From Mint to Museum: Craft, Design and the Making of Britain and Ireland's Coinage

Name: From Mint to Museum: Craft, Design and the Making of Britain and Ireland's Coinage
Start: 2026-04-04T13:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-04-04T16:00:00+01:00
Location: Ulster Museum, Belfast

Schedule

Sat Apr 04 2026 at 01:00 pm to 04:00 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Ulster Museum, Belfast | Belfast, NI

Look behind the scenes of numismatic history from hidden museum stores and historic minting tools, to the designers who shaped modern coin design.
This event draws together two complementary presentations, offering audiences a rare opportunity to get behind the scenes of numismatic history.
The first part of the event provides an insider’s view of the Royal Mint Museum and its vital role in preserving and interpreting Britain’s numismatic heritage. Drawing on twelve years of practical experience at the Museum, Susan Sandford examines how the museum store operates not only as a physical archive but also as a space for storytelling.
The event then turns to the transformative period of the 1920s and 1930s, when British and international coin design was dominated by two remarkable figures: George Kruger Gray and Percy Metcalfe. Through illustrated examples, David Rowe explores how their work came to shape coinage not only in Britain and Ireland but across the world.
The day will finish with a 30 minute curator-led tour of the medals in the History Galleries from 16:00 to 16:30.
Please note, this is a free event taking place in the Belfast Room at Ulster Museum.