Holograms Continue To Coin It!

Across the world, mints continue to recognise the eye-catching appeal of holograms for their commemorative coin programmes for the collectors’ market, says Dr Paul Dunn, chair of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association.

The application of holograms on commemorative coins, which are issued to mark special events, started in the early 1990s. They are mainly added for eye-catching decoration and to generate interest amongst the numismatists, although in a separate application, cryptocurrencies are now using holograms as labels to protect security codes. Today, the global coin collectors (numismatics) market is estimated to be worth around US$17 billion in annual revenues, according to Mhojhos Research ¹, and numbers a community that has representatives from each county around the world.

Holograms are similar to the latent images which are used as a security feature on several high value circulating coins. They are also a composition of fine lines that are engraved into the coin die, and both show different effects according to the viewing angle. In the case of holograms, however, the effects are dependent on exceptionally small and precise microgrooves. When these microgrooves start degrading – as they are accustomed to do both in the minting process and when handled – so does the image. Hence holograms are not suitable for large volume production, nor high circulation use, even though they do offer an added level of security (they are widely used to protect banknotes and other high value documents). But they do have benefits for collectors’ coins and bullion products, offering a mark of authenticity along with visual appeal for the latter.