Croatia is home to the world’s smallest city, and to honor the city, the Croatian Mint has issued the smallest gold coin in the world.

Hum, known as the smallest city in the world, is represented on the smallest gold coin in the world, issued by the Croatian National Bank and minted by the Croatian Mint.

The 2022 .9999 fine gold 1-kuna coin measures 1.99 millimeters in diameter and weighs 0.05 gram. The Mint did not declare in what finish the coin was struck.

“From what we have gathered so far, we can tell that the Hum gold coin is the smallest commemorative coin in the world,” the Croatian Mint said.

Tiny gold bele coins of the Vijayanagara Empire in India, issued circa 1336 to 1646, are about 2 to 3 millimeters in diameter, smaller than most grains of rice, and about the same size as or larger than these new coins.

Making the Croatian coin required special processes, the Croatian Mint said.

Special processes

Phases of the production process had to be adjusted to allow for minting this tiny treasure.

Designer and sculptor Ana Divkovic said that the starting point was reducing the motif to a tiny yet legible design.

The obverse shows the handle of the entrance door to the city of Hum. The handle is shaped as a boškarin ox head.

On the reverse, Divkovic said, “I dared to place the entire city, to show how tiny it is.”

“I relied on the arts and crafts of the masters at the Mint in developing this design, because Croatia is a small country of very skilful [sic] people,” her statement said.

Through a special process, the Croatian Mint created the smallest die for this smallest coin.

The motif was engraved using Acsys’ most advanced Femto laser and their “pulse forging” technology and the smallest coin was minted on the modern automated Sack & Kiesselbach press.

With such small dimensions, there is little space for material flow. The coins were struck one-by-one and the surface was hand-finished using a microscope to aid sight.

A fitting theme

Croatia is scheduled to adopt the euro on Jan. 1.

Goran Paladin, director of production of the Croatian Mint, said the Croatian Mint was using the tiny coin production as a way to make a big impact on the world coin market.

“The main idea behind this coin was to show that Croatian Mint, a newcomer on the market of cutting edge commemorative coins, could produce a coin like any other mint in the world,” he said, in a press release. “Also, Hum is known as the smallest city in the world, so it was a perfect fit for our coin.”

The city of Hum has about 30 inhabitants on its two streets.

The smallest coin was only offered in a two-coin set along with a 1-ounce .9999 fine gold 1,000-kuna coin featuring the Višnjan Observatory.

Connect with Coin World:  
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on Twitter