The 32nd Mint Directors Conference (MDC) was held this week in Cape Town, South Africa. The event hosts the MDC Coin Awards, sponsored by MingFeng Packaging, which this year took place last night during the MDC Gala Dinner at Cape Point Vineyards.
The Coin Awards recognise industry achievements in the design, production, packaging, and distribution of commemorative and circulating coins worldwide. A new category was added for the 2025 awards – Best Collaboration Project. This year’s award winners, including those presented with second and third place, can be found below. The winners were chosen from a total of 112 nominations and adjudicated by the members of the MDA.
Click to access MDC2025 Coin Awards Gallery
Best Commemorative Gold Coin
The Perth Mint was awarded the winning prize in this category for its Jewelled Turtle 10oz gold proof coin. The reverse of the coin features a three-dimensional 18 carat gold representation of a sea turtle, hand-set with 112 rare Argyle Pink Diamonds™, in addition to natural white diamonds and emeralds.
Second place went to the Royal Canadian Mint for its Year of the Dragon gold double Extraordinarily High Relief (EHR) coin. The coin commemorated the 2024 Year of the Wood Dragon, with the eponymous mythical creature lifted to a height of 4.7mm by the EHR on the reverse. The obverse also depicts the Dragon in EHR at a height of 3.85mm, providing a more three-dimensional form within the two-sided design.
Third place was presented to Monnaie de Paris for its Notre Dame 1kg gold coin, created to celebrate the official reopening late last year of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which had been restored following a catastrophic fire in 2019. Shaped in an arch design, the coin features a gold insert enamelled in high fire at the top of the obverse, with the reverse depicting the inside of the Cathedral complete with vaulted ceiling.
Best Commemorative Silver Coin
The Royal Canadian Mint was awarded the winning prize in this category for the silver version of its Year of the Dragon double EHR coin. As with the gold version, the silver commemorative features a 4.7mm lifted relief on the reverse and 3.85mm height on the obverse.
Second place went to CIT Coin Invest for its Aztec Empire silver coin. Three Aztec figures are depicted on the reverse, with a central warrior flanked on either side by a jaguar warrior and eagle warrior. Two versions of the commemorative were produced using the company’s smartminting® technology, a 1oz silver-only coin and a 3oz silver edition that features partial gold plating. The obverse depicts the Templo Mayor in Tenōchtitlan (now Mexico City) framed by the Aztec solar calendar.
Third place was presented to the National Bank of Kazakhstan for its AQ TUŃǴIYQ (White Water Lily) coin featuring transparent enamel on a silver base, in addition to selective matte and polished finishes. The reverse features a three-dimensional white water lily in ultra-high relief, with the transparent enamel overlay creating the illusion of water ripples on a wave-shaped base. The obverse features the National Emblem of Kazakhstan, framed by a national ornament and floral motifs.
Best Circulating Coin or Coin Series
The US Mint was awarded the winning prize in this category for its ninth American Women Quarter™ issue honouring Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist Jovita Idar. The reverse design of the coin depicts Idar in the centre with her hands clasped; inscribed within her body are several phrases depicting some of her greatest achievements and the regional newspapers that she contributed to.
Second place went to Monnaie de Paris for its new 10, 20, and 50 cent circulating coins. These three coins honour three exceptional women – Simone Veil (10 cents), Joséphine Baker (20 cents), and Marie Curie (50 cents) – who were all pantheonized for their many contributions to France’s influence. The coins all depict a side profile of its respective honoured woman in the background, with the name of each woman inscribed vertically in the centre.
Third place was presented to the Bavarian State Mint for its €5 insect series which commemorates the importance of insects for humans. Nine different designs were produced, each featuring a different colourful insect produced by selective colour printing atop pre-embossed motifs. Designs include ‘The Insect Kingdom’, a seven-spot ladybird, Old World swallowtail butterfly, red mason bee, banded demoiselle damselfly, green grasshopper, grove hoverfly, stag beetle, and stone bumblebee.
Best Packaging (of a Collectible Coin)
The Perth Mint was awarded the winning prize in this category for the packaging of its Spongebob Squarepants 2oz silver proof gilded coin, produced to mark the 25th anniversary of the animated television series and aiming to draw in a younger generation of collectors. Each coin is presented in a plastic replica of SpongeBob’s iconic pineapple home and packaged in a themed presentation box with a customised sleeve. The leafy top of the pineapple is detachable to enable easy storage and transport.
Second place went to the Mint of Poland for the packaging of its UFO MP-1766, intended to represent futuristic design and advanced engineering. Created from durable wood and covered with a 3D-printed surface, the packaging creates a relief-like effect that mimics the aesthetics of a spacecraft. The integrated magnetic levitation system allows the coin to hover within the box, simulating a floating UFO.
Third place was presented to Monnaie de Paris for the packaging of its Notre Dame 1kg gold coin (see above) in an oak box. The solid oak cases were created from the same wood used in the Notre Dame Cathedral’s restoration. They also feature a microchip which, when scanned with a mobile phone, enables the owner to log in and receive a digital certificate of ownership that is stored on the blockchain.
Best Collaboration Project
The Royal Canadian Mint was awarded the winning prize in this new category for innovative gold refining in partnership with McGill University. The collaboration has, at a lab scale, resulted in a new method that eliminates chlorine gas (used in the Miller Chlorination process) from the gold refining process almost entirely by introducing acoustic energy to catalyse a chemical reaction with a mild reagent. The process is non-toxic, requires less energy, and is safer for both the people at the Mint and the environment.
Second place went to the Royal Australian Mint for its collaboration with Australia Post on the 2024 Bluey commemorative programme. It consisted of two specially designed $1 coins – or ‘dollarbucks’, the term for coins in the animated children’s television show – released though Australia Post cash tills over a four-week period, with the public having the opportunity to find the coins in their change. A supporting range of specially packaged collectibles were also made available to purchase.
Third place was presented to the Mint of Poland for its collaboration with SINGLET Company and HCNT Levitation on its UFO MP-1766 coin (see above). SINGLET Company was responsible for designing the packaging construction to accommodate neodymium magnets, whilst HCNT Levitation conducted extensive testing to ensure the magnets’ strength and stability could support the 7oz coin, resulting in the successful integration of magnetic levitation into the coin’s packaging.
Best Sustainability Initiative
The Perth Mint was awarded the winning prize in this category for its transition to sustainable packaging. For its SpongeBob and Friends 1oz silver proof coloured coin and Frida Kahlo 2oz silver antiqued coloured coin, the Mint packaged the releases in presentation boxes comprised entirely of a combination of FSC cardboard and FSC paper, with a coin insert made from paper pulp. The paper and cardboard elements replace the traditional plastic components, with the new materials being both biodegradable and recyclable.
Second place went to the US Mint for its Denver wastewater treatment plant renovation and water reuse programme. The project aims to replace the current chemical treatment with vacuum distillation technology for water purification. Removal of the chemicals improves water quality, enabling the Mint to reuse this water in the coin manufacturing process. Steam condensate heat will be harnessed for re-use in the manufacturing plant – to power other processes or to heat the building, for example.
Third place was presented to Monnaie de Paris for its Rugby World Cup collection, whereby it produced the 2023 event medals solely from recycled components. The 1,491 medals were created using 2,953kg of metal recovered from 31 tons of recycled mobile phones, with materials from 138 phones used for each medal. Working in partnership with Orange’s ‘RE’ programme, 206,000 used mobile phones were collected through amateur rugby clubs.
Click to access MDC2025 Coin Awards Gallery
