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 where it opened in 1854. Its success led to the opening of Melbourne Mint on 2 June 1872 which cost £368,350 and Perth Mint which opened on 20 June 1899. In 1926 after operating for 72 years, the Sydney Mint closed due to its inferior technology and capabilities being superseded by those in Melbourne and Perth. After Australia was federalised in 1901, Great Britain continued to own the mints to as late as 1 July 1970, when they became statutory authorities of the Government of Western Australia. In Canada, which had been under British rule since 1763, British coins circulated