The Royal Australian Mint is celebrating 60 years of history with an exhibition that takes visitors on a journey from the Mint’s humble beginnings as a sheep paddock to its $6.5 million museum refurbishment in 2024.

The Royal Australian Mint’s Mint60 Exhibition exhibition offers the opportunity to learn about the Mint’s architect, Richard Ure, who also designed Canberra’s iconic Black Mountain Tower.

Visitors can unearth secrets of the Mint and discover why the solid rock encountered during excavation turned out to be an unexpected benefit.

Among the rare historic photos is one of Prince Philip opening the Mint on February 22, 1965.

The Duke of Edinburgh was presented with a Year Set, which he gifted back so it could be displayed in the Museum. There is also a photo of Queen Elizabeth II inspecting machinery at the Mint in 1970.

The museum showcases never-before-seen coins from the National Coin Collection, which includes the Beauty, Rich & Rare – Daintree Rainforest $100 Coloured Gold Proof Domed Coin and the Australian Rainforest Cassowary $200 Gold Proof Coin.

Also on display are beautifully designed medallions and tokens, including the National Antarctic Research Expedition Bronze Medallion and WWF for Nature, Western Swamp Tortoise Token.

The robot featured in the Mint60 Exhibition was affectionately named Roxie by the Mint’s coin-packing team in 2004. Roxie picked and packed coins using a camera to ensure they were facing the right way. Able to run day and night, Roxie was retired in 2021.

Duke of Edinburgh opens the Mint

It was 38ºC when His Royal Highness Prince Philip officially opened the Royal Australian Mint on February 22, 1965.

Despite the heat, 600 people attended the event.

Prince Philip struck a coin using one of the Mint’s presses and was presented with a Year Set containing all six new decimal coins.

He gifted the set back to the Mint so it could be displayed in the Museum, which is where it remains today.

From grazing to minting

It made sense for the Mint to be built in the Nation’s Capital.

Initially, the preferred site was on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and King Edward Terrace, near the Treasury Department, but this site was deemed unsuitable due to unstable seismic refraction.

The site where Parliament House now stands was also considered, but Treasury settled on the Deakin site, which was then a sheep paddock, after assuring residents that there would be no smoke, noxious fumes or noise.

During construction, solid rock was encountered in the basement and main vault excavations, which actually helped secure the vaults.

The Mint60 Exhibition is on until May 11.

The Royal Australian Mint, Denison Street, Deakin, ramint.gov.au, call 1300 652 020, email hello@ramint.gov.au