Opened in 1899 to refine the gold pouring out of Western Australia's goldfields, the Perth Mint is one of the city's grandest colonial buildings and a popular visitor attraction. Behind its green doors and limestone facade, gold is still worked today, more than a century on. The mint was set up as the third Australian branch of Britain's Royal Mint, following Sydney and Melbourne. The huge gold discoveries at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie in the 1890s created an urgent need for a place to assay and coin the metal. The foundation stone was laid in 1896 by Sir John Forrest, the colony's first premier, who had lobbied London to establish it. The building was designed by the architect George Temple Poole and erected by the firm of Atkins and Law for a little over twenty-two thousand pounds, opening to process its first gold in June 1899. Between 1899 and 1931 the mint struck more than a hundred million gold sovereigns and around three-quarters of a million half sovereigns for use across the British Empire. From 1940 it also produced Australia's everyday coins, turning out hundreds of millions of pennies and later decimal pieces. Its distinctive P mint mark has appeared on its coins since 1899, and its refinery holds accreditation from the leading bullion markets of the world. Almost all the gold ever mined in Western Australia is said to have passed through its furnaces. Today visitors can tour the original melting house and watch a live gold pour, the molten metal cast glowing into a bar. The exhibition displays Australia's largest collection of natural gold nuggets and the world's largest gold coin, a one-tonne piece with a face value of a million dollars. Ownership passed to the Western Australian government in 1970, and a modern refinery near the airport now handles large-scale work. The historic East Perth building remains the public face of the mint. It stands on Hay Street at the eastern end of the city centre, a short walk or free bus ride from the heart of Perth.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 310 Hay Street, Perth, Australia, 6004

Website: https://www.perthmint.com

Opening Date: 20/06/1899