Last weekend I went to Berlin to see the World Money Fair 2014 ... well, and the city too. The WMF says about itself that it is the biggest coin show on earth; not sure what criteria they use. About 15,500 visitors were there, but what makes the WMF special is that it is many coin related events in one. There are lots of dealers selling coins at many tables, like at any other major coin show. There is also a Media Forum where mints from several countries present their programs for 2014, a Technical Forum (upon invitation only), a Mint Directors Working Group conference, Krause's annual COTY award ceremony, a Künker auction and more. Christian
Apart from coin dealers, about 50 mints from all over the world have booths at the WMF. Every year there is a guest of honor; last year it was the Monnaie de Paris (France), this year's special guest was the Münze Österreich (Austria). I took a couple of photos inside and outside the Estrel Convention Center; here are a few. Note that, while the Perth Mint had its 1 tonne coin "beast" there, I did not photograph that. You can find plenty of photos elsewhere. Besides, how would I know that the thing is real? Behind that security glass ... it could have a plastic core, hehe. Edit - Here is a photo of that thing from the World Money Fair website. We also had a fun meeting (of members of a German coin forum) where, fortunately, we did not talk about coins only. Will I go back next year? Depends - Berlin is pretty far from where I live (in fact, even Paris is closer), but if I get a cheap airline ticket and accomodation again, I may do it again. Usually it is pretty darn cold in that part of Germany in late Jan/early Feb, but this year they had no snow. Hmmmm ... Christian
I"m totally jealous!!! lol that's one of my numismatic goals. I'm going to see if I can make it in 2015 or 2016. Keeping my fingers crossed!!
My wife and I are stopping in Singapore on the way to Thailand to hit the Singapore International Coin Fair 2014, which should be pretty cool. Never been to something like that but I will post a report and pics when I can. Might have to wait until we get back in April though. Germany show sounds like fun too.
Christian, Did this World Coin Fair produce its own slabbed coins? The kind with "Berlin World Money Fair 2014" typed on them? You didn't say what you were looking for, or what you bought. Anything?
Don't ask me about slabs. PCGS and NGC had booths at the World Money Fair, but that's about all I know. What I did pick up was a free "WMF 2014" medal, for example, issued by the French Mint - the attached image is a quick'n'dirty cell phone pic only. You can also get all kinds of free gimmicks, such as "golden" Degussa ballpoint pens, coin shaped wine gums, etc. What I like is the "passport" for coins they have at the WMF - you can buy some card/sleeve (€10) and then pick up nice low value coins at the booths of 30 different participating mints. Initially this was done to attract kids, but it is interesting to see how many adult children do this too ... I don't usually go to the WMF, as Berlin is pretty far away from here (in fact, Amsterdam, Brussels and even Paris are closer to where I live ) but this year it all worked out. So partly I went for the overall experience, party to meet fellow collectors (from a German coin forum), and partly for the coins. I collect mostly modern Western European and North American coins from roughly the past 50 years. Still a terribly wide "field", so I have been narrowing it down. Will I go there next year? Most of the coins I buy are cheap, and I get them online or at shows which are closer to home. But the combination (World Money Fair plus the city plus the folks) sure was nice. Next year (30 Jan - 1 Feb 2015) the guest of honor will be the Royal Australian Mint by the way. Christian
By the way, if you are curious or need to beat some time , you can now see a whole bunch of photos at the WMF website. On either page, click on one image, and a "slide show" overlay will pop up. http://www.worldmoneyfair.de/wmf/en/ (30 photos) http://www.worldmoneyfair.de/wmf/en/wmf-2014-the-fair/ (about 200 photos) As for those women in "alpine" skirts, keep in mind that Austria was the guest of honor this year ... Christian
