Royal Australian Mint.
Australian coins were originally struck at branches of the Royal Mint Ltd in the Sydney, Perth and Melbourne Mints. The Royal Australian Mint is now the first mint in Australia not to be a branch of the London Royal Mint Ltd.
The Royal Australian Mint was opened in 1965 and is located in the capital city Canberra.
Now the mint’s primary role is to manufacture Australia’s legal tender of metal coins.
The Royal Australian mint is a Public Service agency that is staffed through The Department of the Treasury, a ministerial department responsible for economic policy, fiscal policy, market regulation, and the federal budget.
The Royal Australian Mint can produce around two million coins per day, and coins have been struck for several Asian and South Pacific nations.
Key moments in the History of the Royal Australian Mint.
The Royal Australian Mint officially opened on 22 February 1965 by The Duke of Edinburgh at a cost of A$9 Million, including equipment.
The mint was a key part in the introduction of decimal currency which a year later introduced into circulation in 1966 (before currency decimalised, Commonwealth Currency was used). Australian currency was based on the British money system of pounds, shillings and pence.
The new efficient mint in Canberra meant that eventually, the Melbourne mint closed in 1967, with some staff relocating to the new mint in Canberra.
However, on many occasions the Royal Australian Mint contracted production runs to the Perth mint, the Royal Mint in UK and even the Canadian Royal Mint through the 1960s and 1970s.
It was not until the early 1980s that the Royal Australian Mint took over full production of circulating Australian coins.
During the mid 1980s, there was an increasing demand for collectors coins.
This demand lead to renovations of the mint in order to support this increased demand, as well as improvements to visitor facilities.
The Royal Australian Mint still produces high quality numismatic (collectors) coins today. These coins are sold through domestic and international coin dealers, mail order, e-commerce, selected Australia Post outlets and via the Mint shop.
The Royal Australian Mint, alongside the Perth Mint, produced medals for the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the mint also produces medals for military and civilian honours.
Royal Australian Mint Key Services.
Circulating Coins.
Production of Circulating Coins is the key role of the mint. The coins represent value and a medium of exchange.
Designs include national flora and fauna, culture, heritage, and significant historical and contemporary events.
Numismatic Coins.
These coins are usually produced in limited numbers for the collector’s market and include designs that tell the stories of Australia, its history, heritage, environment and wildlife.
Visitor Gallery.
The Mint also has a tourism gallery whereby visitors can learn about the history of Australian coinage, new technology used to mint coins, production of metal products and more. This is combined with the retail shop to add the experience and enable enthusiasts to buy gifts to take home.
Minting, Machining and consulting services.
The Mint also provides a range of consulting and background knowledge services to ensure the optimisation of the mint.
Investment Coins. Gold and Silver.
The Royal Australian Mint also sells a range of investment grade coins made from Gold and Silver.
The most recent ‘Beneath the Southern Skies’ coin series, pays homage to the artwork of the famous Australian artist and metalworker Stuart Devlin. These coins are 1oz denominated coins and both Gold and Silver coins are minted to .9999 purity.
Other coin series and products include Australia Zoo Sumatran Tiger Coins, Year of the Rat Coins, Vergulde Draeck Triangular Coins, Kangaroo Investment Series Coins, Spinner Dolphin Coins, Redback Spider Coins and ABC Bullion Gold Minted Tablets.