1786 Matthew Boulton struck 100 tons of copper coins for the East India Company.
1788 Boulton approached the British government with a proposal for minting low value coins by machine, as an improvment on the hand-made process then in use. This would help to alleviate the shortage of copper coins in Britain and would cost less. Samples were available in May although the first order from the government did not come for 10 years. Boulton built the first steam-powered mint, near to his manufactory at Soho (grid reference SP051890) in Handsworth, near Birmingham, taking sheet and strip copper from there.
Business in manufacturing coins, medals, tokens and mint machinery came from the colonies and elsewhere. The mint contained eight machines, driven by steam engine, each capable of striking 70 to 84 coins per minute.
In addition to copper domestic coins, silver coins were made for some of the colonies, and various medals were struck.
1809 After Matthew Boulton's death, the Mint was directed by Matthew Robinson Boulton.
1841 MRB's son Matthew Piers Watt Boulton took over from his father until it closed in 1850
1850 On 1 April, the auction was announced of equipment from the defunct Soho Mint. Some of the machinery was bought at auction by the new Birmingham Mint of Ralph Heaton II.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia
- The Lunar Men, by Jenny Uglow, Faber and Faber, 2002