Newsletter: January 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the Royal Mint Museum Newsletter. The Royal Mint Museum team started 2025 with exciting announcements and visits. Find out more below.

Ashmolean Museum

In January our Collections Manager, Sarah, visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford to retrieve a large number of objects that had been on loan for their exhibition Money Talks: Art, Society & Power. The exhibition explored how currency and art come together in design and culture to promote, or sometimes to challenge, commonly held views. Over the course of the public display over 16,000 saw the objects from our collection, which ranged from small coins and artwork, all the way through to a reducing machine weighing a tonne.

Barry Island

On a cold and windy Tuesday in January recording began for the second season of the Royal Mint Museum podcast. Our intrepid team headed to Barry Island to investigate the excitement and interest that the penny arcades still evoke today. A good time was had by all, complete with key rings and sweets bought with our winning tickets.

The second season of our podcast is titled The Secret Life of Coins. Coins are a form of payment, but we hope to take a closer look at how they have been used for other purposes. From mementos with an emotional story or worn as jewellery, to being given nicknames or being invested with the power to heal or bring good luck, they have stopped bullets in wars and helped balance the workings of the nation’s timekeeper – Big Ben.

If you haven’t yet listened to the first season Coins and the Sea it can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major podcast providers, with additional resources available on the Royal Mint Museum website: https://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/podcast/.

Chair of Trustees

We are seeking to appoint a new Chair of the Trustee Board to play a key role in our ambitious plans for the future. We are looking for candidates who can demonstrate sound judgement in assisting the team with strategic decision making and to oversee the governance of the Museum.

We would, ideally, like to hear from applicants with fund-raising experience in relation to museum or gallery projects.

We are keen that our Board reflects the diversity of our visitors and audiences. The role of Chair of Trustees is, therefore, open to applicants from all backgrounds, irrespective of gender, gender identity, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We welcome candidates who think they have the required skills and can lead the Trustee Board in the decade ahead.

For more information please visit our website https://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/quick-links/careers/

Visit to Fitzalan High School

Earlier this month the Education Manager, Amy, visited Fitzalan High School in Cardiff to deliver a presentation to the year 10 economics GCSE class. The talk covered the history and development of money. We have offered this talk before as digital outreach, but this is the first time we have been out to a school. The students were enthusiastic, and the session sparked some interesting discussions about the way in which we use money and how this has changed over the centuries.

Get in touch if you would like us to visit your school with our History of Money talk by emailing museumenquiries@royalmintmuseum.org.uk

Short Story Competition 2025

The Museum’s successful annual Royal Mint Museum Short Story Competition opens on 17th February. We are delighted to announce that this year's competition guest judge will be none other than Michaela Strachan! Michaela is well known for her work in wildlife and environmental broadcasting, making her the perfect judge for this year’s theme, Sustainable Futures.

Last year the competition attracted over 1,000 entries from children aged between 8 and 11 across the UK. This year we have even more prizes on offer. Winners will be announced in May after the competition closes.

To find out more information and how to enter, click here.