Coin Images Seibersdorf

A competition to find the best automated coin classification algorithm, with a prize sponsored by the MUSCLE Network of Excellence, was organised in 2006. The training and test images for the competition are from the Coin Images Seibersdorf (CIS) database, created as a result of the changeover from 12 European currencies to the Euro. The results were presented at a workshop held in September 2006 at the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin in conjunction with the 28th Annual Symposium of the German Association for Pattern Recognition (DAGM).

The training data provided to the participants consists of 30000 coins, corresponding to 60000 images (as the front and back of each coin is imaged). These are divided into 692 coin classes with 2270 different coin face classes. There are more coin face classes than coin classes, as some coins changed their appearance over time, when new coin series were issued or designs to mark special occasions were introduced. Rather inaccurate measurements of the diameter and thickness of each coin made by light sensors were also provided.