Innovations in Numismatics: What Comes After the Polymer Ring?

Coin technology and design have made major strides in recent years. A prominent example is Germany’s introduction of polymer-coated coins. Since 2016, the Federal Republic has issued €5 commemorative coins featuring a colored polymer ring, followed in 2019 by €10 coins with a transparent polymer ring. These innovative pieces combine metal and plastic, enhancing both security against counterfeiting and visual appeal. But what comes after the polymer ring?

In recent years, mints around the world have introduced a wide range of innovations that enrich both the technology of coin production and the design of circulation and collector coins. Here is an overview that looks at new materials, security features, striking technologies, and design methods that have been implemented in series production since 2020—not mere prototypes or decades-old concepts revived on paper

Mints are increasingly using innovative surface coatings. One example is the world’s first black-coated bimetallic circulation coin from Canada. In 2022, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a $2 circulation coin with a black nickel outer ring rather than the usual golden one. This coin, released as a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, features a black nickel plating as a visual reference to mourning and was promoted by the Mint as the “world’s first coin with a black ring.” The dark coating is not only striking from a design perspective but also technically demanding, as it must be durable and withstand everyday use.

Other multi-layer coin concepts have also been tested; the Royal Canadian Mint, for example, previously developed tri-metallic tokens with three different metal layers, which received an innovation award in 2019. Tri-metallic circulation coins are still rare, but the ongoing development of platings and alloys, such as nickel-free alloys for cost or allergy reasons, or anti-allergenic coatings, remains a clear trend in coin material research.

Since 2020, modern coins have increasingly incorporated microscopic structures for anti-counterfeiting, made possible by precision laser-engraving processes. One pioneer is the 2021 Britannia bullion coin from the Royal Mint, equipped with four new security features. These include a latent image that shifts between a padlock and Neptune’s trident depending on the angle, like a holographic effect. The coin also carries micro-lettering that encircles the figure of Britannia with the Latin inscription “DECUS ET TUTAMEN” (an ornament and a safeguard), rendered in tiny text that is barely visible to the naked eye. A further innovation is a laser-generated surface pattern that makes the background appear as moving waves when the coin is tilted in the light.

This “surface animation” is created using nano-engraving with ultra-short picosecond laser pulses that cut grooves into the dies up to 200 times thinner than a human hair. The Royal Mint was one of the first mints to deploy such high-resolution lasers, which are otherwise used in fields like medicine and aerospace. The result is a set of security elements (latent image, micro-text, dynamic lines) that are visually compelling and extremely difficult to reproduce with conventional methods. Similar micro-engraving techniques are now used worldwide; many countries equip circulation coins with tiny laser-applied marks, images, or text because, once the process is set up, they can be mass-produced on standard presses yet remain very hard to imitate.

In addition to visible effects, mints are increasingly turning to concealed security features. For example, on German polymer-ring coins, the plastic ring can be doped with special pigments visible only under specific inspection devices. This is similar to fluorescent or magnetic features on bank notes but transposed to coins. Clearly defined machine-readable signatures (such as specific electrical or magnetic properties created by the material composition) also make it easier for coin validators to identify genuine pieces. These features, which remain unobtrusive to the human eye, enhance security without interfering with the coin’s artwork.

Another emerging trend is the use of deliberately modified edge designs for anti-counterfeiting. In 2021, the United States Mint introduced a missing reed on the edge of its American Eagle bullion coins—a tiny gap, or notch, that interrupts the otherwise continuous reeding. The detail is barely noticeable at first glance and does not disturb the design, yet it poses a challenge for counterfeiters. The exact position of the missing reed is changed by the Mint each year, so forgers cannot simply copy a standardized pattern. Technically, the notch effect is created by the collar die, which is left smooth at a specific point rather than fully reeded.

Such variable edge features are a new development and show that even long-established security methods, such as reeding, can be further refined in response to new threats. Edge inscriptions featuring serial numbers or micro-text are also being discussed as ways to make coins even more individually identifiable, although these ideas had not yet been implemented on a broad series basis from 2020 onwards.

In the field of collector coins, there has been a notable leap in presses and die-making technologies since 2020, enabling extremely high relief. Particularly groundbreaking is the Smartminting© process developed by CIT and B. H. Mayer (Germany), presented in an enhanced version (Smartminting© Reloaded) in 2020. This technology enables relief heights up to twice those before while maintaining very fine detail. Remarkably, the relief can extend almost to the rim and appear on both sides of the coin without having to remain symmetrically centered.

The first coins struck with this technique, such as the 2020 “Majestic Eagle” issued for Mongolia, showcased a richly detailed bird motif with a sculptural height more commonly associated with medals than standard coins. Thanks to Smartminting©, even relatively small silver coins can achieve a relief that previously required significantly more material or a larger diameter. This ultra-high-relief capability opens up new creative possibilities–from deeply modelled 3D motifs to complex, multi-layered scenes–and has won multiple innovation awards.

Another technical development that brings a long numismatic tradition into the modern era is the use of curved dies and blanks to produce concave or convex coins. This approach became widely known through coins, such as the 2014 US Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative issue. Only since 2021 has Germany begun using this technology in its own program. The series of €25 silver Christmas coins (issues 2021–2025) is struck using bowl-shaped technology. These coins have a gently concave form that gives the motifs a particularly vivid, three-dimensional appearance.

The curvature allows the central design to be struck in deeper relief without thinning the rim excessively, ideal for themes like Christmas ornaments or religious scenes that are intended to stand out. These concave pieces show that mint technicians are also experimenting with the shape of the blanks themselves to achieve new visual effects. Beyond Germany, several mints (including France, Australia, and the United States) now use curved planchets for commemoratives. Bowl striking thus combines technology and design and has become an increasingly visible trend since 2020.

None of the innovations described above would be feasible in their current form without digital tools for design and manufacturing. Since the late 2010s, and increasingly throughout the 2020s, mints have moved towards a fully digital workflow. Artists’ designs are modelled in 3D using computer software; fine details, such as patterns or textures, are planned on screen down to the micrometer, and these data then drive CNC milling machines or lasers that cut the dies directly.

The traditional plaster model and manual engraver are stepping into the background. In their place, even highly complex geometries and micro-structures can be implemented with precision. The latent image mentioned above is only possible thanks to a meticulously calculated laser engraving in the die with thousands of tiny facets.

Modern high-speed presses can use these finely structured dies without immediately destroying them, as die surfaces are increasingly protected by hard, durable PVD coatings that are often invisible but crucial technical advances. Overall, digitalization has significantly accelerated and refined coin production since 2020. The development time from initial design to a coin ready for striking is falling, while the achievable level of detail is rising. Many of today’s trends are only possible because of this.

Colored coins are not a brand-new idea; numerous commemorative issues were printed with color long before 2020. But since then, there has been wider acceptance of color, even in official state programs and, in some cases, on circulation coins. Germany, for example, began issuing an annual €20 collector coin with partial color in 2021 and launched the “Insect Wonders” series in 2022, featuring insect motifs with selective color application.

Internationally, the number of colored coins with innovative effects has also increased. A standout example is the 2020 Barbados $1 commemorative coin featuring a flying fish. The motif is printed with a vivid blue special ink that glows in the dark. It was the first time that a coin designed for practical circulation outside Canada was equipped with such a phosphorescent effect. The Royal Canadian Mint developed the photoluminescent pad-printing technique and implemented it on behalf of Barbados. In the dark, the printed fish shines as a symbol of hope, dedicated to helpers during the COVID-19 pandemic—an effect that earned the coin the 2022 IACA award for best new coin.

In addition to glow-in-the-dark pigments, UV-active inks are used to reveal hidden images under black light. This approach may be deployed more widely in the future to create bank note-style security features on coins. Overall, color applications now serve both aesthetic and functional purposes: coins are becoming miniature works of art, while certain special inks and printing processes are difficult to replicate, adding a layer of security.

A new trend is linking physical coins to digital information. In 2023, Monnaie de Paris issued the world’s first coin with an integrated NFC chip, the €25 “Gustave Eiffel” commemorative coin. This silver coin, marking the 100th anniversary of Eiffel’s death, contains a tiny NFC chip invisibly embedded on the reverse beneath a printed resin layer. When held up to a smartphone, it connects to an app that displays a blockchain-based digital certificate, confirming the coin’s authenticity. Collectors can also register the coin digitally to document their ownership.

Beyond that, the app provides access to exclusive multimedia content, in this case, historical documents on Gustave Eiffel from museum archives. This “connected coin” thus tells its story not only through its engraving, but also virtually. The NFC chip is fully integrated into the design; the tip of the Eiffel Tower on the coin marks its position. This innovation may well set a precedent in future coins by offering augmented-reality experiences via apps or unlocking a collector’s rewards program.

Since 2020, the coin industry has undergone a wave of innovation. All these trends, whether on high-volume circulation coins or elaborate collector pieces, show that the traditional world of coinage remains highly dynamic in the 2020s and is constantly reinventing itself through innovation.

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