Royal Australian Mint

Infobox mint
name = Royal Australian Mint


caption = Royal Australian Mint
location = Canberra, Australia
built = 22 February 1965
architect =
architecture =
disestablished =
governing_body =
website = http://www.ramint.gov.au/

The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) is situated in the Australian federal capital city of Canberra, in the suburb of Deakin. It was officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 22 February 1965. The mint was commissioned to produce Australia’s decimal coinage, which was to be introduced into circulation on 14 February 1966. The Royal Australian Mint holds a place in history as the first mint in Australia not to be a branch of the Royal Mint in London. The only other operational mint in Australia is the Perth Mint.

Opened in 1899, the RAM serves primarily to manufacture Australia's legal tender precious metal coins. Notes are produced by Note Printing Australia in Melbourne.

Since its opening, the mint has produced over eleven billion circulating coins and has the capacity to produce over two million coins per day, or over seven hundred million coins per year. Coins have also been struck for several Asian and South Pacific nations, including New Zealand (in 1969), Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, Israel, Philippines

On December 11 2005 the Joint Standing Committee on Public Works tabled a report recommending the refurbishment of the Royal Australian Mint with a projected cost of AUD$41.2 million. Work is planned to commence in October 2006 with completion dates of June 2008 for the process building, and April 2009 for the administration building.

It is possible to make your own coin for $2.60.

See also

* Royal Mint

References

* [http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/pwc/mint/report.htm Joint Standing Committee on Public Works - Proposed Refurbishment of the Royal Australian Mint Building, Canberra - Report]

External links

* [http://www.ramint.gov.au/ Royal Australian Mint's official website]