The Mint and the Second World War

The Second World War changed the lives of everyone in Britain. Conscription, rationing, bombing and the need to shift to a war time economy led to unparalleled levels of disruption. It was no different for the Royal Mint, which found itself once again embracing the challenge of munitions work, employing women on the factory floor for the first time in its history, and having to produce record numbers of coins for the home and overseas market.

Click on the boxes below to find out more about how the war changed the Mint and the consequences for the coinage that years of conflict created.