Royal Australian Mint facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Royal Australian Mint |
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| General information | |
| Location | Deakin, Australian Capital Territory |
| Opened | 22 February 1965 |
| Owner | Australian Government |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Richard Ure |
| Architecture firm | Department of Works |
| Main contractor | Civil and Civic E. S. Clementson Pty Ltd |
The Royal Australian Mint is the only place that makes all of Australia's everyday coins. It's a special part of the Australian Government, looked after by the Treasury department. The Mint is located in Canberra, Australia's capital city, in a suburb called Deakin. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the Mint in 1965.
Before the Royal Australian Mint opened, coins for Australia were made at other places like the Sydney Mint, Melbourne Mint, and Perth Mint. The Royal Australian Mint was the first mint in Australia that wasn't controlled by the British Royal Mint in the United Kingdom. Out of the three older Australian mints, only the Perth Mint is still around today.
How the Mint Started
Planning for the Mint began in 1959. The idea was to move the Melbourne Mint to Canberra. A large area in the Canberra suburb of Deakin was chosen for the new building. Richard Ure, a main architect from the Commonwealth Department of Works, designed the Mint in a modern International style.
The Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the Mint on 22 February 1965. This happened just before Australia switched to decimal currency (like dollars and cents) on 14 February 1966. The whole project cost about £4.5 million. At the opening, Prime Minister Harold Holt said that they had created a beautiful building with the best and most modern coin-making equipment. The main office building was built by Civil and Civic, and the factory building was built by E. S. Clementson Pty Ltd.
The new Mint in Canberra and the Melbourne Mint both made coins at the same time for a while. This was to make sure there were enough new coins and that the Canberra Mint was working well. In 1967, the Melbourne Mint closed down. Some staff from Melbourne moved to Canberra to work at the new Mint. However, it took until the early 1980s for the Royal Australian Mint to make all of Australia's coins by itself. Sometimes in the 1960s and 1970s, other mints had to help make coins, like the Perth Mint, the Royal Mint in London, and even the Royal Canadian Mint.
What's Inside the Mint?
The Mint has two main buildings: an office building and a factory building. The office building is where the engravers work. Engravers are artists who design the coin images. This building also has a laboratory and a special basement that doesn't vibrate. This is where coins are measured very carefully to make sure they are the right size and weight.
The Mint is part of the Australian Public Service. Its staff work for the Department of the Treasury.
Between 1984 and 1986, the Mint was updated. This was to help make more special collector coins and to make the visitor areas better. Today, visitors can even make their own legal coin using special machines!
The main job of the Mint is to make Australia's official metal coins. Paper money (banknotes) is made by another place called Note Printing Australia in Melbourne. The Mint also makes medals for military and civilian awards, like the Order of Australia. In 2000, the Mint worked with the Perth Mint to make medals for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Royal Australian Mint also makes special tokens for businesses like casinos and car washes.
Since it opened, the Mint has made over fifteen billion coins! It can make two million coins every single day. The Mint has also made coins for many other countries in Asia and the South Pacific. These include New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Estonia, Bangladesh, Israel, and the Philippines.
In November 2001, the Mint made the world's first coin with a double hologram. This coin celebrated 100 years since Australia became a federation. The Mint also makes coins with two different metals and coins with colours printed on them.
In 2005, a plan was made to update the Royal Australian Mint again. This project cost about A$41.2 million. The work started in 2006 and finished in 2009. The updates also brought in industrial robots to help with making coins. The Mint is now open for people to visit.
In 2014, the Abbott government looked into the idea of selling the Royal Australian Mint.
See also
- List of mints
