After 58 years, the British Pobjoy Mint will cease operations at the end of 2023 with no 2024-dated coins to be issued. Nearly 40 employees will be affected by the closure.
Derek Pobjoy founded the long-running private mint in Surrey, England, in 1965. In recent years, Managing Director Taya Pobjoy has served as the second generation of the Pobjoy family to lead the mint, which also staffs an office in Minnesota. Mint officials cited ongoing issues stemming from COVID-19, the loss of a significant client – the British royal family’s “firm” – related to King Charles III coins and the desire of its head manager to retire as the reasons behind its decision to shut down and sell its minting equipment.
The mint has about 20 presses, “some of which are proof and some of which are high speed,” according to officials. The equipment will all be offered on the market, and interested parties are asked to contact the mint in the United Kingdom. Most of the coins Pobjoy launched in 2023 are available on its website and expected to sell out by the time the mint closes its doors at year’s end. Pobjoy has struck coins for 42 countries and territories over the past five-plus decades.
The mint has led several technological developments, including a new coin alloy virenium – a silver-coloured base metal alloy in the nickel silver family – plus many “world’s first” mintages such as the first titanium coin.