The Collection

The Royal Mint maintains one of the finest numismatic collections in the world. A living and working collection, it reflects the changing practical needs of the Royal Mint.

The collection was established in 1816 by the Master of the 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.

In 1818 the collection was greatly enhanced when the Royal Mint was presented with more than 2,000 coins and medals from the collection of the late Sarah Sophia Banks. The gift was a handsome one, from ancient British to contemporary machine-made coins, and it still forms the basis of the pre-1800 part of the Royal Mint collection.

Today the collection contains approximately 70,000 coins including an abundance of proofs, patterns and trial pieces. Medals and seals are also well represented along with plaster models, electrotypes, balances, weights and numerous original drawings by numismatic artists. Above all, perhaps, it incorporates roughly 30,000 master tools and dies, a collection whose importance is unrivalled in the United Kingdom.

Very much a part of the day-to-day activities at Llantrisant, the collection serves a variety of purposes within the Royal Mint. The Commemorative Coins Department, in particular, draws heavily upon the collection and the numismatic expertise of its staff to ensure that literature is accurate and well illustrated. Furthermore, to provide as complete a service as possible, the staff answers hundreds of enquiries every year from members of the public and delivers lectures on a regular basis to national and local numismatic societies.

The collection is made accessible to the public by appointment. Furthermore, to ensure that material from the collection is seen by as many people as possible, items are frequently loaned for exhibitions at other museums and art galleries.