Royal Mint Museum
William Wellesley Pole established The Royal Mint Museum in 1816. Originally intended to be a source of inspiration for engravers, it has subsequently developed into a historical archive.
The Origins of The Royal Mint Museum
Established on 12 February 1816 by the Master of the Mint, William Wellesley Pole, The Royal Mint Museum was initially based in a specifically designed building on Tower Hill, which surrounded the Tower of London. After the museum was established, William Wellesley Pole observed ‘with pain that not only is there no collection of British coins in His Majesty’s Mint, but that there is not a single proof ’.
At the time, the museum relied heavily on donations from the banks for its upkeep. As the years passed and the skills of the workforce developed, so did the museum’s collection. This historical archive now boasts one of the finest numismatic collections in existence, and contains books, medals and information regarding the origins of money and coinage dating back more than 1,100 years.
The Curation of Numismatic History
For more than 200 years, dedicated curators, numismatists and museum specialists have catalogued, tended and enhanced the collection that The Royal Mint Museum holds to this day. The museum contains nearly 100,000 artefacts, including an abundance of Proof coins, pattern pieces and trial pieces. The collection also features medals and seals along with plaster models, balances, weights and thousands of
original drawings. The archive also incorporates roughly 50,000 master tools, dies and books, which represent more than 400 years of coin and medal production. These priceless pieces inform and help us to understand the importance of British coinage.
The archive started in August 1818, when William Wellesley Pole requested donations of coins from banks. These donations included a small private collection of around 100 coins, medals and books. Once Wellesley Pole had officially started this numismatic collection, he understood that he needed to keep building it. Within a few months, he received a donation from Sarah Sophia Banks, who gave the museum a large collection of books, coins and medals, which are preserved to this day as a ‘Gift from Lady Banks’.
The Museum As We Know It
The Royal Mint Museum is a numismatic museum located in Llantrisant, South Wales. It houses a huge archive of historical coins, books, medals, artwork and minting equipment. It collaborated with The Royal Mint in 2016 to complete a £9 million visitor experience, which allows members of the public to view part of the museum’s collection.
