Exceptional turnout seen at this year’s World Money Fair 2019

This year’s World Money Fair was hailed a great success by attendants and participants taking into account the standpoint of ticket sales and a greater representation of national mints, international dealers, and experts in the field of coin production, design, logistics, procurement, and marketing.

Organisers were prepared for an increase in collectors and investors who were attending the fair over the usual three-day period, with this year being overseen by the World Money Fair’s new Executive Director Gitta Künker, who was named to the position in July 2018 and took over from Hans-Henning Göhrum. The 2019 WMF was Ms. Künker’s first in her new position and she is keenly committed to getting off to an enthusiastic start by making sure the WMF remains relevant to collectors, in particular. Ms. Künker is especially aware of the interests of both experienced and novice collectors, and is positioning the WMF brand to become increasingly relevant to these groups by a new digital and electronic presence. Her special concern is that the WMF becomes a greater hub of the industry as a whole by putting the focus back on the collector.

Officially opened on Friday morning by Dr. Albert Beck, founder of the popular event and now the World Money Fair’s lifetime honourary president, he was accompanied by Ms. Barbara Balz, managing director of the WMF, and Mr. Gerhard Starsich, CEO of the Austrian Mint, who was the guest of honour this year. 2019 sees the Austrian Mint celebrating 825 years of existence with celebratory banners prominently displayed at their popular and visually distinctive booth. Just after the ribbon was cut, eager collectors began a very steady pace through the doors, which did not seem to stop for hours. Held this year from the 1st to the 3rd February at their official home, the Estrel Conference Centre in Berlin, the numbers of collectors visiting on the first day has become a barometer for what is to be expected for the remaining two days.

The response from the coin dealers was very positive, many commenting that they were pleasantly surprised by the increase in interest of bullion-related commemorative coins, modern and commemorative collector pieces, and the collectors themselves who were after very specific items. An increased level of interest in banknotes was noticed by the many notaphilists who reported an upsurge in the demand for high-end notes in terms of price. This year, the United States Mint was invited to participate and was a very welcome presence to many collectors who expressed great interest in the new 2019-dated Moon landing commemoratives which were on prominent display.

Now in its 48th year, the World Money Fair was founded in 1971 by Dr. Beck, which was then known as the Basel Coin Fair. Since its inception, the annual gathering for serious coin collectors and dealers has grown in both popularity and prominence on the numismatic coin scene to one of the largest and best-attended events. The need to look for a larger venue to accommodate the annual event saw the management move the Fair to Berlin and the purpose-built Estrel Centre, where the newly named World Money Fair has been held since 2006. The organisers are proud to point out that the 2019 WMF welcomed 350 exhibitors arranged over 9,000 square metres of space and anticipated that more than 15,000 collectors, investors, spectators and media would pass through the doors over the three-day event.

During the World Money Fair’s Gala Dinner, which is traditionally hosted by the guest of honour on the night of the official opening (this year by the Austrian Mint), the WMF announced that they will welcome the Mint of Japan as the guest of honour for 2020. The XXXII Summer Olympiad will be staged in Tokyo, and as Japan welcomes a new emperor later this year, attention will be appropriately centred on Japan for 2019 and into 2020. For additional information about the World Money Fair, as a participant or visitor, please visit their website. The precise dates for next year’s event will be officially announced in due course. An in-depth interview with the World Money Fair’s newest managing director can be read at Coins Weekly’s website and was conducted by Senior Editor Ursula Kampmann.

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