Melbourne Mint

Melbourne Mint
260px
General information
Architectural style	Renaissance Revival
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Opened	1872
Design and construction
Architect	John James Clark

Ornate gates to the Royal Mint, featuring coat of arms by Walter Langcake

Detail of coat of arms

The Melbourne Mint, in Melbourne, Australia, was a branch of the British Royal Mint. Until 1916 it minted only gold sovereigns, and all Australian coins between 1927 and 1967. It is now the home of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, and has been leased to the private sector since 2001.

The former Royal Mint is located on the corner of William and Latrobe Streets (280-318 William Street and 387-429 Latrobe Street) and is of architectural significance as one of the most impressive 19th century government buildings in Victoria, and one of few Australian buildings in the true Renaissance revival style, and a virtual copy of the Palazzo Vidoni-Caffarelli, attributed to Raphael, in Rome (1515).

The mint was built between 1869 and 1872 to the designs of architect J.J Clark whose other notable works included the Old Treasury Building, Melbourne. It was opened 12 June 1872

The colorful coat of arms placed on the front gates in mid-twentieth century were by the Melbourne woodcarver Walter Langcake. The original design, based on Queen Victoria's coat of arms, is adapted especially for a British Royal Mint branch office in colonial Victoria. The supporting animals are not crowned and a maned horse replaces the usual unicorn.

Current tenants

Melbourne Mint (from October 2012)

A private company, Melbourne Mint Pty Ltd, is situated on the ground level and level one of the Melbourne Mint building. Melbourne Mint Pty Ltd belongs to a group of Australian precious metals companies which include Australian Bullion Company (ABC), Gold Merchants International (GMI) and Universal Coin Co. It has no historical relationship to the original Royal Mint.

See also

• List of mints

External links

• Photo: Melbourne Mint, from the State Library of Victoria
• Brief history and photographs of the Melbourne Mint, from the Australian Architecture Discussion Forum.