Wales so closed in 1908; since then, although banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland continue to have the right to issue banknotes in their own countries, the Bank of England has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in Wales. The Commercial Bank of Wales, established in Cardiff by Sir Julian Hodge in 1971, was taken over by the Bank of Scotland in 1988 and absorbed into its parent company in 2002. The Royal Mint, who issue the coinage circulated through the whole of the UK, have been based at a single site in Llantrisant since 1980. Since decimalisation, in 1971,
Royal Mint Court in between 1807-1812 by Robert Smirke after Johnson died, having never seen his design realised. In honour of both architects, the building was named the Johnson Smirke Building, a namesake of both their surnames. Aiming to increase mint production, the building was designed for multiple purposes including to house new mint machinery, act as a bullion store, the mint's office and apartments for mint officials. The long façade of the three-storey rectangular stone building has windows with Doric order running through the first and second floors. A broad central pediment sits above featuring the royal coat of arms engraved in