A Tale of Two Mints!!

Perth Mint in Perth, Western Australia opened in 1899. Sir John Forrest (the first Premier of Western Australia) laid the foundation stone in 1896. The building was designed by George Temple Poole and the National Trust made it one of the first buildings to be entered on the State's heritage register.

The reason why it was built was due to the discovery of rich gold deposits in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. It was the third branch of Britain's Royal Mint - the others being the Sydney Mint and the Melbourne Mint.

People came from around Australia and the world in large numbers with their raw deposits of gold which was then melted and turned into gold coins. The Mint stopped making gold sovereigns when Britain abandoned the gold standard in 1931.  Nevertheless, the refinery remained busy as staff turned their skills to making fine gold bullion bars.  


In 1940, with Australia on a war footing, an urgent telegram arrived from the Commonwealth Treasury in Canberra: "Heavy demand for Australian coin and Melbourne Mint working full capacity.  Could you undertake minting copper coin?"
Hundreds of millions of Australian pennies and half pennies were produced by The Perth Mint between 1940 and 1964.  The Mint also fulfilled an order for 1.3 million shillings in 1946.  Its considerable output was boosted further when Australia introduced decimal currency in 1966.  It had produced a staggering 829 million 2 cent coins and 26 million
1 cent coins by 1973.

The Perth Mint remained under Britain's jurisdiction until 1 July 1970, when ownership transferred to the State Government of Western Australia.  

The Perth Mint is open 7 days a week and they do guided tours for a fee. On this tour you can see historic Perth mint coins, the worlds largest gold bar collection, gold being poured and Australia's largest nugget collection.  There is gift shop where you can buy coins, jewellery and souvenirs.  Definitely worth a visit.

The other mint was a recipe of mine which I know you will enjoy!

                                                   
                                                           Chocolate Mint Slice

Ingredients

Base 
One and a half cups self raising flour 
2 tbsp cocoa 
1 cup coconut 
Half a cup brown sugar 
125g unsalted butter, melted
 
Filling 
30g copha, melted
2 cups icing sugar 
2 tbsp milk 
Half teaspoon of peppermint essence
 
Chocolate layer
125g dark chocolate
 30g unsalted butter


Method
 
Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter a 16cm x 26cm x 3cm slice tray and line with baking paper.

Combine flour, cocoa, coconut and brown sugar in a bowl, stir in melted butter and mix until well combined. Press mixture into slice tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

To make filling, place icing sugar in a small bowl, stir in melted copha, milk and peppermint essence. Spread filling over warm base. Place tray in fridge for about 30 minutes until filling is cold.

To make the topping, melt butter and chocolate together, stir until smooth. Spread chocolate over peppermint filling.

Leave at room temperature to set and then slice into squares. I usually slice through the chocolate layer first, then go back and cut right through the base.