The Coin of the Year Award Is Back Colombian Mint And
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EA ON M H IT W N O I T A I C O S S A N I S W E N Y C P N U E B R L I R S U H C E Y D B VOLUME 6 / DECEMBER 2019 Colombian Mint and The Coin Responsible Resource of the Year Consumption Award is Back On the occasion of the Coin Q: What kinds of coins do you produce? The popular Coin of the Year Award Conference 2019 in Rome, Mint News A: For the most part, the Colombian Contest will also take place in 2020. After Quarterly™ interviewed Señor Bernardo circulation coins, of which there are five the crisis of Krause, the organiser of the Antonio Duarte Páez, Director of the different denominations. The two smallest COTY, the future of the competition was Colombian Mint. He summarises the are made from plated steel, the 200 peso uncertain. Active Interest Media (AIM) measures that have been taken to coins are from white alpacca, ie. nickel bought, among others, the numismatic make coin production at the Fábrica silver, and the 500 and 1,000 peso coins magazine Numismatic News and de Moneda as environmentally friendly are bimetallic. decided to continue the COTY and thus as possible. to honour the most significant new coin Q: What is the organisational framework of the Colombian mint? issues with this award. A: We’re owned by the central bank – Banco de la República – but we do have a certain autonomy. The central bank is subject to the government, but we make our own decisions. The Board of Directors is the main body of the organisation and is composed of the Minister of Finance, the Governor and five permanent members. The Treasury Department, which belongs to the central bank, is our client when it comes to the production of Colombia’s circulation coins. Q: Do you also produce bullion or Bernardo Duarte Páez. commemorative coins? The winner of the 2019 COTY award – Q: In a few words, could you tell us the A: No bullion coins, but commemorative the €50 ‘French Excellency Guy Savoy’ coin. basic facts about the Mint of Colombia? coins occasionally. The judges were contacted and asked to A: Our mint is located in Ibagué, about Q: Do you mint coins for other nations? vote. As of 8 December, the winners in each 150 km southwest of the capital Bogotá. No, we mint exclusively for the A: of the ten different categories have been Our facility for the production of coin domestic market. blanks has been located there since 1982, determined. Then, one of these coins will be Q: What role does cash play in Colombia and in 1986, we took up work at the coin chosen as Coin of the Year. these days? mint. Since then, the entire production COTY 2020 will honour 2018-dated of circulation coins – from the coil to the A: It is still of great importance, but coins. Tom Michael is responsible for the final packaged product – has been carried of course, we are also experiencing organisation. The competition is sponsored out there. change. Today, there are more and by the Journal of East Asian Numismatics. more transactions via credit cards and We have about 100 employees active in mobile phones. blank production as well as coin minting. Continued on page 2 > Q: What is your productivity rate? A: We are able to produce 420–450 million coins a year. www.currency-news.com 1st International Forum for Coin Design Art By Peter Anthony The Shanghai Mint hosted the Shanghai Coin Design Forum for the first time. This Forum gives a place for discussion to another group participating in the creation of coins. While there have been many congresses for medallists who are focused on the production of art objects in marginal mintage, this was the very first meeting of those who are designing circulation and commemorative coins. ‘We have to express all of our ideas and imagination in a tiny, tiny coin. So, we have to choose the right elements to tell the story in a very limited space. It is a very large challenge,’ reflected Italian coin designer Chiarra Principe. From near and far the Shanghai Coin Design Forum brought artists together to discuss and explore that challenge in today’s world. The artist participants of the Shanghai Coin Design Forum pose for a group photo (© Peter Anthony). Over three days, from 11-13 November 2019 at the Renaissance Hotel in Shanghai, The significance that China attached to this Australia, Egypt and the Philippines made the focus was always on coin design, coin Shanghai Mint-sponsored Forum could be the journey to Shanghai, as did more than creation. Some speakers described how measured by the large contingent of officials 100 coin designers from every Chinese they now create exclusively on computers, there. For example, Mr Li Huifeng, the coin mint to discuss the past, present and while others work entirely with traditional People’s Bank of China’s Deputy Director of future development of coin and medallic tools. Many related how they combine Currency and Mr Bu Jiangchen, the General art designs multiple skills in innovative ways. All in all, Manager of China Banknote Printing & a fascinating range of approaches to an art The first to speak was United States Mint Minting, spoke to open the conference. 11 form in transition was presented. artist Joel Iskowitz. His speech last year foreign artists and engravers from as far to the Shanghai Mint’s coin designers is afield as the US, Canada, Germany, Italy, warmly remembered. Mr Iskowitz continued The Mint of Colombia (Continued) Q: Colombia is a country with both features not only densely populated cities like But the most important milestone was extremely densely populated cities and Bogotá, but also the Andes with summits of the Environmental Protection Act of 1991, large, sparsely populated rural areas. How over 5,000 m. Not to forget the rainforest in which forced a lot of companies to rethink does that play out in terms of money? Do the Colombian part of Amazonia. their use of natural resources. Today, we people in the countryside, like in Sweden, Colombia contributes 10% to the world’s have consistent laws. Unfortunately, there pay more often by credit card because the biodiversity, that’s the second highest are of course also companies, especially cash supply isn’t guaranteed? biodiversity in the world. Which role informal ones, that do not respect the legal requirements. But for us as a public A: To the contrary. Especially in the rural does environmental protection play in areas, people prefer traditional means of your country? enterprise, that is not an option. In 2012, we presented a new series of payment like coins and banknotes. A: Colombia is one of the pioneers of circulation coins. All our coins depict Q: Ensuring the money supply must be environmental protection. The first laws quite a challenge. After all, Colombia is in that area date back as far as the endangered animal and plant species. about three times the size of Germany, and 18th century. They’re a sign for how much we care about the environment, especially the water. Take our 1,000 peso coin. It features the image of a sea turtle swimming through stylized waves. In micro-lettering, there is the word AGUA (water) seven times. On the value side, you can read CUIDAR EL AGUA four times, which means ‘Take care of the water’. Q: So this is important to you? A: Yes, very much so. At about the same time that we issued the new circulation coins, we started a campaign aimed at sensitising our fellow Colombians about careful use of water. The Mint of Colombia (©Mint of Colombia). 2 MINT NEWS QUARTERLY his thoughts at the Design Forum and reconstructed the medal’s design, the Philippines. He has mastered everything added, ‘I think that if the artist is doing his, audience hung on her every word. It was a from manually polishing dies to virtuoso or her, job… it will speak to anyone in any master class for designers and went down level digital designs. With his characteristic part of the world.’ like cool water on a hot afternoon. good humour, he explained how he once Susanna Blunt, the Canadian portrait The next morning began with US master rejected using an unauthorised program. artist, explained how her image of Queen artist and coin designer Thomas S Instead, he wrote to the company and Elizabeth II has been impressed on more Cleveland. As part of his presentation ‘Feng offered to create a marketing design in than 17 billion Canadian coins. The most Shui in Cross-Cultural Aesthetics’, he told exchange for a license. The company senior artist at this event, she charmed his fellow designers, ‘yesterday is today, agreed. His work was accepted and the the Forum and quickly became an today is tomorrow. The Shanghai Mint has company immediately requested another audience favourite. brought a brighter future to coin making.’ design. ‘Sure,’ replied Mr Abraham, ‘but first send me my license’. The next two speakers presented almost That was very much in tune with Italian opposite approaches. First was Wang sculptor, medallic and coin designer ‘We are constantly on a journey through Min – Deputy Director of the Academic Loredana Pancotto’s presentation. Of all the life. It enriches us and is expressed through Committee of the Central Academy of Fine speakers, her work methods were perhaps our art,’ remarked Chiarra Principe. The Arts and one-time art student who was the most traditional.