Starck Reality: The 2026 World Money Fair
As World Money Fair marked 20 years in Berlin, rising and falling metals prices reshaped conversations about the future of coin production.
The dust has settled on another World Money Fair. The annual event kicks off the European—and in some ways, global—numismatic year, gathering thousands of like-minded collectors, dealers, and producers of world coins in the Estrel Convention Center in Berlin for several days of meetings, presentations, and conversations about the present and future of the hobby of kings.
The 2026 event marked 20 years since the conference moved to Berlin from its original home in Basel, Switzerland. The move established the show as a key pillar of the modern minting business.
The show also gave me the chance to join with Thomas Uram, a past president of the American Numismatic Association, in presenting two Coin of the Year Awards to representatives from mints that could not attend the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money that was held in Oklahoma City in August 2025. These category winner awards for 2024-dated coins represented the most inspirational coin for the National Bank of Ukraine and the best gold coin, won by Vatican City.
It’s always nice to look in the rear-view mirror at what has been, but the focus of the show, however, was fixed firmly in the windshield ahead, and mints and coin program coordinators are not exactly thrilled at the rocky road that awaits them.
The show opened January 29 as precious metals prices peaked and then continued as the massive pullback shook nerves globally, with silver dropping $30.32 per ounce (more than 26%) on January 30, the second day of the show.
The whipsaw in the market has coin producers searching for smaller sizes, plated versions, or even base-metal versions to minimize price sensitivity and maintain profitability amid the seeming weekly roller coaster ride.
At NumisMaster, we’ve made efforts to keep pace with the rising prices, increasing the frequency of pricing updates and being moderately aggressive in setting new levels, in hopes that the market doesn’t move too quickly to render those prices out of date by the time the week-long exercise is complete.
Jeff Starck is the Market Analyst for Numismaster.com and is a lifelong collector and writer. His appreciation for and interest in world coins and writing allows him to share the hobby with others.
