Newsletter: June 2023

The Royal Mint and Degussa Goldhandel

This month, our Public Engagement and Information Officer, David Mason, was part of a series of exciting crossover events between the Royal Mint and Degussa Goldhandel, one of the leading precious metal dealers in Europe. The exclusive events were hosted in Frankfurt and Cologne, and the Royal Mint Museum was able to provide a history of the Royal Mint and British coinage, and some design and technological context for the 2023 Britannia bullion coins.

David said, “This was a really fantastic opportunity to tell the Royal Mint story to a totally new audience of German numismatists and coin-collectors, who were a wonderful and appreciative audience. All of the Degussa team were such welcoming hosts, and it was a real pleasure to present alongside my colleagues from the Royal Mint’s bullion department. Of particular interest was the history of Britannia, a figure who originally graced the coinage of the British Isles in Roman times. From her reappearance on the coinage in the seventeenth century through until the present-day interpretations, this figure provided an interesting hook to talk about how the work of the Royal Mint is represented in the Museum collection.”

Hannah Spruce

We were pleased to welcome Hannah Spruce to the Museum Team this month. Hannah has a Masters Degree in Cultural Heritage and Resource Management from the University of Winchester, where she also completed an Undergraduate Degree in History and Archaeology. After moving back home to South Wales Hannah became a tour guide at the Royal Mint Experience visitor centre, before taking over as the Museum’s Exhibition Manager as maternity cover.

In her role as Exhibition Manager Hannah will be responsible for displaying items from the Museum collection and creating exciting exhibitions and displays in the Royal Mint Experience, as well as working with other institutions on various temporary exhibitions.

Victoria & Albert Museum webinar

The Museum and the Royal Mint were asked to take part in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s programme of educational webinars this month.

As part of this series, the V&A link pupils with professionals working in the creative sector to talk about their route into their careers and their approach to the creative process. For this they wanted to focus on the ‘Diversity Built Britain’ 50p designed by Dominique Evans.

The Museums Education Manager, Amy Williams, and Dominique delivered a talk to the schools on the topic of coin design, and Dominique’s approach to creating this particular design.

Society of Antiquaries

As part of his ongoing work on the history of the gold sovereign after the Second World War, Information and Research Manager, Chris Barker, delivered his third and final lecture on the subject to the British Numismatic Society at its June meeting held at the Society of Antiquaries. The talk looked at the two decades before the introduction of the Britannia bullion coin in 1987, exploring how changes in the international bullion market forced Britain to abandon its previously lucrative sales of sovereigns in favour of developing a new bullion Britannia coin at the internationally popular one ounce weight. For those interested in listening to the lecture, it will shortly be available on the British Numismatic Society’s website at Lecture Videos - British Numismatic Society (britnumsoc.org)

Royal Mint Coin Management Training Programme

Earlier this month, the Museum team played host to delegates from around the world at the annual Royal Mint Coin Management Training Programme. This week-long interactive programme invites attendees from central banks and mints around the world to gain an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of coin management.

A visit to the Royal Mint Museum forms part of the programme, allowing delegates to learn about the rich history of the Royal Mint and about the preservation and development of the Museum collection. The whole team was delighted to get involved and host our global guests, just prior to their visit to the Tower of London. The visit included a tour of the Museum, as well as an explanation of coin production processes illustrated through plaster models and electrotypes of coins from the delegates’ home countries.

“It is always a great pleasure to host invited guests from overseas, and especially those with such an interest in coin design and production. The programme is one of the highlights of our year because the whole team is involved in preparing for the visit or in making the presentations. Delegates are always keen to see designs from their countries that form part of the collection and to tell us the stories of notable coins in their country’s history.”

This year, we hosted delegates from across the globe, including Bermuda, Malawi, Ghana, and Nepal.