MDC Awards Create a Buzz

At the awards ceremony held during the gala dinner at the Mint Directors Conference in Ottawa last month, the winner of the Best Circulating Coin category was the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) for the $2 Honey Bee coin, issued in 2022 as a joint collaboration with the Honey Bee Industry Council to mark the bicentennial of the establishment of the bee industry in Australia.

There are approximately 20,000 registered beekeepers operating more than 640,000 hives across Australia, producing up to 30,000 tonnes of honey each year which is consumed in nearly 40 countries across the globe and is estimated to contribute A$4-6 billion to the Australian economy.

The reverse of the Honey Bee coin has a central circle printed in a honey-coloured ink, which is protected by an intricate sculptured honeycomb. Surrounding the circle are engravings of two bees at work, along with examples of the plants they pollinate.

The two other finalists in this category were Monnaie de Paris for the new obverse side of the €2 coin, and The Royal Mint for the Pride circulating 50p.

Meanwhile the winner of the Best Sustainability Initiative, which is a new awards category, was the Royal Dutch Mint for the Dutch Vault, the industry’s first energy- neutral mint.

The other two finalists were the US Mint for its circulating blank annealing furnace retrofit, and The Royal Mint for its Local Energy Centre (LEC), which forms part of the GSCS (Generation Storage Consumption Supply) Project.

https://canada.mintdirectorsconference.com/awards-2/