Russian commemorative coins win international contest
Bank of Russia coins produced by the St. Petersburg Mint emerged as winners in the 11th International Commemorative Coin Contest, Coin Constellation 2017, which took place as part of the 8th International Coin Conference and Exhibition, COINS-2017.
The international jury selected winners in the following eight nominations: Unique Conceptual Design, Successful Artistic Design, Original Technology, Coin Classics, Souvenir Coin, Silver Coin of the Year, Gold Coin of the Year and Coin of the Year.
The winner of the Gold Coin of the Year nomination was the Novodevichy Convent of Moscow coin, which has a face value of 10 thousand roubles (it belongs to the Russia in UNESCO World Heritage Site series).
The Great Imperial Crown silver coin, a special edition in the Diamond Fund of Russia series, won in the Successful Artistic Design nomination.
The 50 Year Anniversary of the Russian Historical Society coin came in second in the Coin Classics nomination.
This year’s competition drew 268 commemorative coins from 40 participants across the globe. All the coins were minted in 2016.
The contest had entries from the national banks and mints of European and Asian countries, New Zealand, the US and Japan.
Background information
In 2017, entrants in the Coin Constellation competition included the Bank of Latvia, the Bank of Lithuania, the National Bank of the Republic of Abkhazia, the National Bank of Kyrghiz Republic, the National Bank of Poland, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Central Bank of Armenia and the Bank of Russia. The following mints participated: ART MINT (France), HelveticMint AG (Switzerland), Imprensa Nacional-Casa Da Moeda (Portugal), Moneda Nueva (Spain), Pobjoy Mint Ltd (Great Britain), the Hungarian Mint, Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute, the Kazakhstan Mint, the Royal Australian Mint, the Royal Mint of Spain, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Royal Dutch Mint, the Austrian Mint, the Mint of Poland, the US Mint, the Mint of Finland, the Japan Mint, the Moscow Mint and the St.Petersburg Mint (branches of Goznak (Russia), Monnaie de Paris (the Parisian Mint, France), Swissmint and the Czech Mint.