In 2005 I was invited to do some training at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant in South Wales which is set in the rolling green countryside on the edge of the Rhondda Valley.
The Royal Mint produces 90 million coins and blanks a week, or that’s five billion coins a year. They also typically make coins and medals for 60 countries every year.
Not surprisingly security is very tight. Ministry of Defence Police oversee the security of the 35 acre site, which operates around-the-clock every week of the year. Sadly, for health and safety reasons, they no longer allow visits by the general public to the works.
The Mint employs 700 people from the area, the biggest employer for miles. Where families used to be dependent on coal-mining for their livelihoods, now everyone knows someone who works for, or has worked for, the Royal Mint.
The trip was especially interesting for me as I had worked for a building contractor that had built a factory unit on the site in the mid-70s. This was just before the Mint finally relinquished its former home next to the Tower of London.
I vividly recalled visiting the muddy construction site that seemed to me at the time to be in the middle of nowhere. My company then went on to redevelop the London site.
It's intriguing that one of the oldest industries, stretching back 1000 years, now highly values the Internet for the promotion and sale of its collectable presentation sets, to numismatists around the world. The training in Llantrisant proved to be a fun and productive day with the small and enthusiastic team.
My one regret of the day - I didn’t return home with any free samples! Check out the website at www.royalmint.com.