The Royal Mint Experience provides an amazing opportunity to go behind the scenes and discover stories from The Royal Mint’s 1,100-year history.
If you’ve never visited The Royal Mint, I can confirm you’re missing out on a wonderful insight into this incredible institution, which is steeped in history. I recently took the Gold VIP Tour and can tell you that it’s worth every penny.
There were just eight people on our tour which meant there was plenty of opportunity to ask questions. I have to say our two guides, Alison and Beverly, were incredibly knowledgeable and the introductory talk we received from Gwyn was thoroughly enjoyable – learning about the beginnings in the Tower of London and subsequent moves which led the Mint coming to Wales at the instigation of James Callaghan.
I was also surprised to hear how much currency The Royal Mint produces for the rest of the world (over 100 countries!) and there are some truly beautiful examples on display. The Mint also produce medals and proudly created the medals for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
One of the highlights for me was seeing the design process and what goes into producing a coin. I’ve always been interested in design and engineering, so the manufacturing process honestly intrigued me. The die-making, the stamping, the polishing – it was utterly fascinating. Plus the opportunity to spend time on the factory floor was a real treat (not all tours are permitted to do this).We even had the opportunity to strike our very own £2 coin, and hold gold coins worth £50,000 and lift a gold ingot worth £400,000!
We had earlier been allowed to visit one of the closed rooms where a huge selection of coins and medals dating back over a thousand years are stored. The history in this room is, quite frankly, astonishing and all our group were delighted to have the opportunity to view something so special.
Over a very pleasant buffet lunch I had the opportunity to chat with the other visitors; some were avid collectors, some had been gifted the experience, some were just interested in the history. One chap lived just two miles away and another couple had come from Essex specially. All agreed it was an excellent day and real value for money.
If you haven’t visited, it certainly should be on your bucket list. Visit the website for more information or call 0333 241 2223 to book your visit.
Royal Mint Experience
Heol-Y-Sarn, Pontyclun, CF72 8YT
0333 241 2223
www.royalmint.com/the-royal-mint-experience
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