Perth Mint, Heritage mint in Perth, Australia
Perth Mint is a mint on Hay Street in Perth, Western Australia, in a two-storey limestone building with a red tiled roof. Its left wing has a ground-floor arcade of round arches and a first-floor balcony with white balustrades; the central block rises higher, with two tiers of recessed round-arched openings and a large arched entrance. A flagpole stands at the top.
The Royal Mint of London opened here in 1899 as one of three branches on Australian soil to process regional gold finds and turn them into coins. Later the government of Western Australia took over the facility and has been running it as a state institution ever since.
The mint's name comes from its founding as a colonial branch of Britain's Royal Mint, which controlled it until 1 July 1970. Its gold sovereigns, over 106 million struck by 1931, carried the imperial portrait and circulated across the British Empire. The 1899 limestone building, with its arched arcade and balustraded balcony, is a State Registered Place.
The retail area opens during business hours and allows direct purchase of investment products in gold, silver and platinum without prior booking. Guided tours through the production areas run at set times and show machinery and workflows not normally accessible.
In October 2011 the Perth Mint struck the world's largest gold coin: about 80 cm across, 12 cm thick and weighing 1,012 kg of 99.99% pure gold. Its face value is A$1 million, though the gold alone was worth A$53.5 million when it was made. One side bears the effigy of Elizabeth II, the other a red kangaroo.
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