History

The Royal Australian Mint was opened on February 22, 1965 in Canberra. Prior to the establishment of the Royal Australian Mint, Australia had been striking coins at the Melbourne, Sydney and Perth Mints, which were branches of the Royal Mint, London. After Federation in 1901 the idea for Australia to mint its own coins first came to light. Efforts to establish the Mint were thwarted by World War, the Depression and World War II. In the 1950s, the government finally began the thorough planning of the Mint. In 1959 and 1960, a Mint official from the United States visited Australia and Australian coin experts toured overseas to gather information for the Australian Mint. The government approved a construction plan and timetable in 1962. The Royal Australian Mint cost approximately nine million dollars to open - five million towards the site and building and another four million for the equipment. The first staff moved into the building a year after construction was completed. The Melbourne Mint closed in 1967 after it was determined that the Royal Australian Mint was proceeding with production smoothly. Sixty-one staff members of the Melbourne and Perth Mints joined the Royal Australian Mint and in 1969 it was documented that approximately 250 people worked at the Royal Australian Mint. The Royal Australian Mint produced bronze, silver, and cupro-nickel coins and later produced medallions, seals, tokens and medals for both the private and public sectors. They produced The Order of Australia. The Royal Australian Mint also struck coins for Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Zealand, Malaysia, Tonga, Bangladesh, Israel, Western Samoa, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines and the Cook Islands. The Royal Australian Mint produced medals for the 2000 Summer Olympics with the Perth Mint. The mint issued the world's first coin with a double hologram, to commemorate the centenary of Australian federation, in November 2001. Today, the Mint is open to visitors seven days a week where visitors can mint their own legal tender coin using visitor presses.