Economy of Wales forestry and fishing together contributed 1.5%. As in the rest of the United Kingdom, the currency used in Wales is the Pound, represented by the symbol "£". The Bank of England is the central bank, responsible for issuing currency, and retains responsibility for monetary policy and is the central bank of the UK. The Royal Mint, which issues the coinage circulated over the whole of the UK, has been based at a single site in Llantrisant, south Wales since 1980, having progressively transferred operations from their Tower Hill, London site from 1968. Economic output per head has been lower in
Birmingham Mint 5% of the business. A major product was copper tubing and fittings for the building industry, supplied under the MBL trade mark. Medals, slot machine tokens and gambling tokens were produced. In 1965 a consortium of the Mint, the Royal Mint and IMI achieved a growth in the export market. The Mint expanded to an adjacent site in 1967 but a reduction in orders from the Royal Mint immediately followed, apart from a large order for 1680 tons of bronze half-pence blanks and 466 tons of cupro-nickel 10-pence blanks, which were supplied to the Royal Mint in 1968–71 for the