank of Russia and minted at the St. Petersburg Mint.
In the nomination “Souvenir coin” the winner was a copper-nickel coin with a face value of 25 rubles “The Emblem of the Games” (with the image of the emblem of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi). The coin was issued by the Bank of Russia and minted at the St. Petersburg Mint.
The second place was taken by the “Housewarming” coin presented for the competition by International Coin House (in the form of a key). Third place was awarded to a coin dedicated to the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo’s creation of a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The 33-piece coin, which reproduces the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, was submitted to the competition by Modern Numismatics International.
The members of the international jury named the series of silver coins “French Rulers” the series of the year. In total, it is planned to issue 15 coins in this series, 3 coins per year. The first three coins were presented for the competition – with the image of Clovis, Charlemagne and Charlemagne the Bald. The third place went to the “Signs of the Zodiac” series of coins presented by International Coin House.
The silver coin of 2011 was the Russian Winter coin, which was put into circulation by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as part of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi. This kilogram coin was minted at the St. Petersburg Mint.
The coin made at the Mint of Poland was named the most “inspiring” coin. It is dedicated to the centenary of the birth of Jan Kanski, a member of the Polish resistance, who tried to tell the world about the tragedy of the Holocaust.
In addition to 10 nominations for coins, there was another award – “For Contribution to the Monetary Business”. This nomination appeared two years ago, it is awarded to designers who have made a great contribution to the creation of coins.
The first nominee was the designer of the Austrian Mint Herbert Wachter. In 2015, the competition jury selected Maria Carmela Colander, a designer at the State Printing Institute and the Italian Mint. This year, two people received the award – a family of designers working at the German Mint. This is Heinz Heuer and his wife Sanjana Rosena-Heuer.
At the start of the ceremony, David Harper, publisher of the Krause Publications catalog, made a statement that the terms of the competition may change slightly in the coming years. If now the jury is evaluating coins issued two years ago, now the organizers of the competition want the awards to be received by more “fresh” coins. In this regard, David Harper turned to national banks and mints with a request to send information about coins issued during the year.