The visitor experience at the Royal Mint at Llantrissant near Cardiff was opened in 2016 at a cost of over £9,000,000 pounds so I was expecting something special.
It is open every day from 9.30 am. to 17.30 pm. and has free parking. Tickets cost a rather hefty £13.50 for adults and £11.00 for children. A family ticket costs £40.00 for two adults and two children. There are concessions available and they are cheaper if bought on line. The site has a small café and free car parking.
After going through security our tour started with a short film about the new coins being introduced this year. There will be a 50 pence piece with the words new pence to mark fifty years since decimalisation was introduced. Our guide then showed us some of the tools used to produce coins and told us something about the history of the mint.
We were then taken to a viewing gallery where we could see actual coins being produced in the mint. The mint makes coins for 60 different countries and although I was disappointed to learn no British coins were being produced we were able to watch Egyptian pounds being made. For obvious reasons photography is not allowed in the production area.
We were then shown into the exhibition area itself. If you want to you can make your own coin. It cost £6.50 for a 50p pence. I found the exhibition very interesting. The mint also makes medals and produced all the medals for the London Olympics and Paralympics. We were able to see copies on display as well as one of the minis used to publicise the Beatles record, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields for ever. There was also a display case devoted to the most famous master of the mint Sir Isaac Newton.
There was also a gift shop selling collectable coins and the largest chocolate money I have ever seen.
“For more details about the Royal Mint Visitor Experience click here”:https://www.theplatinumline.blog/visiting-the-royal-mint-at-llantrisant/
