1880 The Royal Mint
MI_1049
$10.50
A strong photograph of the Royal Mint building around 1880.
The architect was John James Clark who also designed the Treasury Building, the City Baths building and the Customs House, amongst other major works in Melbourne. The building was completed in 1872. The Melbourne Mint was part of the British Royal Mint and was created to handle the massive gold production in Australia and to reduce the export of gold to be turned into coinage. The Sydney Mint closed in 1926 and the Royal Melbourne Mint became the mint of the Commonwealth and the sole contractor for the production of Commonwealth coinage. The Melbourne Mint stopped production in 1968, and all coin production now occurs at the Royal Mint in Canberra. Melbourne's Royal Mint building has been given an "A" classification by the National Trust, which means that it is to be preserved unconditionally.
This magnificent building still stands today on the south-east corner of William and Latrobe Streets. The photo was taken on the corner of William Street and Little Lonsdale Street.
This is a magnificent print that has had many hours of work being retouched, to present it as crisp and as clean as we can make it. Photographer unknown.
All text © HotPress
This is a digitally retouched reproduction of the original held by the State Library of Victoria. All prints are reproduced without the HOTPRESS watermarks.
Our team of conservators have worked on a high resolution digital image in order to remove blemishes and artifacts such as stains, mould, scratches and damage caused by the handling of the original. We strive to provide authentic representations of the original work that are suitable for enlargements that retain the tones and character of the original.
