Making Money with Holographic Coins

The use of surface relief holograms to create striking visual effects on coins is not necessarily a new technology, but one that is a challenge for circulating coins because of durability.

Holograms are effectively a structure of micro-gratings created through laser interferometry that display depth, colour and movement through the phenomenon of diffraction. They are applied to coins in one of two ways. First, and more traditionally, is the application of a resin or polymer on the surface of the coin to which the holographic microstructure is applied with a high elastomer stamp. The second is the engraving of the micro-gratings into certain parts of the stamping die to create a holographic element within a larger design.

In a sense, holograms on coins are not dissimilar to latent images, which are also a composition of fine lines that are engraved into the coin die, in that both show different effects according to the viewing angle.