The last circulating coin struck by the
Perth Mint was the 2 cents dated 1983.
Prior to 1970 as Toast has said, The
Perth Mint was the Perth Branch of
The Royal Mint and struck bronze circulating coinage both pre-decimal and decimal and earlier on sovereigns and halves. Another Branch of
The Royal Mint in Sydney closed in the 1920s.
Our other Mint now closed but which did produce some of our decimal bronze coinage was the Melbourne Branch of
The Royal Mint which struck 2 cent coins in 1966 and 1 cent coins in 1966, 67 and 68 before it was closed.
The Royal Australian Mint in Canberra was opened in 1965 to produce our decimals for the changeover in 1966.
Other Mints to strike Australian decimal circulating coinage have been
The Royal Mint (Tower Hill, London) 5c, 10c and 20c dated 1966,
The Royal Mint (Llantrisant, Wales) 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c & 50c dated 1981 and the
Royal Canadian Mint (Winnipeg Branch) 5c and 20c dated 1981.
The only other Australian legal tender decimal coinage not struck by any of the above Mints was a small number of the 1982 Commonwealth Games $10 silver proof coins by a private firm in Melbourne, Stokes. The RAM could not produce all 1981-82 coinage due to a strike at the Mint in 1981.
It all makes for interesting decimal collecting.
The RAM and
Perth Mint both strike coins for other countries too.
Wayne
Posted 06/04/2007 03:57 am
