Coins We Love: All About Berlin
About a week and a half ago, I got back from the World’s Money Fair in Berlin, Germany. This was my first coin show outside of the country… Not to mention my first time out of the country. Originally, John Brush was supposed to tag along with me, but he couldn’t attend, so I tackled the show by myself. Being in a foreign country for the first time alone was a little nerve-racking, but after a few hours there, I got into the flow of things, as it's almost like any other big city, although everyone spoke a different language.
The show itself was very neat. There were very few certified coins, and it seemed like there was a major focus on uncertified coins and modern mint products. Part of that can be explained by the fact that almost every major mint set up at the show was doing special releases, but the collector base there for Modern Mint products seemed to be interested in the technology that goes into the modern minting process and what the product is. There was also a big focus on uncertified vintage coins; all the major European auction houses and vendors would only have maybe a handful of certified coins at their booth, which was kind of a breath of fresh air from all the plastic and stickers we have here in America. It seemed like there was also more of a focus on type and not finishing a date or date/mintmark set.
One of the biggest takeaways from the show was definitely the size. Every major company had giant booths, like you see here in the USA at the major trade shows. Most booths had private meeting rooms, storage rooms, and retail lounges. I was told at the show that some of the booths cost upwards of $75,000! You can definitely tell that the vendors were trying to impress people with their grand displays. Also, the way everyone dressed at the show was noticeably more professional than at shows in the US. Even retail customers and collectors were dressed up. There were people there to buy coins, and there were people there just to have meetings, and you can definitely tell who is there to do what.
Many of the world's mints were at the show, and I mainly focused on buying coins for 2026, show limited releases, and overall interesting coins from the mints. I would say I brought back a good mix of different coins from the show. Some of the highlights include a two-ounce silver Floppy Disk that is gold-plated and has a mintage of only 99, the colorized show kookaburras from the Perth mint that have a mintage of only 3,000, a Dutch one-ounce silver coin in a ceramic case hand-painted and produced by Royal Delft that had a limited production of only 200, and in my opinion the best designed coin at the show, the 2026 Worlds Money Fair Commemorative medal made by the Swiss mint. I really like the high relief design and cameo contrast look the medal has.
Overall, I had a super fun time and learned a lot about the coin market abroad. It was for sure a little bit of a culture shock for me, but I managed and learned a lot along the way. If you have ever considered going to the World Money Fair, I would tell you to go! There's a lot to learn and a lot of fun things to pick up while you’re there.
Numismatically Yours,
Jack Smith
Click here to continue reading!