The column is made up of 24,432 dollar coins. Photo: James Coleman.
The Governor-General has officially reopened a $6 million upgrade to the Royal Australian Mint, said to “elevate” the Deakin-based national institution as an “iconic Australia cultural heritage tourism destination”.
The Mint has continued producing Australia’s coins unabated, but since the beginning of the year, the foyer and other areas normally open to visitors have been closed for renovations.
During the works, the coin shop and exhibition space were temporarily relocated to the Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG) in Civic.
When the upgrades were finalised, the Mint reopened to the public on Monday, 12 August, but Governor-General Sam Mostyn attended the site yesterday (17 September) to make it official.
She followed in the footsteps of the late Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, who declared the Mint open in 1965.
“It is amazing to think that every Australian circulating coin since 14 February 1966 was produced right here, in a factory, in a quiet Canberra suburb,” CEO Leigh Gordon said.
Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Dr Andrew Leigh, Govenor-General Sam Mostyn, and Royal Australian Mint CEO Leigh Gordon. Photo: Royal Australian Mint.
The Mint is one of Canberra’s most popular tourism venues, attracting around 360,000 visitors annually.
Mr Gordon said the “Visitor Experience Enhancement Project, or VEEP as we have known it”, will deliver “improved experiences that showcase Australian stories through coins, and celebrate the people, artistry, precision engineering and unique skills of its workforce”.
The designs include more “creative interactive installations”, notably a coin column near the entrance made of 24,432 dollar coins that took a team of two people a full two weeks to painstakingly glue into place.
Another display, designed in partnership with local Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, tells the story of how trade existed in Australia well before Europeans arrived.
“There is a lot to experience,” Mr Gordon adds.
“The Mint team invites all Canberrans, their family and friends to visit and see how we’ve changed.”
The Mint has previously acknowledged that the prevalence of cash in Australian society is dwindling at the same time as the number of coin collectors is increasing. It’s one of the reasons it has expanded its collectible coin program in recent years.
“Some of our informal analysis indicates that between one in four and one in five Australians are coin collectors,” Mr Gordon told Region in May.
“And we’ve seen larger queues outside for collectible coin release days here at the Mint, so it’s really been quite exciting for us to be able to be a part of that.”
The latest best-sellers include the Bluey ‘Dollarbucks’ $1 coin series, featuring coloured designs of Australia’s favourite cartoon blue-heeler family, and a set of 20-cent coins in honour of the 20th anniversary of Mem Fox’s best-selling children’s book, Where is the Green Sheep?
The Mint is open from 8:30 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, and from 10 am to 4 pm on weekends and public holidays.
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