Llantrisant’s Royal Mint to launch jewellery brand as fewer people using coins

Llantrisant’s Royal Mint is to launch their own jewellery brand, as fewer people are using coins.

With the rise of the cashless society, they produced only 437m coins in 2020-21, compared with 1.35bn just four years before, they said.

As the need for coins has reduced, the mint has turned its attention to fine jewellery and homewares to sell under its new ‘886’ brand- its name noting the year that the mint first began to produce coins.

The first jewellery produced alongside Makers Cabinet and Yard O Led will include earrings, necklaces, cuffs and rings, they told the Financial Times.

They said that they hoped that as a UK based company they would be able to appeal to customers on the basis of supporting British businesses and sustainability.

“This isn’t a pet project,” Chief Growth officer Sean Millard told the Financial Times. “It’s a genuine desire to play a significant part in this market, but an even more genuine desire to play the role that we’ve set out for this business, which is to diversify revenues and create jobs.

“And, unless we are a big player, we will not achieve those objectives.”

The precious metals used will also be recycled from circuit boards of discarded mobile phones and laptops after the mint signed a licence agreement with Canadian start-up Excir, to produce 550kg of recovered gold per year.

The mint said that they planned to employ 21 people on a full-time basis in 2022, rising to 100-120 in five years.

Anne Jessopp, Chief Executive of The Royal Mint, said: “We are transforming our business for the future – expanding into areas which complement our expertise in precious metals, champion sustainability and support employment.

“Our investment in a new plant will see The Royal Mint become a leader in sustainably sourced precious metals and provide the UK with a much-needed domestic solution to the growing problem of electronic waste.”