A ‘Pattern Piece’ for a rare Una and the Lion coin held by the Royal Mint
(Picture: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans Agency)Soaring demand from investors for physical holdings of precious metals has helped power profits at the Royal Mint to the highest since it became a limited company 12 years ago.
Since then, the Mint has set its sights on becoming a consumer brand, for investors in precious metals, historic coins as well as jewellery and luxury collectible products. The strategy helped it take profits to £18 million in the year to March 31, from revenue of over £1.4 billion.
The maker of Britain’s currency has a history dating back over 1,000 years. Owned by the Treasury, it made almost 340 million coins for circulation in the UK and 1.5 billion for 22 countries worldwide.
It reported a 62% rise in sales of commemorative coins to the US. The Mint also said it “saw record numbers” of investors using it to acquire physical gold as a hedge in their portfolios. Gold has been used as a means of protecting wealth from the impact of inflation for generations.
It will pay the Treasury a record dividend of £5 million, up from £3.7 million a year ago. It will also make a profit share payment of almost £5,000 to its employees, along with a 4.5% annual pay rise.
The mint was commissioned by a private collector to make the biggest coin in its history to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. The 15-kilogram fine gold coin took 400 hours to make.
The Mint will also open a new facility to recover gold from electronic waste next year.
