The Coin Conference – Optimism in the Face of Dislocation

The Coin Conference 2024 – which focuses on the future of circulating coinage and its challenges – took place in 28-30 October in Lisbon, Portugal. Organised by the publishers of Currency News™, the conference hosted more than 200 delegates, from 102 organisations across 42 countries, with 40% from central banks, monetary authorities and treasury departments.

It is fair to say that the coin world is in something of a state of dislocation at the moment, and concerns about falling demand, along with the closures of the Mint of Finland and the export business of the Royal Mint, were top of people’s minds. Even so, the overall sense from the conference was one of optimism and determination to overcome such challenges in the context of an oft-overlooked part of the payments ecosystem that is nevertheless central to its effective functioning.

The fact that so many attendees were from coin issuers (central banks or treasury departments) bore out how important coins remain to payments.