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Our Guest of Honour 2012: The Royal Mint

The history of the British Royal Mint goes back the year of 896 when the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great minted the first silver pennies bearing the inscription “LONDONIA”. The Royal Mint, housed at the Tower of London, was commissioned to strike these memorable coins. Thus, the foundations of the first state mint in the Kingdom of England were laid.

As recently as in 1968 the British Royal Mint ceased to be based in London, moving to its modern production premises in Llantrisant/Wales. The market-oriented state enterprise makes the coins for the United Kingdom, besides producing metal currency for over 100 different countries worldwide.

An especially precious item produced by mint is the bullion coin Britannia which was launched in 1987. Just as the British sovereign and the Krugerrand this coin has a gold content of 91.66%, equivalent to 22 carat. Until the year 2000 a classic standing Britannia, wearing a helmet and armed with shield and trident, was depicted on the obverse. Since 2001, the design changes every odd year. The reverse bears the portrait of the British sovereign, Queen Elisabeth II, and the coin's face value.

As guest of honour of the upcoming 41st World Money Fair the Royal Mint will present a broad variety of numismatic treasures. A pleasure you should not miss out on! 

Contact:
The Royal Mint
Freepost NAT23496
PO Box 500
Llantrisant, Pontyclun
CF72 8YT
United Kingdom
www.royalmint.com