The Perth Mint
I’m a bit behind in posts, as holiday exhaustion got the better of me over the weekend, and instead of writing posts, I slept. Gosh, I love to sleep. I’m one of those people who needs eight hours a night, or I’m a crank. Well that’s my excuse! Anyway, let me tell you about The Perth Mint.
First was a talk outside about the history of gold mining in Western Australia, and the early days of the mint. Established as a branch of Britain’s Royal Mint in 1899 and still running from the same building today, the mint, by Australian standards, has a long history. This is where my photos begin and end. There is no photography allowed in the mint, for security reasons, but that didn’t stop most people snapping away on their phones. Not me though, I’m a goodie two-shoes!
Next on the tour, we were shown into a room that had a huge coin on display. Huge as 80cm (31.5 inches) wide. We thought it was just a fake gold display, until the guide started talking. It turns out the coin, The Australian Kangaroo One Tonne Gold Coin, is one tonne of 99.99% gold, valued at over $50,000,000. Holy moly! Cast in 2012 it is legal tender, and a Guinness World Record holder. With no photos allowed, IrishCyborg drew a near enough digital representation for you.
Next up, we watched a gold pour. We saw one in Sovereign Hill last year, but it’s interesting enough to see another. The last part of the tour was a couple of rooms displaying coins, nuggets, and other memorabilia. There’s a weight scale where you get your weight measured in gold. We all got weighed. Lets just say… I’m priceless.
The boys found a coin press. For “a cheap $2” you get a “cool” Perth Mint Souvenir Coin to “keep forever.” My boys love these even more than their precious Press-A-Penny coins. Even better news… on the machine was a list of other places that have similar coin presses in Western Australia. Yipee, more junk to collect. Penguin Island was on the list, so we have to go back (only to the sales office) and pick up a coin from there. So our Perth vacation is turning into a coin accumulating trip. I love the way kids get excited about simple things.
We then drove to Cottesloe beach for the afternoon. To me, Cottesloe means shark attacks, but that might be my highly sensitive attitude to marine dangers. Still, I didn’t let the boys swim, just play at the water’s edge. We had a beautiful afternoon frolicking on the soft, white sand, watching the gorgeous people walking by, listening to the crashing of the waves. A perfect way to end a perfect day here in Perth.
