Ten Years of The Royal Mint Experience
To celebrate The Royal Mint Experience’s 10th birthday in 2026, we’re looking back at where it all began and sharing some of our favourite moments from the past decade. It’s been a busy and exciting ten years, filled with VIP visits, celebrations, awards, striking coins, behind-the-scenes tours and even a royal visit (more on that later!).
2016
Opening the Doors
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The Royal Mint Experience opened its doors in May 2016 and quickly proved a hit, welcoming more than 40,000 visitors before its official opening that October. The Royal Mint had struck the winner medals for the Rio Olympic Games that same year, and to celebrate the opening, Team GB medallists Jazz Carlin and Sam Cross unveiled the Experience’s opening plaque. Visitors can still see a set of those Olympic medals on display today. We know what you’re thinking, but unfortunately, you can’t try them on!
2017
A Royal Visit and a New £1 Coin
In 2017, we had the honour of welcoming King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, to experience the very best of our visitor centre and meet some of the incredible people behind its success. His Majesty even pressed the infamous button to strike his own coin! In the same year, the UK’s iconic round £1 coin made way for a brand-new 12-sided design, created to be one of the most secure coins in the world. Visitors to The Royal Mint Experience didn’t just learn about the new coin, they could strike one for themselves and take home a piece of history.
2018
200,000 Visitors
In 2018, The Royal Mint Experience reached another exciting milestone as we welcomed our 200,000th visitor in just two years! The lucky guest received a sparkling surprise in the form of a 5g gold bar and the Freedom of The Royal Mint Experience family pass, granting free entry for 200 days.
2019
Behind the Scenes
In 2019, we opened the doors even wider with the launch of our VIP tours, giving visitors the chance to step further behind the walls of The Royal Mint than ever before. Hosted by a numismatic expert, the experience includes an exclusive talk from a Royal Mint Museum curator, a visit to the coin production area, and lunch with refreshments at The Royal Mint Experience café. Visitors can even strike their own coin in the Proof Coin Unit! Find out more.
2020
Supporting the NHS
During the Covid-19 pandemic, The Royal Mint turned its engineering expertise to supporting frontline NHS workers. Our talented engineers developed a protective medical visor, with production quickly ramping up to 10,000 a day. The Royal Mint Experience was temporarily transformed into a hub for assembling and packing them, helping to produce over one million visors. We’re incredibly proud to have played a small part in supporting the NHS Heroes and everyone who worked on the frontline to keep us safe. 2020 also saw our first 24-hour Strike Your Own Coin event. To mark the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, The Royal Mint produced a commemorative 50p coin, and the public were given the chance to visit The Royal Mint Experience to strike their own coin for 24 hours only on 31 January, the day the UK officially left the EU.
2021
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
In 2021, Santa Claus came to town for the first ever Royal Mint Christmas Experience! The Experience was transformed into a Winter Wonderland with real(ish!) snow, a workshop for the elves, and of course, Santa’s Grotto. Did you know that his elves use our workshops to build toys? The festivities have grown every year to include live shows and Christmas nibbles and tipples, and it has become the busiest time in our events calendar.
2022
Celebrating the Platinum Jubilee
In 2022, The Royal Mint Experience joined the nation in celebrating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The visitor centre was transformed in red, white and blue as a host of jubilee-themed events took place across the Bank Holiday weekend, culminating in The Big Jubilee Lunch and a live screening of the spectacular ‘Party at the Palace’ concert. Let’s just say there was a lot of bunting! Keep an eye on our events calendar to see what we have in store.
2023
A Mighty Homecoming
In 2023, The Royal Mint Experience welcomed Team Wales for a special medal presentation following their triumphant return from the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago. Surrounded by family and friends, the athletes were presented with Commemorative Participation Medals struck at The Royal Mint, celebrating their impressive 9th place finish out of 71 Commonwealth nations.
2024
Award Season
The Royal Mint Experience won ‘Best Guided Tour’ for the second time at the Group Leisure and Travel Awards, having previously won in 2022. The only contender from Wales on the list, our visitor attraction took the top prize over strong competition including the Emmerdale The Village and Manchester City Stadium tours!
2025
All Change
In 2025, The Royal Mint Experience unveiled a brand-new tour, inviting visitors on a journey through transformation and innovation at The Royal Mint. The updated exhibition explores how our expert engineers and craftspeople are shaping a more sustainable future, including urban mining, where precious metals are recovered from electronic waste. Today, these recovered metals are used to create sustainable jewellery, bespoke products and selected coins. Don’t worry, our café and gift shop are still ready to welcome you with refreshments, gifts and plenty of souvenirs to take home. We even offer afternoon tea options!
2026
The Big One
This year, we’re celebrating 10 years of The Royal Mint Experience! Since 2016 we have won a Trip Advisor's Travellers' Choice Award every year since its creation in 2020 and welcomed nearly 600,000 visitors through the door who have struck nearly 335,000 commemorative coins to take home.
What Does the Future Hold?
The future of the Royal Mint Experience is even more exciting than anything we’ve done before, and we can’t wait for you to experience what’s in store. Here’s a little taster!
New Experiences and Interactive Activities
The Experience is evolving to offer more interactive, gamified experiences, including limited-time events, hands-on activities, and family experiences. There will also be an opportunity to strike your own special 50p coin as part of our anniversary celebrations.
A Sustainable Future
We will be delving deeper into The Royal Mint’s exciting sustainability initiatives. By the end of 2026, all collectible gold coins are planned to be made from recycled gold, supported by additional initiatives such as extracting gold from e-waste, reusing silver from X-ray films, and investing in on-site renewable energy.
Innovation
As The Royal Mint’s precious metals business continues to grow, future exhibits will offer behind the scenes insights into areas such as our sustainable jewellery collections (886 by The Royal Mint), new precious metal recovery technologies, and gold-backed investment products.
Head this way for tickets and our events calender. We can't wait to see you!
