THE ROYAL MINT

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 100, 2 May 1929, Page 18

THE ROYAL MINT

MANY COINAGES MADE

mo_\i<;y ro.it otiieu.countries

Us cks making coins for Britain and -Mini makes many other coinages. The designer Mr Aletcalfe, ha. been widely ongratulated upon Ins work in cchhiosion with the new Irish jo rcc state issue illustrations of wl.k-l, were ro^ cently given in "The Post." The Free b ate Government, i,, this series, broke ■ ».;v irom t| lo modern stcruol vped coin design ami introduced what i.^ perhaps, Ihe most interesting scries of coin do^ signs ot recent times.

Among other .joins recently produ-e.l by the lioyul .Mint has been i spcJi a Piece ol the value of -lo piastres, Lucd lor the Government of Cyprus to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the iintish occupation of the island A com oi this denomination had not pro v.ously been included in the coina-e scries 01 Cyprus, though the Coinage Order ol I'MO allowed such a piece to 10 struck at the request of the High Commissioner. Tho coin is Ihe cquivi,. lent 01. the Uritish crown piece The reverse bears the device of two leopards, as on the arms adopted for the ooiouy. The obverse has the bust, of Ills .Majesty as in general Übc for colonial coinages.

Ihe Canberra commemorative llorins the designs andMii's for which were propared at the Mint, ivero struck a.t the .Melbourne branch JNlint.

/'i O<in Pal-'; Stiuu silver subsidi;iry pieces ot 100 imls and 50 mils, nickel-bronze pieces of 20, 10, and 5 mils, and brou/.e - and 1 mil pieces, have been coined A I alostmo gold pound piece, the equivalent ot the sovereign, has been authorised, but no proposal hns yet been made to com it.

A tew months ago bullion was trans--1 erred from the Treasury at Uukarcst to London and refined for a new gold coinage for Kumaniu in four tle-noininations-100, 50, ->5, and 20 lei the 100 and 20 lei pieces are of the form, customary in countries which originally adhered to the Latin Union. Ihu 00 and 25-lci pieces are of comparatively largo diameter ana thiuner proportion, and conform to the type of tho Austrian quadruple and double-du-cat pieces or to the sequins of Venice and of tho Ottoman Empire, of which they ure historical descendants Models of these coins were originally prepared by Monsieur Dammann of liins, but. it was in a relief which it was technically impossible to reproduce on a coinage. New model: in 1,-wer relief were therefore prepared l,y Mr lercy Mctcalfc, "who succeeded in this unusual task, without sacrificing any ot the peculiar charm of th« orieiliaJs " Air. Aletcalfe has also boon cn Ei i)jed upon a new model of the head of Kintr I'uad for the Egyptian coinage, and upon the effigy of King Feisal for the coinage of Irak.

In view of the fact that the Arms of the Dominion of Canada granted by the Itoyal Proclamation in 1921 differ 111 some respects from those shown 011 the Canadian gold coinage struck sonic years ago new dies have been prepared tor the 10 ana o-dollar pieces embodying in the reverse designs the Arms •"». now authorised. While there is „o present intention of issuing a new Canadian gold coinage, if such were ur gently called for, the anachronism of sinking the pieces with dies bearinjr superseded heraldry will now be avoidable.