Polymer coin wins IACA Award for best innovation in the coin industry
The IACA Excellence in Currency 2017 Coin Awards were presented at the Coin Conference on 24 October 2017 in Warsaw. The State Mint of Baden-Württemberg and the Bavarian State Mint won the prize for the best innovation in the field of coin technology for their polymer ring coin.
The idea
The polymer ring, embedded between the ring and the mint tablet, makes this coin as secure as a banknote for the first time ever. The colored polymer ring is not only attractive, but also an open safety feature that is easily recognizable for all users. At the same time, it offers the possibility of incorporating hidden security features that cannot be imitated by any counterfeiter.
The developers
The German mints of the State Mint of Baden-Württemberg and the Bavarian State Mint played a leading role in development. They were supported by the Leibniz Institute at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH Aachen University) in Aachen and by the Deutsche Bundesbank. The vending industry was also significantly involved in the development through a representative of Crane Payment Innovations in Buxtehude as well as representatives of the coin blanks manufacturer Saxonia EuroCoin.
