2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. With employees serving in the forces and the manufacture of cartridge weighing machines taking place on-site in Tower Hill, The Royal Mint was directly involved in the war effort. Here are five facts about our participation in events leading up to VE Day and how we have commemorated this significant day in British history on collectable coins.
The Royal Mint Museum’s Collection
The Royal Mint building at Tower Hill was lit up, revealing bomb damage. Held in storage throughout the war, The Royal Mint Museum’s collection survived unscathed, with its room used for the manufacture of cartridge weighing machines
Employees In the Forces
The burdens placed on the Mint during the conflict led to a large increase in output and many more staff were needed. At its height in 1943 a total of 970 people were employed, almost double the number at the end of 1938. At the end of the war, a total of 137 pre-war staff had served with the forces Cyril Laws, an Artificer at the Royal Mint, received a Distinguished Flying Medal for a successful tour of operations over Europe.
Campaign Stars
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After hostilities ceased, The Royal Mint Museum’s collection was not directly restored to its previous home in Tower Hill. The cartridge weighing machines made way for Bliss presses and benches for the examination and packing of Campaign Stars awarded for service during the conflict. Striking was split between The Royal Mint and the Royal Ordnance Factory in Woolwich. Between them, the two locations produced just under a million Stars in a year.
The 75th Anniversary
In 2020, we released an official UK coin to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day. Produced in collaboration with Imperial War Museums, the design by Dominique Evans captured the magnitude of events by putting people at the very heart of the coin.
The 80th Anniversary
In 2025, we are celebrating the milestone 80th anniversary of victory in Europe with the release of our VE Day 2025 UK Coin, which pays tribute to this historic moment in time and captures the emotions experienced on 8 May 1945. The 2025 coin features a remastered version of John Mills’ ‘dove of peace’ design, updated to include the words ‘IN PEACE GOODWILL’ as written by Winston Churchill.
