4523) 2026 Coin of the Year (COTY) Winner Award went to the "Niue Paper Airplane coin": Ten Other Category Winners Announced for 2026:
To view a few posts on previous COTY and Coin Constellation (Russia) winners, please visit the following links:
6) Viola Desmond, Civil Rights Activist & the first Canadian woman to feature on a circulation Banknote: A $10 Polymer vertically oriented Banknote issued by Bank of Canada on 19.11.2018 is the 2018 IBNS Banknote of the Year
The 2026 Coin of the Year (COTY) awards officially began in early January with a worldwide call for nominations.
From the many issues released in 2025, mints, banks, and enthusiasts submitted nearly 600 coins for consideration.
A nominating committee then narrowed this number into the COTY 100, which contained 100 2025-dated candidates from 41 countries. Over 40 mints and central banks were represented in this group.
Ten standout coins were recognised for excellence in design at this year’s Coin of the Year ceremony in Oklahoma City.
The best in modern coinage was honoured at the 2025 Coin of the Year (COTY) ceremony.
Ten trophies were awarded to ten outstanding coins in artistry and innovation by an international panel of judges, of which one well-deserving issue was granted the prestigious Coin of the Year designation.
The programme was co-sponsored by the World’s Fair of Money® and The Journal of East Asian Numismatics.
In May 2026, ten coins in ten categories, identified as the COTY 100. The process then required the most challenging task of all: voting for the winners.
Many coins were neck-and-neck in the final hours of voting by the judges' panel, made up of over 100 individuals from a diverse collection of fields and expertise in numismatics.
Multiple categories had votes spread evenly across their competitors.
This selection features 10 outstanding coins in 10 specific categories.
The COTY champion will be honoured with the other category winners at the World’s Fair of Money on August 27, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Centre.
The following Coins out of ten contestants each were declared the winners:
The 2026 Coin of the Year (COTY) award went to the Niue Paper Airplane coin, a uniquely shaped issue that captured judges’ attention with its nostalgic design and artistic innovation.
🏆Winner of COTY - 2026: A $2 (Two Dollars) Niue Paper Airplane Coin with the theme - "Childhood Nostalgia", shaped like a folded paper airplane with a crumpled tip.
This Coin was also awarded the "Most Innovative Coin Award"..
To view a few posts on previous COTY and Coin Constellation (Russia) winners, please visit the following links:
6) Viola Desmond, Civil Rights Activist & the first Canadian woman to feature on a circulation Banknote: A $10 Polymer vertically oriented Banknote issued by Bank of Canada on 19.11.2018 is the 2018 IBNS Banknote of the Year
