The 2026 Coin of the Year (COTY) awards officially began in early January with a worldwide call for nominations. From the many issues released in 2025, mints, banks, and enthusiasts submitted nearly 600 coins for consideration.
A nominating committee then narrowed this number into the COTY 100, which contains 100 2025-dated candidates from 41 countries. Over 40 mints and central banks are represented in this group.
This selection features 10 outstanding coins in 10 specific categories. Voting has already commenced, and our panel of over 100 judges is casting ballots designed to select one coin in each category as a winner.
A second round of voting by that same expert panel will then choose one of those 10 category winners as the overall Coin of the Year, the best of the best for 2025-dated issues.
The COTY champion will be honored with the other category winners at the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money on August 27, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. We welcome you to attend that ceremony and hope you enjoy the 2026 COTY Awards.
COTY Coordinator Sophia Mattimiro shares her thoughts on the nominated coins in each of the 10 COTY categories:
The nominating committee started out strong with this category. A few coins were up for discussion in multiple categories, but ultimately ended up here, where they would perform the strongest.
War, in various forms, was a common theme on quite a few of the original 600 coins nominated by the mints and banks. We can see such reflected in this category.
Last year, the Best Gold category was the tightest win in the competition, and it looks like it might be shaping up that way again. Gold coins are often the best of the best that a mint puts forward due to their precious metal content, making this an especially tough category.
There were a few overall favorites from the Committee in this category. It will be interesting to see which coin ends up on top.
There were a few overall favorites from the Committee in this category. It will be interesting to see which coin ends up on top.
The Best Circulating category is always a fun one to keep an eye on. It shows that beautiful coins can be found in your pocket!
Another category to watch, as Austria has a winning streak with their silver-niobium coins. Will they continue their streak, or will one of these other great coins finally push it out of the way?
Art is subjective, but the Most Artistic category manages to encompass a broad range. Coin collectors know that coins are all small pieces of art you can hold in the palm of your hand.
One of the COTY staff favorites is the Niue Paper Airplane. With its unique shape paired with the crumpled tip from being thrown, this coin captures childhood nostalgia.
This category can be tricky for the Nominating Committee; having only ten coins to present to the judges when there are so many with themes that invoke such emotions.
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