The Mint

The Mint on Macquarie Street features a long, two-story veranda of cast iron that distinguishes it from the surrounding sandstone buildings. Originally built as the southern wing of the Rum Hospital in eighteen sixteen, the structure functioned as an official branch of the Royal Mint from eighteen fifty-five until nineteen twenty-six. During the gold rush, workers processed raw nuggets here into millions of gold sovereigns that circulated throughout the British Empire. The building now houses the offices of the Historic Houses Trust.