The Perth Mint

The history of The Perth Mint started with the founding of the Perth branch of Britain’s Royal Mint in 1899. At the time, gold sovereigns and half sovereigns were used throughout the British Empire as everyday circulating coins and it was the Royal Mint’s responsibility to supply them. Rather than shipping gold to London and then distributing them back to Britain’s colonies, the Royal Mint built a number of branch mints throughout the Empire in places where gold was found. The Perth Mint was one of these – built to refine gold mined in Western Australia and turn it into sovereigns. When sovereigns were withdrawn from circulation in 1931, the Mint used its skills in the production of other coins, while still continuing to refine gold. It remained under British ownership until 1970 when control passed to the Western Australian Government, who owns it to this day.