Newsletter: October 2025
This month at the Royal Mint Museum we’ve celebrated milestones and shared stories. We’ve reached 30,000 coin records online and engaged with local communities to support future engineers. We’ve also contributed to national exhibitions, enhanced accessibility and launched a new season of our podcast, the Secret Life of Coins. Find out more below.
Podcast event
The Royal Mint Museum podcast is back this autumn with a brand-new season: the Secret Life of Coins. This series explores the unexpected roles coins have played throughout history, from cultural quirks to technological influence.
To mark the launch of Season 2, the Museum hosted a celebration event at the Royal Mint Experience. Guests included podcast contributors, Museum supporters and colleagues from across the site.
Dr Kevin Clancy, Museum Director, opened the evening, followed by insights from the podcast team on how the series was created. Abigail Kenvyn, Interpretation and Engagement Manager, led a tour of the newly refreshed Royal Mint Experience exhibition and guests enjoyed the Secret Life of Coins display. The evening ended with entertainment from magician, Josh Hooper, adding a touch of magic, some of it involving coins, to the celebration.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or via the Museum website: www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/podcast/101.
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest Podcast updates: https://www.instagram.com/secretlifeofcoins/
A morning with Barry Probus Club
This October a member of our team was pleased to visit Barry Probus Club for a morning of conversation and storytelling centred on the history of the Royal Mint and the art of coin manufacture. Susan Sandford, our Digital Experience Lead, delivered a talk that explored the evolution of coinage through objects from the Museum’s collection. The presentation sparked thoughtful discussion and she was delighted to stay on for lunch with members, where conversations ranged from engineering and personal memories of decimalisation, to gold prices and the future of currency.
Engaging with local communities and sharing the stories behind our collection is a vital part of the Museum’s work. We’re grateful to Barry Probus Club for their warm welcome and the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences.
Inclusive safety: evacuation chair training at the Royal Mint Museum
Improving accessibility remains a key priority for the Royal Mint Museum team. This month staff took part in hands-on training with the GLOBEX Evacuation Solutions standard evacuation chair, designed to assist non-ambulant individuals during emergencies when lifts are unavailable.
Led by Emma, an Evacuation Solutions Trainer and Technician, the session provided practical guidance on operating the chair and offered staff the opportunity to experience its use firsthand. The training helped ensure that everyone felt confident and informed, reinforcing our commitment to inclusive and effective safety procedures.
Preparedness and accessibility go hand in hand, and this training marks another step forward in making the Museum a safe and welcoming space for all.
Supporting future engineers: EESW project partnership
For the fifth consecutive year, the Royal Mint Museum, in partnership with the Royal Mint, is proud to take part in STEM Cymru’s Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW) – an initiative that connects sixth form students with real-world engineering challenges.
This year we’re working with students from Y Pant Comprehensive School, who have been teamed with the Mint’s Precious Metals Recovery team. Over the next six months, eight engineering students will tackle a challenging brief related to the Mint’s electronic waste recycling plant, developing innovative solutions alongside Mint engineers and technicians.
The EESW programme offers students hands-on experience and insight into the world of engineering, while helping industry partners explore fresh ideas and approaches to real problems.
To learn more about the scheme and its impact, visit the EESW Project (Sixth Form).
Royal Mint Museum loan featured in Bank of England exhibition
The Royal Mint Museum recently contributed to the Bank of England’s new exhibition, Building the Bank – 100 Years On, with the loan of a significant object from our collection.
Running until March 2027, the free exhibition explores the creation of the Bank’s iconic Threadneedle Street building. In 1925, architect Herbert Baker began a 15-year reconstruction project that transformed the site into the landmark we know today. As part of the design, Baker commissioned artist Boris Anrep to create a series of mosaic floors for the entrance lobbies and corridors – many of which were inspired by historic coin designs.
To illustrate this connection, the Museum has loaned a Henry VIII George Noble, displayed alongside an image of the corresponding mosaic. The pairing highlights how Anrep drew directly from numismatic art to shape the building’s visual identity.
We’re delighted to support this exhibition and celebrate the enduring influence of coin design in British architectural heritage.
30,000 coin records now online!
The Royal Mint Museum is proud to announce a major milestone: 30,000 coin records are now available through our digital collection catalogue.
Since its launch the catalogue has steadily grown to include coins from over seventy countries, as well as our extensive collection of 17th and 18th century tokens. This evolving resource supports researchers, collectors and anyone curious about the history of coinage. We welcome feedback from users to help us continue improving access and usability.
In addition to expanding the coin catalogue, the Museum has continued to develop its online library. Recent additions include digitised Parliamentary Select Committee Reports on the Royal Mint from 1837 and 1849. These join a rich archive already online, including:
• The complete run of Royal Mint Annual Reports (1870–1976)
• Papers of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (1922–1992)
• The Waterloo Medal Roll
• Annotated catalogues by Hocking and Webster
• Tower Hill Staff Records
• The Royal Mint Apprentices Handbook
These resources are freely available and support family history research, as well as studies in 19th and 20th century coinage.
Explore the collection and library via our website: www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk
Exploring the nature of money
Finally, this month Royal Mint Museum Trustee Mario Pisani toured Great Britain to explore key questions about money: What is it? Where does its value come from? Who runs it?
In Edinburgh, Mario spoke at the Library of Mistakes, hosted by Russell Napier, engaging with a thoughtful audience on the foundations of monetary trust. In London, he joined Rhys Bidder at a joint King’s Business School and Society of Professional Economists event, discussing traditional and digital money, timed with the Bank of England Governor’s comments on stablecoins.
Mario also attended the Museum’s Trustee meeting in Llantrisant, the first under new Chair Sir David Cannadine, and viewed highlights from the collection, including the coinage of Edward VIII.
His central thesis is that money is a social tool rooted in trust, ultimately backed by state institutions like HM Treasury.
Mario’s talk is published in an anthology by Bokförlaget Stolpe, with another version forthcoming in the Heywood Quarterly.
