Royal Canadian Mint's advanced $1 and $2 circulation coins win international Excellence in Currency Award for "Best New Coin Innovation"

OTTAWA, Oct. 29, 2013 /CNW/ — The Royal Canadian Mint overcame strong competition today from Britain's Royal Mint and the Mint of Finland to win the inaugural Best New Coin Innovation Excellence in Currency Awards presented by the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA).  This official recognition confirms the suite of advanced security features the Mint developed for Canada's new multi-ply plated steel $1 and $2 circulation coins as the world's most significant coin security advance of the year.  The award was presented at IACA's Coin Conference in Berlin, Germany on October 29, 2013.

"The Royal Canadian Mint is committed to innovating in all aspects of coin design and manufacturing to give its customers in Canada and around the world the best combination of quality, value and security," said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "The Mint has long been acknowledged as a leader in circulation coin manufacturing and recognition of our $1 and $2 coin security features by the international currency community as the world's best new coin innovation is further validation of our sustained investments in R+D."

Introduced in April 2012, Canada's new $1 and $2 circulation coins are manufactured at the Mint's facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba using the same multi-ply plated steel (MPPS) technology used on all of Canada's circulation coins, as well as those of more than 30 international Mint customers since 2001.  By plating a steel core with alternating layers of metals such as copper, nickel and brass at precisely controlled thicknesses, the Mint has an unrivalled ability to control the electromagnetic signature by which genuine coins are identified in coin acceptance equipment. 

To further assure the security and integrity of Canada's high-value circulation coins, the Mint developed visible and covert security features for its new generation of $1 and $2 circulation coins.  These include a laser mark micro-engraving on the reverse (or tails side) of both coins and Digital Non-destructive Activation (DNA) technology, by which the surface structure of each coin can be read like a fingerprint and checked against a database of all $1 and $2 coins produced by the Mint since 2012. The $2 circulation coin also features a shifting virtual image on its reverse, as well as edge-lettering.

This is the third IACA "Excellence in Currency" award won by the Mint in the six-year history of the awards program.  Our 2006 25-cent Pink Ribbon circulation coin won the very first IACA Best New Coin award and our 17-coin circulation series commemorating the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games won the Best New Coins Series award.

About IACA
IACA is the voice of the currency industry. It is a non-profit association that promotes and protects the common interests of the industry, and contributes to the success of its members by delivering quality value-added services. Members include currency issuing authorities and central banks, international security authorities, currency users, producers, volume currency handlers and industry suppliers.

About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown Corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. An ISO 9001-2008 certified company, the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca.

SOURCE: Royal Canadian Mint