OREANDA-NEWS. October 12, 2009. In the “Coin of the Year” category of the Third International Competition “Coin Constellation-2009” the authoritative jury named the three-kilogram gold coin struck at the Saint-Petersburg Mint of Goznak under the order of the Bank of Russia for the 190th anniversary of Goznak the winner.

The award distribution ceremony took place at the Hermitage Theater in Saint-Petersburg on September 24. 176 commemorative coins from 21 countries competed in the categories of “The Coin of the Year”, “The Gold Coin of the Year”, “The Silver Coin of the Year”, “The Unique Conceptual Solution”, “The Original Technology”, “The Successful Artistic Solution” and the special prize. The Competition jury consisted of representatives of the national museums of Russia, Great Britain, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, auction houses and commercial banks, experts in the field of numismatics from Italy, Poland, France, Kazakhstan, Germany, Belarus, the Trans-Dniester Republic, the Netherlands, as well as employees of the Russian and foreign mass-media.

Among the Competition winners there are coins of the Bank of Latvia, the National Bank of Poland, the Bank of Lithuania, the Royal Mint of Spain, the Bank of Mexico, the National Banks of the Republics of Belarus and Kazakhstan, the Paris Mint, the Australian Pert Mint and Pobjoy Mint (Great Britain).
The Russian three-kilogram gold coin dedicated to the 190th anniversary of Goznak received the capital prize in two categories – “The Coin of the Year” and “The Gold Coin of the Year”.

By tradition, the best coins were named in the six categories - “The Unique Conceptual Solution”, “The Successful Artistic Solution”, “The Original Technology”, “The Silver Coin of the Year”, “The Gold Coin of the Year” and “The Coin of the Year”. The people’s choice award, the award for the contribution to the commemorative coin market development and the special Prize of the Organizational Committee were also distributed.

“Coin Constellation” is the only commemorative coin competition held within the territory of Russia. The Watermark Publishing House is the Competition organizer.
Coins put into circulation since January 1 till December 31, 2008 could take part in “Coin Constellation-2009”. National Banks, mints and retailing companies introduced the coins for the Competition.

The Competition Committee, including the representatives of the Russian and foreign museums, commercial banks, numismatic societies as well as mass media, chose the winners.

To compare with the first “Coin Constellation” Competition which took place in 2007, the number of coins submitted in 2009 grew almost four times – 176 coins were introduced for “Coin Constellation-2009”.

The geography of the Competition participants was enlarged up to 21 countries – besides Russia, these were Australia, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Denmark, Spain, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, France, Ukraine etc.

The best coins of the Competition were:
In “The Unique Conceptual Solution” category - “Europe. The European Cultural Heritage” silver coin. It was submitted by the Bank of Lithuania, its face-value was 50 lits, struck at the Lithuanian Mint in the number of 10 000 pieces. The monuments of the Lithuanian cross makers included into the List of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO were depicted on both sides of the coin.

In “The Successful Artistic Solution” category the first place was shared by the silver coins “Tutankhamun’s Sarcophagus with Cartouches” (introduced to the Competition by Pobjoy Mint, with the face-value of 1 crown of the Isle of Man, struck in the number of 25 000 pieces) and “The Siberian Exiles” (submitted by the National Bank of Poland, with the face-value of 10 zloty, struck at the Polish Mint in the number of 135 000 pieces). “Tutankhamun’s Sarcophagus with Cartouches” is made in the triangular shape. On its front side, besides the portrait of Elizabeth II, there are hieroglyphs discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb. On the reverse there is one of Tutankhamun’s entombments with two cartouches in which the name of the Pharaoh in his youth and his throne name were written in hieroglyphs. On the front side of “The Siberian Exiles” there are stylized images of people and an inscription in Polish meaning “… we were a nameless crowd”. On the reverse side there are stylized images of woods. A zirconium crystal is encrusted into the bottom of the coin.

The winner of “The Original Technology” category was the silver coin “The 400th Anniversary of Polish Settlement in North America”. It was submitted by the National Bank of Poland; the coin with the face-value is 10 zloty was struck at the Polish Mint in the number of 126 000 pieces. In the center of the coin there is a glass insert depicting a glass-blower working. On the metal part of it (front side) there are fragments of the map of Virginia, images of settlers and the Indians. On the reverse there are stylized images of glass-blowers, ships and arriving settlers.

In “The Silver Coin of the Year” the winner was “Lucky Coin”. It was introduced by the Bank of Latvia. The coin with the face-value of 1 lat was struck at the Mint of Finland in the number of 5 000 pieces. On the front side of the coin a cat humping up its back is depicted against the background of the city roofs. A chimney-sweep standing on the chimney with a ladder, a bundle of rope and a metal plummet is on the coin reverse. It is generally believed that a meeting with a chimney-sweep brings luck.

“The Gold Coin of the Year” and “The Coin of the Year” categories were won by “The 190th Anniversary of Goznak”. The coin was introduced by the Saint-Petersburg Mint – Branch of Goznak. Its face-value is 25 000 rubles. It is the first in Russia three-kilogram gold coin. Besides the emblem of the Bank of Russia, there are images of the paper money on the front side. The complex of enterprises of the Expedition of Storing State Papers and another composition of banknotes are depicted on the reverse.

The People’s Choice Award according to the results of www.coinconference.com visitors’ voting in 2009 was given to “Saint Nicolas the Miracle Maker” gold coin introduced by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. The face-value of the coin is 50 Belarusian rubles, it was struck at the Polish mint in the number of 1000 pieces. Four synthetic crystals are incrusted into the coin. The winner of the Special Prize of the Organizational Committee was the oval silver coin “Illusions – Don Quixote” submitted by Coin Invest Trust (Lichtenstein). Its face-value is 5 dollars of the Republic of Palau, it was minted at one of the German Mints in the number of 2500 pieces. The Prize “For contribution to the development of the Russian market of commemorative coins” was awarded to Igor Sergeevich Komshilov – a medalist, engraver and sculptor who has worked at the Saint-Petersburg Mint for 67 years, a representative of the famous dynasty of the Saint-Petersburg minters – the Komshilovs. Igor Sergeevich took part in creation of hundreds of coins and medals. Now he teaches the skill of engraving to students of the Sculpture Department of the St. Petersburg State Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I. Repin. 

Glimpses of history of the “Coin Constellation” Competition
The “Coin Constellation” commemorative coin competition was held in 2007 for the first time. Then 47 commemorative and jubilee coins from 11 countries took part in it. 80 coins from 15 countries took part in the Competition in 2008. In 2009 176 coins were submitted for the Competition. 24 participants representing 21 countries applied for it.