Gift Ideas for Everyone on Your Holiday List

 The holidays are upon us, and it’s time to start looking for gifts for our loved ones. Gifts don’t have to be extravagant; they are something to show our loved ones we care about them. Of course, that doesn’t stop many from trying to find the perfect gift. Or perhaps you’re in the complete opposite situation. You’ve just been asked the question, “What would you like for the holidays?” and now you have to come up with a list of things to send to your family so they know what to get you. And we all know saying you don’t want anything isn’t going to cut it with a few of your family members. Well, we here at Numismatic News, World Coin News, and Bank Note Reporter are here to help.

Naming every possible gift idea under the sun might be a little much for one article, but we’ve compiled a selection – from coins and bank notes to tools, books and more – because we all know there is more to this hobby than just looking at a coin or two. Hopefully, something on this list sparks an idea to either get your fellow collectors, a non-collector friend, or your collector friend who handed you this magazine and said, “This is what I like.”

To start, there are numerous new holiday coins that have been released for 2023. Some are new, and others are a continuation of a series. The British Royal Mint, for example, has released the newest addition to their The Snowman™ series. This annual 50-pence coin depicts a scene from the beloved winter tale The Snowman™, each year depicting a new scene on the reverse. This year shows the little boy dancing with the snowman under a brilliant night sky. This coin bears the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III on the obverse, making this coin the first official festive coin with his portrait. It can be found in both plain silver and colorized.

Sticking with U.K. coins for a bit, the Pobjoy Mint released a festive Christmas coin for the Falkland Islands that features penguins. The 50-pence coin has five penguins on the reverse, two of which are holding a star between them. The word “CHRISTMAS” is written across the top. This silver coin also comes in color or in a fun ornament in the shape of a snow globe.

The Pobjoy Mint also released its annual Christmas medal. Though not a coin, this is still a fun stocking-stuffer for collectors and non-collectors alike, perhaps a grandchild who is just starting to take an interest in coins. Many of us gained an interest in the hobby through a family member, so medals like this are a great way to open the door to someone with whom you may want to share the hobby.

We all know the poem The Night Before Christmas. Penned in December 1823, it paints the picture of the Santa Claus we know and love today. This year, The Perth Mint has released a 2-ounce silver coin-themed The Night Before Christmas. The center of the coin is open, creating the shape of a wreath. The design within the wreath is that of a fireplace decorated with garland, ribbons, and ornaments. A Christmas tree is on the right, and a table with refreshments for Santa is on the left. A sleeping cat and dog rest at the bottom. In the center of the fireplace, in the opening of the wreath, hangs a 24-karat gold-plated stocking. The obverse features the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial obverse. The whole design delights our sense of Christmas wonder, and the more you look, the more you find the impressive details.

The Perth Mint has quite a few other coins on their list this year. One is an Australian 50-cent coin with a colorful reverse showing the Australian Christmas Bush. The coin comes in a bright ornament package, so this holiday coin can become a part of the entire family’s holiday traditions.

Another Australian coin is the Perth Mint’s ©Disney coin, which shows Mickey and Minnie Mouse riding on a reindeer across the reverse. The bright colors, recognizable characters, and fun ornament packaging make this a great gift idea for those future collectors in our lives. Another Christmas coin that could pique the interest of a younger collector might be the Perth Mint’s Harry Potter™ Christmas coin. The 1-ounce silver coin has a colorful Hogwarts™ on the reverse, with an owl and a wizard flying among the turrets. “I’d Rather Stay at Hogwarts this Christmas” is written around the castle.

If you are looking to add your love of coins to your holiday traditions but don’t want to just gift your loved ones a Christmas-themed coin, consider the custom of putting silver coins into your Christmas pudding. The discoverer of the coin is granted good luck and wealth for the coming year. The Perth Mint offers its Christmas Pudding Pack, which includes genuine sixpences and three pence coins in a little pouch.

Next on the list is a gorgeous coin from the Austrian Mint. This coin steps away from Christmas and focuses on the beauty of winter. Secrets of Snow captures the beauty of snowflakes on the obverse, with a large snowflake taking up most of the coin, a blue gemstone placed in the center of the snowflake. On the reverse is the profile of a snow princess, the manifestation of winter itself. This elegant silver-proof 20-euro coin makes you want to go out and catch snowflakes on your mittens to see the different patterns. After all, no two snowflakes are exactly the same.

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) also has a selection of coins for this holiday season. The RCM has been creating coins with a fun blacklight effect, one of which has won a Coin of the Year Award for the Most Innovative category. This time the RCM is bringing the effect to Santa and his magical reindeer on a 1-ounce silver 20-dollar coin.

The RCM also offers a 2023 Holiday Gift Card Set, a perfect gift to get someone going on their collecting journey. It features five non-circulation coins set in a blister pack inside a special holiday card, with one coin exclusive to the gift set. This special dollar coin has a festive moose on the reverse, a fitting animal for a Canadian coin.

The RCM isn’t done with their fun and innovative coins for the season, with one more animal coin that reminds us of the snowy winters of Canada. The 50-cent lenticular coin shows a polar bear with his rabbit friend taking advantage of the season and going for a ride on their sled. The shifting scene when you hold the coin at different angles has the pair speeding down a slope and stopping beside a group of Christmas trees, ready to go for another ride. This coin is fun for all ages and a great stocking stuffer idea.

Many of us have grown up being told that silver and gold make the best decorations for our Christmas trees, and Burl Ives speaks some truth. So, combining silver and gold coins with holiday decorations seems like a no-brainer. The Cook Islands snowflake star ornaments are perfect for this. The 1-ounce silver coins with a face value of 5 dollars come in silver or silver with gold plating and include a hole at the top perfect to string a ribbon through. The star shape with snowflakes and embedded crystals will add a beautiful touch to anyone’s Christmas tree.

Perhaps a more traditional approach to Christmas is a better option for the people on your shopping list this year. The Isle of Man released its 2023 2-pound Christmas coin with the reverse design inspired by a stained-glass window that can be found at the Kirk Christ Church in Rushen.

Many Christmas coins have designs that cross different aspects of Christmas traditions and history. One such example is MDM’s 1-ounce silver coins for the Solomon Islands. The story and history of Santa Claus is a long one, giving him many names and origins: from a saint who helped struggling families to a jolly man living with magical toy-making elves. These coins, both the 2023-dated and 2024-dated, show Father Frost surrounded by a wintery forest and friendly little animals. The 2023-dated coin also features the Snow Maiden. The packaging for this coin is also unique and will grab the attention of someone on your shopping list; the coin comes in a nesting doll that is painted with the same design as on the coin.

Most coins on this list so far can be appreciated by collectors and non-collectors alike, but maybe you want something a little more timeless – a small token to show how much you care about them. A grandchild, for example, who is a big Marvel fan, might enjoy a coin with their favorite character on it. The New Zealand Mint is well-known for its coins that cater to a variety of pop culture interests and have a selection of coins with comic book characters, Star Wars™, Harry Potter™, and many other themes. Of course, the New Zealand Mint is not the only mint that makes these kinds of coins, so you may have to do a little digging to find the perfect one. Coins like these are a great way for us to share interests with our loved ones, and they might be surprised at the crossover of their favorite characters and coins!

A token of love for a significant other could take the shape of one of CIT’s Secret Heart coins. Sometimes a coin can take the shape of our appreciation for the person we’re giving it to. While in an ideal world, we might want to receive that elusive coin from the series we may never finish, or we might want to gift our friends and family a coin that will spark their interest in the hobby and set them off on their collecting journey, it’s not entirely realistic. And that’s where these fun coins come in.

But maybe you don’t want coins at all, or you don’t want to gift a coin. There is so much more to the hobby than collecting the coins themselves. A good idea is to gift your collector friends or to put them on your own wish list, which are tools that make collecting life a little easier. This could come in the form of new coin albums and folders or perhaps a new magnifying glass to see the details on your coins: errors, scratches, and mintmarks. Magnifiers come in all sorts of different types, from something handheld to something you wear to keep your hands free.

And don’t think we’ve forgotten about our fellow bank note collectors. There may not be as many holiday-themed releases for paper money as there are for coins, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great gift ideas out there. For example, a great currency gift for a child or grandchild would be a 2-dollar note. It’s simple, but kids will love it since they don’t see 2-dollar notes very often. All you have to do is go to your local bank, and it will only cost you 2 dollars.

Something for a more advanced bank note collector is The Perth Mint’s 100-dollar gold-foiled bank note. The note features the 2020 edition of the 100-dollar Australian bank note.

Coins aren’t the only things that need protective coverings. Currency sleeves would make a great gift. Can a collector have too many? More currency sleeves mean more notes to fill them!

We’ll round out our gift guide with a couple of last suggestions for coin and paper money collectors alike. Firstly, reference books are always great. Whether it’s the newest edition of the “Red Book” (A Guide Book of United States Coins) or something a little more focused on your area of collecting, everyone loves to get a new book for Christmas. If you’re not sure which books to get, the American Numismatic Association has a wonderful library. Scrolling through their online catalog might give you some ideas.

Secondly, maybe something that isn’t strictly coin- or paper money-related at all. A new t-shirt or hat that shows your love for the hobby can be a fun addition to your wardrobe and something to wear at all the coin shows in the coming year! You don’t have to announce being a coin collector, but there’s no harm in letting people know you’re the “Numis Master.” You can find a selection of fun apparel and accessories at store.numismaster.com.

If you’re still at a loss, there is always the possibility of a gift card. Many places, such as Whitman Publishing and the U.S. Mint, offer gift cards, which will allow the collector in your life to pick out exactly what they want. We hope this helps you find the perfect gift for everyone on your list this year. 

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