Black Spaniel Gallery Coins Blog: Innovations in Coin Minting: New Kinds of Coins

The numismatic world existed for years with coins bearing interesting designs on the reverse, and often an important figure on the obverse. The coin would be in a single metal, or a metal alloy. For collectors, that was fine. After all, coins were intended for spending, and numismatic considerations were often secondary, if considered at all. Mints occasionally released commemorative coins for the collectors, and minted a small number of proof coins compared to what was placed into circulation. Then, mints started attempting to sell coins, perhaps to offset the rising costs of coin making and increased costs for the metals used.

Major Mints Respond to the Need to Make Coins More Interesting.

Well, making coins more interesting means something to some, but not to all. Some coin collectors insist that the historical value is the real value, and shun new coin types. But, many others, enough to entice the mints, accepted these coins and clamored for more. It seems mints must now compete for the collectors’ money.

Enameled and Gilded Coins

Many coins are selectively colorized with enamel. This can especially enhance a fine silver coin, but it should be added by the mint. Adding enamel later by a third party is not well received by the numismatic community. The Perth Mint is one of the leaders in colorizing coins, and others are trying to catch up. The Royal Canadian Mint has recently made great strides, and may now have the process perfected to the same standards as the Perth Mint. More enameled issues are coming from the Perth Mint, but that may be because the Royal Canadian Mint is using multiple innovations.

Other Mints that have been colorizing coins with success are the Singapore Mint, the Mint of Japan, and the New Zealand Mint.

Gilded coins are selectively covered with gold gilt, which gives a unique finish with a richness that cannot be described in words. Here, the Perth Mint has been leading the way.

Bimetallic Coins

Making bimetallic coins is a real challenge for a mint. The metals must respond to heat and cold by expanding and contracting at about the same rate, or the coins would simply come apart at the seams.

The most interesting bimetallic coins are the coins with a silver ring and niobium in a central disk. Niobium can be colorized by electroplating, which gives a totally different appearance than one gets from an enameled coin. This technique appears to be mastered by the Austrian Mint, and now by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Unusual Shapes

Coins are often round. Now, they can be triangular, elliptical, and rectangular. The Perth Mint has issued coins shaped like the map of Australia.

Swarvoski Crystals and Other Stones

Embedding Swarvoski crystals into silver coins, and a few other coins, has been mastered by the Mint of Poland and by the Royal Canadian Mint. What really works here is the range of colors possible.

The Perth Mint has found a way to have large, translucent opals in the center of coins, and windows with gemstones in other coins. In fact, the Perth Mint has embedded real gemstones, including diamonds, in some coins.

Holographic Coins

Holograms on coins immediately leads to the Royal Canadian Mint, where holograms have been in use for years. Now, the Royal Australian Mint is accepting the challenge and releasing holographic coins. In some cases the image appears to change color, but having the image itself change has also been accomplished.

Glow in the Dark

Yes, the Royal Canadian Mint has issued glow in the dark coins, and they are quite popular.

Fossils and Meteorites

Among the more unusual things embedded in coins are fossils and fragments of a meteorite.

Other innovations also have been tried, and other mints have also added to the wealth of unusual coins, but these are the ones I am most familiar with. Oh, I realize someone will point our the Perth Mint coins where the outer ring moves with respect to the inner ring, but that series is over, and appears to have been a one time event. And I am certain I have not heard of everything, since I do not follow the releases of every mint.

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