The Royal Mint Museum has one of the finest collections of coins, medals, artwork and minting equipment in the world. A living and working collection, it reflects the changing practical needs of the Royal Mint and is widely respected for the knowledge of its staff and the quality of its research.
The Museum collection was established in 1816 by the Master of the Royal Mint, William Wellesley Pole. One of his main objectives was to provide Royal Mint engravers with an inspirational source of material to which they could refer when preparing new coin designs, and this remains an important function for the collection.
Click here to view the digital records of coins held in the Royal Mint Museum collection. The online collection is constantly expanding and includes collection highlights such as the pattern coins of Edward VIII, the 1933 penny, and the international work of the Royal Mint. Discover over 1,100 years of history.
Some of the most important documents from the Royal Mint Museum library and archive have been digitised and are freely available for viewing and research in our online library. Highlights include the Annual Reports of the Royal Mint (1870-1976), the Waterloo Medal Roll, and recorded minutes of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee.
Parts of the Royal Mint Museum collection are available to be loaned out to those living in residential care. Here you can find more information on the Royal Mint Museum Reminiscence Box project, which is a free activity resource including real and replica collection items, audio description, and guidance for care workers.
The Museum collection contains over 80,000 coins which span from ancient times to the modern day.
The Royal Mint Museum contains some 12,000 medals, dating mainly from the beginning of the 19th century.
Over the past 100 years the Museum has accumulated a large collection of material relating to seals.
This section of the collection comprises artists’ drawings and plaster models for coins and medals.
The most distinctive element of the Museum is the collection of some 30,000 master tools and dies.
The Royal Mint Museum is fortunate to possess coining and blanking presses from 100 or so years ago.
From the start of coinage, accuracy of weight and composition has been vital for its integrity.
The Museum is home to a spectacular series of gold and silver trial plates dating from 1477.
The Museum cares for a rich variety of objects related in some way to the long history of the Royal Mint.
Not unnaturally, perhaps, film-makers have always been keen to record footage of the Royal Mint in operation.
The Royal Mint Museum contains a valuable numismatic library of some 15,000 volumes.
Soon after the establishment of the Royal Mint Museum in 1816 the collection was enhanced by a substantial gift of coins and medals from the estate of Sarah Sophia Banks.
The work of the engraver Thomas Simon spanned a turbulent period of England's history.
The Royal Mint Museum has an outstanding collection of material relating to Jubilee celebrations.
The Royal Mint Museum has an outstanding collection of material relating to decimalisation.
The Museum collection houses object relating to one of the finest engravers ever to produce designs for the coinage of Britain.
