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 Royal Mint Court Royal Mint Court is a property on Little Tower Hill in London's East End, close to the City of London financial district. The site served as home to the Royal Mint from 1809 until 1967 and was built on the site of a Cistercian abbey, built in 1348 and known in its time as Eastminster. Eastminster's foundations are relatively well preserved and visible in the partially open basement of the site. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the 5.5 acre property was used as a victualling yard for the Royal Navy, then used as a tobacco warehouse,