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 coins to be removed from circulation so as to help pay for the war effort. The government started to issue £1 and 10 shilling treasury notes as replacement paving the way for Britain leaving the gold standard in 1931. From 1928, the Irish Free State (later Republic of Ireland) issued its own coins. These were produced by the Royal Mint until Ireland established its own Currency Centre in Dublin in 1978. During World War II the Mint played an important role in ensuring that people were paid for their services with hard currency rather than banknotes. Under Operation Bernhard, the