Krause Publications, a leading publisher of coin and paper money books, magazines, and other reference products, has announced the winners of its 2012 Coin of the Year Awards.
Ninety-five coins issued in 2010 by mints worldwide were nominated for the 2012 Coin of the Year Awards, honoring coins displaying the highest achievement in 
theme, design and marketing from mints and central banks across the globe. Judges picked winners in 10 categories. From these, they will select an overall Coin of the Year winner.
The public will join in the process by selecting a People’s Choice Award winner from a field comprised primarily of the category winners. Visit www.numismaticnews.com to vote.
Topping the first round of COTY voting was the Austrian Mint, with two winners. Its 10-euro Erzberg in Styria piece won in the Best Silver category, while the Silver Philharmonic bullion coin beat out the competition to win the Most Popular Coin designation.
The German Federal Ministry of Finance won the Best Contemporary Event Coin for the silver 10 euro celebrating German Unity.
The Royal Canadian Mint won the Most Historically Significant Coin honors with a $100 gold coin commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the Hudson Bay Company.
The Best Gold Coin award went to the Royal Mint for its gold 100-pound London Olympics coin. The Andorra Mint’s 5-dinar silver Brown Bear piece was named Best Crown by the judges.
Taking the title of Most Artistic Coin is the 2 new sheqalim silver coin of the Israel Coins and Medals Corporation for a piece featuring the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale.
San Marino’s first 2 euro circulating coin struck and issued when it joined the euro zone won the Best Trade Coin category.
Winner of Most Innovative Coin honors went to Coin Invest Trust of Lichtenstein for its coin minted on behalf of the Ivory Coast. It is a 1,500-francs CFA silver piece featuring a Mecca Qibla Compass, which stands in relief off the surface of the coin.
Named Most Inspirational Coin is a 20 euro silver piece from the Mint of Finland celebrating children and creativity. This coin is notable because it was the first theme for a Finnish coin selected by public vote, and it was also designed by Roope Määttä, an art student at the Kajaani Upper Secondary School, who describes his design as a reminder to always remember one’s roots.
Judges are set to wrap up their voting in late December while participants voting for the People’s Choice Award will have until early January to cast their online vote. The 2012 COTY Awards will be given February 4, 2012, at the World Money Fair in Berlin, Germany.
The Coin of the Year program is sponsored by Krause Publications’ World Coin News.
About Krause Publications
Krause Publications, based in Iola, Wis., is the world’s largest publisher of leisure-time periodicals and books on collectibles, firearms and knives, automobiles, hunting and construction. Chet Krause, a long-time collector of coins, published the first issue of Numismatic News on Oct. 13, 1952, with nearly 1,000 readers. Today, Krause Publications, owned by F+W Media, offers more than 40 periodicals, 10 hobby shows including the Chicago International Coin Fair and Chicago Paper Money Expo, 750 reference and how-to books, and web properties such as NumisMaster.com, the online coin price database.
Here at The Royal Mint we are very pleased to be included in such fine company! Well done to all the other Mints in the competition and we look forward to seeing you in Berlin!
After reading the editorial of David Bradley in Numismatic news, I am very interested in building a collection of COTY coins, but was unable to find a listing of the winners for each year. Is there a publicatiohn including this information? thanks George