Coin of the Year (COTY): Ukraine, 30th Anniversary of Independence, named Coin of the Year for 2021

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The Coin of the Year (COTY), which is an internationally conducted competition presented by World Coin News, has named the winner of the overall COTY contest for 2021-dated coins. The National Bank of Ukraine, which released five-hryvnia commemorative coins marking their 30th anniversary of independence, was announced as the winner.

The same coin also featured in one of the 10 categories and where another Ukrainian coin also took the top spot for Best Contemporary Event, releasing a silver 10-hryvnia coin marking the 25th anniversary of Ukraine’s constitution. COTY’s organisers reaffirmed that interest in Ukrainian coinage ran high with the COTY Nominating Committee in this year’s competition, as commemorative coins released by the National Bank and their Banknote Printing and Minting Works received seven nominations through six of the 10 categories.

The reverse side of the coin which initially won in the category of Most Artistic design, features a delicately colourised embroidered band resembling a strand of DNA symbolising the nation’s genetic code. The obverse side featured two storks flying over a field of traditional Ukrainian textile patterns. Ukraine’s coat of arms was placed at the top of the design along with the year of issue. The international panel of more than 100 judges whose background includes designers, journalists, mint officials, and professional numismatists chose Ukraine’s independence commemorative by a landslide in which the coin received 30 percent of total votes, more than doubling its closest competitor. Organisers commented it is very unusual for the overall COTY champion to win by that large a margin. The coins are produced at the National Bank of Ukraine’s Banknote Printing and Minting Works at their facilities in Kyiv and distributed by a national network of distribution as well as the online retail shop. COTY organisers along with the sponsors of the 2023 program, The Journal of East Asian Numismatics, have also announced that a ceremony will be held to honour the 2023 COTY winners and present trophies at a later date.

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