World Money Fair 2011

The World Money Fair has always been an event of international scope. However, it has made an enormous leap in quality since moving from Basel to Berlin. Representative of this is, for instance, the Technical Forum where experts from the minting industry meet to discuss the latest developments in blanks production, minting technology and packaging. When held for the first time, still in Basel, the Forum had only a few participants. In 2010, about 200 specialists crowded the venue, which is almost getting too small, – proving the fact that, behind the scenes, the World Money Fair has become an internationally accepted platform for innovative technolo

Whoever enters the venue of the World Money Fair for the first time can hardly believe that a coin fair can look like this. Actually, the WMF is, in the first place, a numismatic fair – and also a great marketplace for coins. With an attendance of over 13,000, the World Money Fair coin bourse is the largest event of its kind worldwide.

In 2010, more than 50 mints had their own booth at the fair. In the impressive setting of a well-designed exhibition, visitors can meet those men and women in person who are responsible for making their money. At the Media Forum, open to the general public, the most important of the participating mints showcase their new coin programs. It is the perfect platform for the promotion of new ideas to an international numismatic public: No wonder that Dr. Alessandro Sassoli, President of “Museo del Tempo”, presented his concept of a single world currency here. No wonder that U.S. publisher Krause Publications has for some years now celebrated the award ceremony of the Coin of the Year Award at World Money Fair in Berlin, not in the United States.

Guest of honor at the World Money Fair 2010 was South Africa, the country to host the Soccer World Championship this summer. The South Africans did not on