NZ-made coins in keen demand

Valentina Grigorova-Gencheva holds a Panagyurishte Gold Treasure, made in New Zealand. Photo / Steven McNicholl

A visiting Bulgarian banker and coin expert says New Zealand-made coins are popular in her homeland because they are more vibrant than those made in Europe.

Valentina Grigorova-Gencheva, the head of gold and numismatics at Bulgaria's First Investment Bank, said the bank had been in a partnership with coin maker New Zealand Mint (NZM) since 2007.

"The coins are very beautiful and the designs are very modern," she said. Grigorova-Gencheva said coins produced in European mints were often "very conservative", while coins produced here incorporated a wide range of colours and designs.

European mints also focused on producing coins related to their own countries, while NZM produced coins with a variety of global themes.

The coin maker released a Bulgarian-themed coin - featuring the country's fourth-century Panagyurishte Treasure - last year which proved popular with Europeans.

Grigorova-Gencheva said she was working with designers to put the final touches on two more Bulgarian-themed coins.

NZM managing director Gary McNabb said 98 per cent of the coins produced by the privately owned company were exported. He said coin collecting was not popular in New Zealand. "The bullion side of the business is the Kiwi market."

The company exported $20.7 million worth of coins to eastern European and Balkan countries last year.

It produced a coin to mark the 60th anniversary of the Kalashnikov rifle, in 2007 which proved a hit in Russia.

McNabb said revenues had grown significantly over the past six years, mostly because of growth in the collectible coin trade.