Germania Mint from Jelenia Góra, Poland has won the 2025 The Best Crown Coin award in the COTY competition – the most prestigious contest in the world of numismatics.
Germania Mint has been honored in the world’s most prestigious industry award – Coin of the Year. Our coin, the 2024 Malta Maltese Bee 10 Euro 2 oz Silver BU High Relief, received the title in the Crown Coin category, impressing the international jury and reaffirming Germania Mint’s position among the world’s leaders in minting artistry.
The results were announced on August 21, 2025, during the World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma (USA), organized by the American Numismatic Association. The statuette was received on behalf of the company by CEO & Founder Szymon Kurowski, who emphasized that the award is the result of many years of passion, dedication, and craftsmanship.
“Winning such a prestigious competition is not only an honor for us but also clear proof that a young brand can captivate the global stage. We are the second Polish company in the more than forty-year history of the contest to receive this award. It is a source of pride for us to promote Germania Mint and our hometown of Jelenia Góra on the world map of numismatics. We thank the jury for granting us this distinction,” said Szymon Kurowski.
Maltese Bee – a tribute to tradition and modernity
The history of the Maltese Bee motif dates back to 1972, when the Central Bank of Malta issued its first collector’s coin featuring the honey bee – a species unique to the Maltese Islands. Germania Mint, in cooperation with the Bank, created a modern reinterpretation of this symbol.
Designed by Natalia Danysz, Chief Product Officer at Germania Mint, the coin stands out with its unique high relief and artistic finesse. The obverse depicts a honey bee against a honeycomb background with Maltese symbols. Every detail combines tradition with contemporary minting craftsmanship. The coin was released in a limited edition of 500 pieces, presented in an elegant wooden display box, and has already become highly sought after by collectors worldwide.
The Best Crown Coin award honors pieces that combine broad artistic appeal with strong market recognition. To qualify, a coin must not only impress collectors with its design and execution, but also meet the technical requirement of a minimum 33 mm diameter – a size that gives ample space for detailed artistry.
With gratitude to our Partners
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Coin of the Year jury for this prestigious recognition, to our valued partners at the Central Bank of Malta whose collaboration made this achievement possible, to Numismatic News for their dedication in organizing the competition, and to the American Numismatic Association for the warm and memorable welcome during this year’s World’s Fair of Money.
Germania Mint is a company with over 30 years of history (formerly Kurowski Group), specializing in collector and investment coin issues as well as the production of numismatic packaging.
Coin of the Year
The Coin of the Year competition has been organized since 1984 by the American publishing house Krause Publications (now Active Interest Media). In this year’s edition, over 500 coins from around the world were submitted. A jury composed of leading experts, designers, journalists, and representatives of mints selected the final hundred from 38 countries, and then awarded prizes in 11 categories.
