A Glorious Comeback in 2023: The 50th World Money Fair

In early February, the World Money Fair in Berlin was held again for the first time since the spring of 2020. Not in the form of a digital substitute or a comparatively small traders’ fair like last summer – but in its former glory. I have to admit that we were sceptical about it. In the course of the pandemic, we have all learned how much is actually possible in the digital space – if there is no alternative. As it turns out, coin fairs are not really necessary, the coin trade perfectly boomed without them. So would there even be enough exhibitors willing to cover the costs of a booth? And would there be enough interested visitors to help the fairs get back to what they were? Well, Florida, New York and particularly Berlin demonstrated that we do not need coin shows – but we want them! The 50th World Money Fair enjoyed a very high attendance, there might have been even more visitors than before the pandemic. Exhibitors and visitors were really excited for the show and you could clearly notice that in Berlin.

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Im Technikersaal: Am Stand von Sack & Kiesselbach herrscht immer gute Laune.
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Der Stand der Firma Lang aus Hüttenberg.
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Die Pressen der Firma Schuler werden in Münzstätten weltweit für die Produktion von Umlaufmünzen verwendet.
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Am Stand von GF Machining Solutions mit Hauptsitz in Biel/Bienne.

The difference between the World Money Fair and other coin shows is that there are many mints and engineering companies among the exhibitors. While the suppliers present their large high-tech machines that are used for all aspects of contemporary coin production in a separate hall (which every collector should take a look at as it is absolutely fascinating!), the mints are right at the centre of the fair. Their large booths are popular stops for collectors. Many of the mints offered exclusive coin sets and other tempting offers that often sold out in no time. Particularly popular was the booth of the Croatian Mint, where visitors could get some of the first euro coins and coin sets of the country, which has become the eurozone’s latest member at the beginning of the year.

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Unsere Freunde von der Japan Mint.
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Der Stand der Swissmint, dieses Jahr mit neuer Brand und neuem Look. Als zweiter von links hat sich ein Kollege der Kroatischen Münzstätte eingeschlichen.
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Der hübsche Stand der überaus produktiven Monnaie de Paris.
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Der Stand der Münze Österreich kommt wunderbar rustikal daher.
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Heiß begehrt: der erste Eurosatz von Kroatien.

As usual, mints and suppliers presented new releases, technologies and machinery at the Media Forum and the Technical Forum. Here you can find an overview of the Media Forum, one about the Technical Forum will be coming soon. Speaking of traditional events: this year, there was no Coin of the Year Awards ceremony. Nor was there a big gala dinner sponsored by the guest of honour – there simply was no guest of honour this year.

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Am Stand von SINCONA aus Zürich.
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Das gutgelaunte Team von Dr. Busso Peus Nachf.
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Bereits am frühen Samstagnachmittag zeichnet sich ab, dass die Händler mit der Messe sehr zufrieden sein dürften, wie hier bei Rhenumis deutlich wird – Gold ist gefragt!
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Selbstverständlich mit einem großen Stand vertreten: das Auktionshaus Künker.
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Ein Blick in Künkers große Berlin-Auktion. Top-Zuschlag für Una and the Lion.
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Das Team von Höhn aus Leipzig.
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Gute Laune auch am Stand von Numiscorner aus Frankreich.

Dealers too – from one-man businesses to large auction houses – are likely to be very happy with the business at the fair this year. We saw many satisfied faces and sold-out booths. Especially gold coins continue to sell like hot cakes. One day before the fair opened, Künker’s traditional Berlin auction sale was held, offering many highlights. With an estimate of about 6 million euros, the sale generated a total result of 10 million euros.

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In der Hotellobby verabreden sich von morgens bis abends Geschäftspartner, alte Freunde und Kollegen. Wer weiß, wie viele Projekte hier schon ihren Anfang nahmen.
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Lange Schlangen an den Ständen waren ein häufiger Anblick.
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Of course, the hustle and bustle at the dealers’ booths is just one part of what the Berlin fair is all about. Big business takes place in numerous meeting rooms of the Estrel Hotel, where mints purchase new equipment and wholesalers buy their stock. This time, large companies even closed deals in several rooms at once. The fact that the fair acts as a meeting point for so many different target groups – from wholesalers, machine manufacturers and auction houses to small dealers and collectors of all budgets – is probably the most impressive feature of the World Money Fair.

All in all, the event was a successful trade fair with many visitors from across the globe and a great atmosphere that was held without major issues. We hope that such an atmosphere will also prevail at the Numismata on 4 and 5 March. CoinsWeekly will obviously be there again – this time even with our own booth!

Oh yes, there was a minor disturbance at the end: a Berlin newspaper reported that, according to the police, several known clan members had been sighted at the fair, presumably spying out the site. Berlin and clan members – of course, that makes us all think of the stolen giant gold coin! Fortunately, no incidents seem to have occurred.

 

You can find more pictures from the fair as well as interviews and more impressions on our event website for the World Money Fair.

And the next big fair is not far away: Numismata Munich!