The Perth Mint on June 20 marked its 125th anniversary with a day of special celebrations.

The Perth Mint opened its iconic green doors in East Perth 125 years earlier, to the day, in 1899, on its way to creating a legacy as a gold refiner and producer of high-quality precious metal coins. The Mint has been operating continuously ever since, and in fiscal year 2022 to 2023 emitted more than 19 million coins from the heritage premises.

It is recognized as Australia’s oldest working mint and refines almost 80%of Australia’s newly mined gold.

The range of activities for guests on site to mark the anniversary included sharing a special Mint-shaped birthday cake, the pouring of a 125th anniversary-branded gold bar on the tour, snapping a selfie at the Perth Mint gold shimmer wall and viewing historic memorabilia from 1899, which is on display for the first time.

Visitors to the Mint could catch a free ride to the Mint from the city center on a Perth Mint-branded rickshaw and recharge with a free sweet treat before taking the tour.

Special coin release

June 20 also marked the release of the limited mintage 125th anniversary Australia Sovereign 2024 proof gold coin, which commemorates the gold sovereigns produced at the Mint until 1931.

The design of the new coin is a modern reimagining of the original classic St. George and the dragon design.

It was also the last chance to enter the drawing to win a Perth Mint Golden Ticket, which offers lifetime entry to the Gold Tour, along with a 125th anniversary coin collection, a $125 gift voucher, personalized opal medallion and the chance to hold a freshly poured gold bar.

The birthday cake was cut by the Mint’s longest-serving employee, Neil Rogers, and one of the newest, Chloe Hersey.

Rogers, who is manager of coining and production, has 38 years under his belt after starting out as a general laborer in 1986.

“I’m so proud to be a part of this occasion. It was fantastic seeing everybody celebrating our 125 years today,” Rogers said, in a press release. “I usually just like to get on with my job without any fuss, but this has been great. I’ve loved it.”

Hersey recently joined the Mint as supervisor of visitor services.

“One of the most surprising aspects of working here has been the sheer number of tourists visiting from all corners of the globe,” she said. “It’s incredible to see people from diverse backgrounds and cultures come together with a shared interest in our products and the history of minting.”

An important legacy

Throughout its 125-year history, The Perth Mint has contributed to the Western Australian community, refining gold and exporting value-added coins and minted bars across the world. Combining traditional skills with the latest technological advancements it has developed into Australia’s largest fully integrated precious metals enterprise.

The Perth Mint opened as a branch of Britain’s Royal Mint, but since 1970 it has operated under the ownership of the Western Australian Government on behalf of the people of Western Australian.

In more recent decades, the Perth Mint has offered one of Perth’s most popular tourist attractions with the exhibition and Gold Tour opening in 1993 in its heritage premises.

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