British Pobjoy Mint is a privately held company-sector mint located in Surrey, England, which produces commemorative coins, medal, tokens and bullion. The mint also manufacturers circulating currency for some British Overseas Territories and sovereign countries including Sierra Leone and Vanuatu.
History
The mint was founded in 1965 by Derek Pobjoy who purchased a coin press after leaving his father Ernest Pobjoy's jewellery and masonry business to set up a mint. Upon the death of Winston Churchill in the same year the small mint produced a series of gold medals to commemorate coins. Since 1974, the mint has become involved in the production and international sale of new-issue postage stamps and currently exclusively coordinates the coin and stamp programmes of seven countries. As manufacturers of gold chains, gilt and enamel badges and escutcheons, regalia and insignia of all kinds, the Pobjoy Mint has been contractor to the British Crown Agents and various London jewellers, for whom it has executed commissions involving precious metals and gemstones of all kinds.
Numismatic developments
In the 1970s, the company developed a new metal alloy similar to German Silver known as Virenium which consisted of 81% Copper, 10% Zinc and 9% Nickel. This alloy has been used in non-circulating commemoratives since 1978. In 1983, the company also created the Manx noble, a bullion coin containing one troy ounce of platinum. It was the first investment coin to be made from 0.9995 fine platinum. Its production ran for 6 years from 1983 to 1989. The Noble has legal tender status although, like the South African gold Krugerrand, its value is defined only by its precious metal content as it has no numismatic value. The mint also produced the Isle of Man's Angel gold coin, from 1984 to 2016. In 1999, Pobjoy Mint issued the world's first titanium coin, the 1999 Gibraltar Millennium £5 coin
The Pobjoy Mint has struck non-circulating, circulating and pattern coins for nearly 20% of the world's governments and central banks as well as undertaking sub-contracted work for certain national mints. Many medallion issues have also been produced, notably for Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Arab States. The mint has produced eighty different medallions for the World Wide Fund for Nature collection. The mint has struck coins for the following territories
Since 1984, Pobjoy Mint has been presented with eighteen awards and other accolades including eighteen Coin of the Year Awards; the Queen's Award for Export Achievement in 1990; the Vreneli-Preis, which was awarded to Derek Pobjoy by Münzen-Revue for outstanding contribution to numismatics, in 1993; and the ISO 9001 2008 quality mark, which was awarded by BSI in recognition of the overall high standards of quality and customer service achieved by the mint. Pobjoy Mint was awarded its first Coin of the Year Award in 1984, and this has since been followed by various other awards and accolades including the prestigious Queen's Award for Export. In 1991 Pobjoy Mint was nominated in eight categories of the Coin of the Year Award 1990 and was extremely proud when it won four awards including the Overall Coin of the Year. Pobjoy Mint's Awards include: 2011 COTY Most Innovative Coin, First Place Unique Idea Solution for the Silver & Blue Crystal Life of the Sea Turtle, British Indian Ocean Territory 2009
2009 Coin Constellation, First Place Successful Artistic Solution, Sterling Silver Tutankhamun Canopic Coffinette Pyramid Coin, Isle of Man 2008
2009 COTY, Most Innovative Coin, Centenary of the First Colour Photograph, British Virgin Islands 2007
2004 COTY, Most Innovative Coin, Currency Converter, Isle of Man 2002
2003 COTY, Most Inspirational Coin, Florence Nightingale Crown, Gibraltar 2001
2000 COTY, Most Inspirational Coin, Dove of Peace, Bosnia & Herzegovina 1988
1999 COTY, Most Inspirational Coin, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, Sierra Leone 1997
1998 COTY, Best Contemporary Event, Dayton Peace Accord, Bosnia & Herzegovina 1996
1995 COTY, Most Popular Coin, Stegosaurus Crown, Gibraltar 1993
1994 Children Society Award, awarded to Pobjoy Mint for support and participation in the Daily Mail Le Walk Appeal
1993 ANA Appreciation Award, awarded to Derek Pobjoy by the American Numismatic Association for an outstanding contribution to numismatics
1993 Vreneli-Preis, awarded to Derek Pobjoy by Münzen-Revue for outstanding contribution to numismatics
1992 Medal of Merit, awarded to Derek Pobjoy by the Board of Governors of the American Numismatic Association for dedication and distinguished service to the ANA
1992 COTY, Best Crown, Penny Black Crown, Isle of Man 1990
1992 COTY, Most Popular Coin, Alley Cat Crown, Isle of Man 1990
1992 COTY, Most Innovative Coinage, Penny Black Crown, Isle of Man 1990
1992 COTY, Coin of the Year, Penny Black Crown, Isle of Man 1990
1990 Winner of Queen's Award for Export Achievement
1989 COTY, Best Crown, Olympics – Seoul Games, Cook Islands 1987
1986 COTY, Best Gold Coin, Angel, Isle of Man 1984
