Coin of the Year Award

The Coin of the Year Award (COTY) is an annual competition for the coin-producing industry founded by the US publishing group Krause Publications . A jury selects the best coins from an earlier minting year in various categories. The COTY ceremony first took place in 1984 when coins from 1982 were graded.

List of honors (1st places)

Parts of this article seem out of date as of 2017 .
Please help to research and insert the missing information .

2016 (coins from the year 2014)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	5 euros, silver	Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt NV, Latvia	25 years of the Baltic Way
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	$ 20, silver	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	Maple tree canopy
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	5 dollars, gold	United States Mint, USA	National Baseball Hall of Fame
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	20 euros, silver	Austrian Mint, Austria	25 years of the fall of the iron curtain
Bi-Metallic Coin (Best Bi-Metallic Coin)	25 euros, silver niobium	Austrian Mint , Austria	evolution
Best Circulating Coin (Best Circulating Coin)	2 pounds, copper-nickel and nickel-brass	Royal Mint, UK	100th years of the First World War
Most Artistic Coin (Most Artistic Coin)	50 euros, gold	Austrian Mint , Austria	Gustav Klimt - Judith II
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	10 euros, silver / copper-nickel	Hamburg Mint, Germany	300 years Fahrenheit scale
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	1/2 dollar, nickel-plated copper	United States Mint, USA	National Baseball Hall of Fame
Most Inspirational Coin	10 złotych, silver	Mint of Poland PLC, Poland	100th birthday of Jan Karski
Coin of the Year (to be chosen)	1/2 dollar, nickel-plated copper	United States Mint, USA	National Baseball Hall of Fame

2015 (coins from the year 2013)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	1 ruble, copper-nickel	Mint of Poland, Belarus	90 years of BPS-Sparkassenbank
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	10 euros, silver	Mayer Mint GmbH, Ireland	James Joyce
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	50 euros, gold	Austrian Mint , Austria	Klimt and his women
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	1 lats, silver	Bank of Latvia, Latvia	200th birthday of Richard Wagner
Bi-Metallic Coin (Best Bi-Metallic Coin)	25 euros, silver niobium	Austrian Mint , Austria	Tunneling
Best Circulating Coin (Best Circulating Coin)	25 cents, copper-nickel	United States Mint, USA	Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Most Artistic Coin (Most Artistic Coin)	100 euros, gold	Austrian Mint , Austria	The red deer
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	5 euros, silver	KNM, Netherlands	300 years of the Peace of Utrecht
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	500 Togrog, silver-gold plated	CIT Coin Invest Trust, Mongolia	wolf
Most Inspirational Coin	3 dollars, silver	Royal Canadian Mint , Canada	To fish
Coin of the Year	50 euros, gold	Austrian Mint , Austria	Klimt and his women

2014 (coins from the year 2012)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	10 pounds of silver	Royal Mint , UK	Olympic Games London 2012
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	5 dollars, silver	Royal Australian Mint , Australia	southern Cross
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	20 euros, gold	Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato , Italy	Flora in Art: Middle Ages
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	10 euros, silver	Monnaie de Paris , France	Ocean liner
Bi-Metallic Coin (Best Bi-Metallic Coin)	50 euros, silver-gold	Mint of Finland, Finland	Helsinki world design capital
Best Circulating Coin (Best Circulating Coin)	1 dollar, aluminum bronze	Royal Australian Mint , Canada	Australian Year of the Farmer
Most Artistic Coin (Most Artistic Coin)	10 euros, silver	Monnaie de Paris, France	Yves Klein
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	10 euros, silver	Greek Mint, Greece	Greek culture: Socrates
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	25 cents, nickel-plated steel	Royal Canadian Mint , Canada	Dinosaur skeleton ( fluorescent )
Most Inspirational Coin	5 pounds, cupro-nickel	Royal Mint, Alderney	Remembrance Day
Coin of the Year	10 euros, silver	Monnaie de Paris, France	Yves Klein

2013 (coins from the year 2011)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	25 euros, silver	Austrian Mint , Austria	robotics
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	10 euros, silver	Monnaie de Paris, France	From Clovis I to the Republic - 1500 years of French history
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	50 rand, gold	South African Mint , South Africa	Families in nature: meerkats
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	$ 20, silver	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	canoe
Best Trade Coin (Best Trade Coin)	1 litas, copper-nickel	State Mint of Lithuania, Lithuania	basketball
Most Artistic Coin (Most Artistic Coin)	1 lats, silver	Suomen Rahapaja, Latvia	Alexandrs Caks , fog dampens a window pane
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	10 som, silver	Kyrgyz Republic	Silk road
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	5 euros, silver	Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt , Netherlands	100 years of the Dutch Mint (with QR Code )
Most Inspirational Coin	10 zloty, silver	Mennica Polska , Poland	100 years of society for the protection of the blind
Most Popular Coin	500 Togrog, silver	Coin Invest Trust , Mongolia	Ural Owl
Coin of the Year	5 euros, silver	Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt, Netherlands	100 years of the Dutch Mint (with QR Code)

2012 (coins from the year 2010)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	10 euros, silver	State Mint Berlin , Germany	unit
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	5 diner, silver	Andorra	brown bear
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	100 pounds of gold	Royal Mint, UK	Olympic series: Neptune (Faster series)
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	10 euros, silver	Austrian Mint, Austria	The Erzberg in Styria
Best Trade Coin (Best Trade Coin)	2 euros, bimetal	Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, San Marino	500th birthday of Sandro Botticelli
Most Artistic Coin (Most Artistic Coin)	2 new shekels, silver	Israel Coins and Medals Corp. , Israel	Jonas in the whale
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	100 dollars, gold	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	400th anniversary of the founding of the Hudson's Bay Company
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	1,500 francs CFA, silver	Coin Invest Trust, Ivory Coast	Mecca - qibla - compass
Most Inspirational Coin	20 euros, silver	Suomen Rahapaja, Finland	Children and creativity
Most Popular Coin	1.5 euros, silver	Austrian Mint, Austria	Wiener Philharmoniker
People's Choice (audience vote)	5,000 forints, silver	Magyar Pénzverő Zrt. , Hungary	Orseg National Park , series: World Heritage Sites in Hungary
Coin of the Year	2 new shekels, silver	Israel Coins and Medals Corp., Israel	Jonas in the whale

2011 (coins from the year 2009)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	10 euros, silver	Monnaie de Paris, France	fall of the Berlin Wall
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	20 euros, silver	Suomen Rahapaja, Finland	peace and security
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	100 rand, gold	South African Mint, South Africa	White rhinoceros
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	$ 20, silver	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	Crystal snowflake
Best Trade Coin (Best Trade Coin)	2 euros, bimetal	Mincovna Kremnica, Slovakia	First year of the euro issue
Most Artistic Coin (Best Artistic Coin)	300 dollars, gold	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	Native American summer moon mask
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	100 tenge, silver	Kazakhstan	Attila the Hun
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	2 pounds, silver crystal	Pobjoy Mint , British Indian Ocean Territory	Sea turtle life
Most Inspirational Coin	10 zloty, silver	Mennica Polska, Poland	Polish underground during World War II
Most Popular Coin	10 euros, silver	Austrian Mint, Austria	The Vienna basilisk
People's Choice (audience vote)	5,000 forints, silver	Magyar Pénzverő Zrt., Hungary	World Heritage Sites in Hungary: Budapest
Coin of the Year	100 rand, gold	South African Mint, South Africa	White rhinoceros

2010 (coins from the year 2008)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	10 new shekels, silver	Israel Coins and Medals Corp., Israel	60th anniversary of the founding of Israel
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	10 euros, silver	Austrian Mint, Austria	Klosterneuberg Abbey
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	20 lats, gold	Austrian Mint, Latvia	Latvian coins
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	10 euros, silver	State coins of Baden-Württemberg (Karlsruhe), Germany	Franz Kafka
Best Trade Coin (Best Trade Coin)	2 euros, bimetal	Suomen Rahapaja, Cyprus	Antique figurative cross
Most Artistic Coin (Best Artistic Coin)	200 zlotys, gold	Mennica Polska, Poland	Uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	100 tenge, silver	Kazakhstan	Genghis Khan
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	25 euros, silver – niobium	Austrian Mint, Austria	Fascination with light
Most Inspirational Coin	$ 2,500 gold	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	On the way to the Federation
Most Popular Coin	1 dollar, silver	US Mint , United States of America	American eagle
People's Choice (audience vote)	5,000 forints, silver	Magyar Pénzverő Zrt., Hungary	Tokaj wine region
Coin of the Year	20 lats, gold	Austrian Mint, Latvia	Latvian coins

2009 (coins from the year 2007)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	1 dollar, silver	US Mint, United States of America	Abolition of racial segregation at the Little Rock Central High School in 1957
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	20 rubles, silver	Latvian Mint, Belarus	Butter week
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	1,000 crowns, gold	Denmark	Icebear
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	500 Togrog, silver	Coin Invest Trust, Mongolia	Wildlife Protection: Wolverine
Best Trade Coin (Best Trade Coin)	2 euros, bimetal	Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Italy	Raphael's Dante Alighieri
Most Artistic Coin (Best Artistic Coin)	10 euros, silver	Austrian Mint, Austria	Melk Monastery
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	1 dollar, silver	US Mint, United States of America	Establishment of Jamestown in 1607
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	50 dollars, silver	Pobjoy Mint, British Virgin Islands	100th anniversary of the first color photography
Most Inspirational Coin	1,000 rubles, silver	Moscow Mint, Belarus	Saint Euphrosyne of Polatsk
Most Popular Coin	1 dollar, copper, zinc, manganese, nickel	US Mint, United States of America	George Washington
People's Choice (audience vote)	5,000 forints, silver	Magyar Pénzverő Zrt., Hungary	Gyula Castle
Coin of the Year	500 Togrog, silver	Coin Invest Trust, Mongolia	Wildlife Protection: Wolverine

2008 (coins from the year 2006)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	1 lats, silver	Latvia	Latvian independence, 1918
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	10 euros, gold	Monnaie de Paris, France	Jules Verne, five weeks in a balloon
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	100 euros, gold	Austrian Mint, Austria	Vienna river portal
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	1,000 yen, silver	Japan Mint, Japan	50th anniversary of Japan joining the UN
Best Trade Coin (Best Trade Coin)	50 cents, coated	US Mint, United States of America	Silver State of Nevada
Most Artistic Coin (Best Artistic Coin)	10 crowns, silver	Denmark	Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	1 dollar, silver	US Mint, United States of America	Benjamin Franklin , Honored Politician
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	$ 50 Palladium (set of four coins)	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	The constellations Big Bear and Little Bear change with the seasons
Most Inspirational Coin	5 dollars, silver	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	A world without breast cancer
Most Inspirational Coin	5 euros, gold	Suomen Rahapaja, Finland	150th anniversary of the demilitarization of the Aland Islands
Most Popular Coin	25 cents, coated	US Mint, United States of America	Silver State of Nevada
People's Choice (audience vote)	50 forints, copper – nickel	Magyar Pénzverő Zrt., Hungary	50th anniversary of the Hungarian popular uprising against the Soviet occupation
Coin of the Year	$ 50 Palladium (set of four coins)	Royal Canadian Mint, Canada	The constellations Big Bear and Little Bear change with the seasons

2007 (coins from the year 2005)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	1 dollar, silver	Royal Australian Mint, Australia	End of the Second World War, "Dancing Man"
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	1 dollar, silver	US Mint, United States of America	U.S. Marine Corps
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	100 euros, gold	Minted by all German mints, Germany	Football World Cup
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	20 euros, silver	Austrian Mint, Austria	SMS Sankt Georg
Best Trade Coin (Best Trade Coin)	25 cents, coated	US Mint, United States of America	Oregon , Crater Lake
Most Artistic Coin (Best Artistic Coin)	20 rubles, silver	Latvian Mint, Belarus	Easter egg
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	10 euros, silver	State Office of the Hamburg Mint, Germany	Albert Einstein , 100 years of special relativity
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	1 dollar, silver	Royal Australian Mint, Australia	End of the Second World War, "Dancing Man"
Most Inspirational Coin	2 new shekels, silver	Israel Coins and Medals Corp., Israel	Moses and the Ten Commandments
Most Popular Coin	5 cents, copper – nickel	US Mint, United States of America	bison
Coin of the Year	1 dollar, silver	US Mint, United States of America	U.S. Marine Corps

2006 (coins from the year 2004)

category	Nominal and material	Executing company, issuing country	theme	front	back
Best Contemporary Event Coin (Best Coin for a Contemporary Event)	50 pounds, silver	Royal Mint, Alderney	50th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy ("D-Day")
Best Crown Coin (Best Crown Coin)	1 pound of copper – nickel	Cyprus	Triton blows on a seashell
Best Gold Coin (Best Gold Coin)	2,000 yuan, gold	China	Maijishan Grottoes
Best Silver Coin (Best Silver Coin)	1 dollar, silver	Royal Australian Mint, Australia	kangaroo
Best Trade Coin (Best Trade Coin)	2 euros, bimetal	Greece	Olympic discus thrower
Most Artistic Coin (Best Artistic Coin)	5 euros, silver	Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Italy	Madama Butterfly
Most Historically Significant Coin (Historically Most Significant Coin)	1 dollar, silver	US Mint, United States of America	125th anniversary electric light by Edison
Most Innovative Coin (Most Innovative Coin)	10 dollars, silver	Coin Invest Trust, Liberia	Window with Tiffany glass insert
Most Inspirational Coin	20 zloty, silver	Mennica Polska, Poland	Victims of the Lodsch ghetto
Most Popular Coin	1.5 euros, silver	Monnaie de Paris, France	100 years of FIFA
Coin of the Year	5 euros, silver	Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Italy	Madama Butterfly

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1] . List of COTY honors since 1984. In 2015 the list was also published as a printed book: Donald Scarinci: Coin of the Year. Celebrating Three Decades of the Best in Coin Design and Craftsmanship, Krause Publications, Iola (WI) 2015.
2. ↑ ^{a b} [2] page of the state of Alderney with reference to the executing mint.
3. ↑ Technical details of the mint Fog dampens a window pane .
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Archive link ( Memento of the original dated November 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Page of Coin Invest Trust with list of honored coins.  
5. ^ Gerhard Schön: Euro coin catalog. The coins of the European monetary union 1999–2011 , 10th edition, Battenberg Verlag, Regenstauf 2011, p. 139.
6. ^ Gerhard Schön: Euro coin catalog. The coins of the European monetary union 1999–2011 , 10th edition, Battenberg Verlag, Regenstauf 2011, p. 623.
7. ↑ ^{a b} List of honors received by coins minted by the Pobjoy Mint.
8. ↑ Technical details of the Latvian coins series .
9. ^ Gerhard Schön: Euro coin catalog. The coins of the European monetary union 1999–2011 , 10th edition, Battenberg Verlag, Regenstauf 2011, p. 132.
10. ↑ Technical details of the Maslenitsa edition . ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ↑ Technical details of the edition Saint Euphrosyne of Polatsk . ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ ^{a b} Was awarded twice this year.
13. ^ Gerhard Schön: Euro coin catalog. The coins of the European monetary union 1999–2011 , 10th edition, Battenberg Verlag, Regenstauf 2011, p. 124.
14. ↑ Technical details of the Velikdzen edition . ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ^ Gerhard Schön: Euro coin catalog. The coins of the European monetary union 1999-2011 , 10th edition, Battenberg Verlag, Regenstauf 2011, p. 123.