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A Brief History of the Perth Mint

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Perth Mint has earned an international reputation for its production of high-quality commemorative and bullion coins. The Mint has also grown into a major tourist destination in Australia. While many coin collectors know the Perth Mint for its Chinese Lunar Series and other collectible coins, the Perth Mint actually began as a functional mint.

Colonial Beginnings

During the golden days of the British Empire, England faced a dilemma in currency distribution. All the colonies used the British Sovereign, but shipping gold from all over the world, to mint in London, and redistribute to the colonies proved a costly and time-consuming endeavor. Instead, Britain’s Royal Mint established branches throughout the colonies, wherever gold was available. Thus, the Perth Mint was opened, to refine gold and mint British Sovereigns.

In 1931, Sovereigns were removed from circulation, but the Perth Mint continued to refine gold mined in Western Australia and produce coins made from other metals. It remained under British control until 1970, when the Western Australian government took ownership of the Mint. Following Australia’s formal independence from Britain in 1986, the Gold Corporation was created in 1987, to adopt control of the Perth Mint, which subsequently directed its efforts toward the mintage of high-quality commemorative coins.

A Modern Numismatic Giant

Currently, the Perth Mint is still operated by Gold Corporation. It focuses not only on commemorative coins, but also on facilitating investments in precious metals. A global supplier of some of the world’s finest coin blanks, the Perth Mint has earned attention for its exceptional coins. The Perth Mint produces an extremely wide variety of commemorative coins:

• Popular series include the Chinese Lunar Series and the Discover Australia Dreaming Series. The Perth Mint also pays homage to Australia’s wildlife with kookaburra, koala, and kangaroo coins, issued yearly.
• The Perth Mint honors significant milestones in Australian history, such as the Battle of Hasting and the twenty-year anniversary of Australia’s postal service. The Mint has even assembled two Historical Coin Collections to honor the country’s past.
• Moments in world history, such as the end of World War I, and the use of aviation for warfare during World War II, are beautifully remembered with the Perth Mint’s commemorative coins.
• The Mint’s Orbital and Beyond Series, along with its 2009 Young Collector’s Space Coins and International Year of Astronomy coins, recognize scientific achievement and discovery.
• With coins like the 50th Anniversary of Barbie coin and the latest Transformers coin, the Perth Mint highlights pop culture icons with colorized collector’s coins.

One of the reasons that the Perth Mint’s products are so popular is that they are offered in a variety of sizes, often in both silver and gold. That diversity makes it easy for any collector to find the perfect item, at the right price. As the Australian Perth Mint continues to provide such a broad array of outstanding products, its reputation will undoubtedly continue to grow.

This information is provided for general reference purposes and does not constitute professional advice. For detailed coin collecting or investing information, please consult with a professional expert.

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