New transparent €5 coin ‘innovation of an era’

A new €5 coin – described as “see-through” by its producers and featuring a blue plastic ring in the centre – will make counterfeiting a difficult task, claims the Bavarian Ministry of Finance.

The coin was unveiled in Munich by Bavarian Finance Minister Markus Söder. More than mere numismatic novelty, this blue ring – made of a special polymer that can be worked like metal – is not an aesthetic addition.

ANTI-COUNTERFEITING MEASURES

Peter Huber, director of the State Mints of Baden-Württemberg, which worked with the Bavarian finance ministry to produce the coin, said it was “the innovation of an era.”

The coin features two new security measures, making it more difficult to counterfeit than its predecessors. Söder said the easily recognizable plastic ring offers a check for authenticity – possible with the naked eye – while also acting as insulation between the two pieces of metal, making it easier for coin-operated machines to differentiate between legitimate and counterfeit currency.

Dubbed “Blue Planet Earth”, the three-material coin entered circulation last week with a total of two million slated to be struck (for comparison, 5.56 billion €2 coins and 6.81 billion €1 coins were in circulation in December 2015). As an interesting aside for numismatists, because of the low mintage, these newly struck €5 coins will likely be highly sought after by coin collectors in Germany and abroad.

The coins, which were circulated by Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of Germany, weigh nine grams and have a 27.75-mm diameter.

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