Royal Mint plant for striking. This first phase of the mint was officially opened on 17 December 1968 by the royal attendance of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and their son Prince Charles. Originally there were fears that the Royal family would face protests because of the Investiture of Prince Charles as the Prince of Wales; however, such protests failed to materialise. The second phase of construction began in 1973 and included the addition of a means to mint coins from virgin metals completing the full minting process. Upon completion the final cost for the land, buildings and plant came to £8
Royal Mint products included a hip flask with an embedded £2 coin, an Edinburgh Crystal clock combined with a millennium Crown, and a Wedgwood plate featuring Britannia. In 2007 the Mint decided to resume its focus on coins, downsizing non-coin related business and discontinuing its Classics range. After London was selected to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, the Royal Mint successfully won its bid to manufacture the games' Olympic and Paralympic medals. 4,700 gold, sliver and bronze medals were produced by the Mint with each medal being struck 15 times with 900 tonnes of force. In addition to securing the medal