IACA is pleased to announce the Finalists for the 2026 Excellence in Currency: Coin Awards, recognizing excellence and innovation across the global coin community.
The Excellence in Currency: Coin Awards recognize outstanding achievements in circulating coin production, processing, management, distribution and related activities. This year’s nominations represented a wide range of projects from across the industry, highlighting innovation in circulating commemorative coin design, coin production and manufacturing, and coin recirculation and distribution.
Following the review and scoring by IACA’s Judging Committee, we are delighted to announce the 2026 Finalists:
Best New Circulating Commemorative Coin
— Australia’s $2 Poppy Wreath – 80th Anniversary of WWII — Royal Australian Mint https://currencyaffairs.org/document/royal-australian-mint-australias-2-poppy-wreath-80th-anniversary-of-wwii/
— Commemorative Coins for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — Bank of Mexico/ Case de Moneda Mexico https://currencyaffairs.org/document/banco-de-mexico-mexico-commemorative-coins-for-the-2026-fifa-world-cup/
— Reopening of Notre-Dame €2 — Monnaie de Paris https://currencyaffairs.org/document/monnaie-de-paris-reopening-of-notre-dame-2e-commemorative-coin/
— 50th Anniversary of the 1976 Youth Uprising — South African Reserve Bank / South African Mint https://currencyaffairs.org/document/south-african-reserve-bank-south-africas-50-years-anniversary-of-the-1976-youth-uprising-commemorative-coin/
— Peking Opera Art Series Circulating Commemorative Coin — The People’s Bank of China / China Banknote Printing & Minting https://currencyaffairs.org/document/the-peoples-bank-of-china-peking-opera-art-series-circulating-commemorative-coin/
Best New Coin Product, Process or Manufacturing Innovation
— Graphite-like Coating (GLC) Technology in Coin Dies — China Banknote Printing and Minting https://currencyaffairs.org/document/china-banknote-printing-and-minting-corporation-graphite-like-coating-glc-technology-in-coin-dies/
— Implementation of Precision Laser Technology to Engrave Tooling — United States Mint https://currencyaffairs.org/document/united-states-mint-implementation-of-precision-laser-technology-to-engravetooling-for-over-30000-work-dies-per-year/
— Trimetallic Coins for BEAC — Monnaie de Paris https://currencyaffairs.org/document/monnaie-de-paris-trimetallic-coins-for-beac/
Best New Coin Recirculation/Distribution Program or Initiative
— Bio-based Plastic Innovation for Coin Packing and Distribution — Monnaie de Paris https://currencyaffairs.org/document/monnaie-de-paris-bio-based-plastic-innovation-for-coin-packing-and-distribution/
— Changebox for Coin Recirculation — UK Changebox Ltd. https://currencyaffairs.org/document/uk-changebox-ltd-changebox-for-coin-recirculation/
— Foreign Currency Fundraising — Global Coin Solutions https://currencyaffairs.org/document/global-coin-solutions-foreign-currency-fundraising/
What Happens Next?
The Finalist projects have now advanced to IACA’s voting delegates, who will select the winner in each category.
The winners will be announced during the Coin Conference in Budapest, Hungary, September 28–30, 2026, where the Finalists and their achievements will be recognized as part of the conference program.
IACA extends a BIG thank you to our Judging Committee, whose members undertook the important task of reviewing and scoring the nominations against the established award criteria:
Mark Cartwright — Executive Director, Mint Directors Association
Dieter Merkel — ICA Board Member, Convenor + Chair of World Money Forum, and former Director of Global Minting, Andritz Schuler Pressen GmbH
Andrew Mills — Circulating Coin Strategy Advisor and former Managing Director of Currency for The Royal Mint
Astrid Mitchell — Chief Executive, Reconnaissance International
Lydia Yip — Advisor to Central Banks and former Head of Currency, Hong Kong Monetary Authority
We are also grateful to Coin & Mint News, organizer of the Coin Conference, for its sponsorship of the Awards and continued support in providing a platform to recognize excellence across the coin community.
Congratulations to all of our 2026 Excellence in Currency: Coin Award Finalists! We look forward to celebrating their achievements in Budapest and announcing this year’s winners in September.
