| The Royal Mint is an organisation set up under the auspices of the British Government to produce the coinage for the UK. Since 1967 it has been based in Llantrisant, near Cardiff in Wales. In addition to producing coins for the UK, it also strikes coins for around 100 other countries.
The first London Mint was built by the Romans, although the exact location is unknown, and it was only operational for about 40 years. Minting was resumed in London soon after 650 A.D. but only after the reign of Alfred the Great did a London mint became more firmly established and its history continuous. Following this time, there were a number of local mints producing currency - more than 70 by the time of Ethelred II, after which the number gradually declined until the 13th century, when minting was limited to Canterbury and London.
By 1279 the Mint had moved to the Tower of London, where it remained until the 17th century, when it was moved to a purpose-built facility at Tower Hill. This building was used until the 1960s, after which the Mint was moved to its current location at Llantrisant, in readiness for the enormous amount of work involved in the move to decimalisation from LSD (in 1971).
The facility produces all coins for the UK market, in addition to sovereigns, commemorative issues, and Maundy Money, and over 60% of its capacity is used to supply the requirements of other countries.
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