Coinage (Measurement) Bill

Justine Greening Excerpts

Friday 4th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster). I think it fair to say that he has definitely had his money’s worth, for the Bill has plainly captured the imagination of the House.

In many respects, this is an historic day. Bills relating to coinage do not come along very often, but here we have a private Member’s Bill that will change the way in which we can create coinage for our country. It is not complicated, it is not really controversial—except perhaps in the respect cited by my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North (Mr Nuttall) at the end of his speech—and hopefully it will not lead to division, but will receive universal support from all parties.

British coinage has a rich and colourful past, stretching back beyond the memories of even our most seasoned parliamentarians. The Royal Mint alone is nearly 1,100 years old. Having journeyed from its first home in the Tower of London to Tower Hill, it now resides in Llantrisant in Wales. Equally interesting are the many intricate laws that govern our currency, defining appearance, weight, size and scale. Each of those laws is important in its own right, and each is steeped in tradition dating back many centuries.

King Offa, the King of Mercia who was considered to be the greatest Anglo-Saxon ruler of the 8th century, was responsible for the establishment of a new currency based on the silver penny, which, while undergoing many design changes, was the standard coin of England for many centuries. In 1060 AD, a coin shaped like a clover was minted in England. The user could break off any of the four leaves and use them as separate pieces of currency. Perhaps more worryingly, until 1790 every woman convicted of counterfeiting gold or silver coin of the realm was sentenced to be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution and there

“to be burned with fire till she was dead”.

For reasons that have been made clear, protection of the coinage is paramount in the value of a nation’s currency. Over the next few days, the Royal Mint will be conducting the Trial of the Pyx, with which Members may not be familiar. It dates back to 1282, and is used to verify that the gold, silver and cupro nickel coins made through the ages meet the required specifications, to guarantee that the Master of the Mint has not been stealing any of the state’s precious metals, and—perhaps most relevant to our modern times—to ensure that Britain’s coins satisfy the standards set by the Coinage Act 1971. Following all those centuries of tradition, the 1971 Act brought together and rationalised some of the ancient laws that I mentioned earlier. It was instrumental in the creation of the modern coinage system, because decimalisation began at that time, and it is the legislation on which we are seeking to build today.

While reinforcing the historic pageantry of the Trial of the Pyx, the 1971 Act also did away with some of the more unusual provisions that had developed over the decades. I am sure that Members are relieved to learn that, thanks to the Act, there is no longer a provision which allows, by means of proclamation and without any control by Parliament, the introduction of foreign coins to the currency of the United Kingdom. Although the Act allowed the Chancellor to remain Master of the Mint, he was no longer to be known as its Warden or Worker, those roles and titles having fallen into disuse. Before they did so, however, they were positions of significance which were held by some formidable historical figures.

For instance, Sir Isaac Newton served as both Master and Warden of the Mint. Apparently he treated his position as Warden with the utmost seriousness, going to great personal lengths to tackle the counterfeiting of coins following the Great Recoinage of 1696. He reportedly disguised himself to pursue the counterfeiters before personally interrogating them. I am sure that the present Master of the Mint would not hesitate to go to such lengths, and it is probably just as well that the Serious Organised Crime Agency shoulders that burden in modern times.

Newton also brought about the move from silver to the gold standard for pound coins—further evidence of the long, historical evolution of this country’s coinage. As I have said, 1971 was the year of another great innovation, as that was the year in which the UK adopted a decimal currency, although Parliament first considered and rejected the idea nearly 150 years earlier. With the Olympics just around the corner, let us hope that we can make faster progress on the proposal in the Bill, which would allow the Royal Mint to play a part in the success of London 2012. The linkage of an historic institution with the chance for London and the UK to host an historic sporting event makes a huge amount of sense, as the Royal Mint’s mission statement makes clear:

“The Royal Mint will be a national treasure, at the heart of every momentous personal occasion and coin collection”.

By supporting the Bill, we support the Royal Mint in achieving that mission, helping to place it even closer to the heart of what will surely be a momentous national occasion while it continues to be a valuable asset to the British economy.

Speaking without any sense of irony, even in this challenging economic environment the Royal Mint has continued to make money for this country. For the fourth year running it has produced a substantial profit, and it continues to deliver on its five-year strategy. Its first responsibility is to make and distribute United Kingdom coins, blanks and official medals, but it also makes coins and medals for an average of 60 countries every year. In fact it makes coins for countries as diverse as Macau, Malawi, the Maldives, the Falkland Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Jamaica, Jersey, Bahrain, Botswana and other countries all over the world. Last year, it was able to expand its international coin business against a backdrop of tough business conditions. Critically, it provided the Treasury as shareholder with a dividend of about £4 million.

I am proud to say that the Royal Mint is the first mint in the world to be awarded accreditation to the international social accountability standard SA8000, which is designed to ensure safe working conditions and fair management practices. Last year, after becoming Economic Secretary, I was keen to go to Llantrisant to meet the people who work at the Royal Mint and take a look at their production line, so I have seen in person how the Mint meets those high standards. It was fantastic to meet the management team and staff, and to have the chance to see the benefits of investment in the business. Like any normal person, I found it amazing to see so many freshly minted coins in huge boxes waiting to be packed and bagged up so that they could go into circulation. The machines that produced them were incredible—a bit like the reverse of a slot machine when people win—spitting them out at a fast pace. It was an incredible place to go, and I look forward to my next visit.

[Christopher Pincher]

The Minister mentioned new coins and their reverse. Out of deference to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, should we not consider putting the Welsh dragon on the back of our coins? We have just about every other symbol, and may well have some more as a result of the Olympic games, yet the Welsh dragon is missing from the reverse side of our coins. Will the Minister take up that issue?

[Justine Greening]

I am sure that the Royal Mint advisory committee will have listened to my hon. Friend’s comments with interest. As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, the Royal Mint changes the themes of its coins from time to time, which is one of the interesting things about UK coinage. Doubtless, it will want to take on board his suggestion.

Today our focus is not only on the Mint’s industrial and commercial achievements, but on its services to the promotion and celebration of British sport. From the 50p sports series, to the Celebration of Britain coins, to the Faster, Higher, Stronger gold sovereigns, the Royal Mint has a wide-ranging Olympic coin programme that caters for children, sports fans and professional coin collectors alike. We are concerned today with allowing the production of coins that will be of great interest to professional collectors and others.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North said, very large coins have become a part of many countries’ commemorative coin offerings. My hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) expressed concern about a slot machine big enough to take a 1 kg coin. He would probably have even greater concerns for the Canadian Royal Mint, which produced a 100 kg fine gold coin with a face value of 1 million Canadian dollars. Different countries take different approaches. The French Monnaie de Paris produced a glamorous diamond-studded gold coin. Those coins are, of course, exclusive products for a limited number of customers. That does not mean that the proposal before us is not worth while.

Although the Bill that my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North is promoting is intended to help the Mint to create kilo coins for the 2012 Olympics, it will also allow coins of that size to be struck for other significant events in future. It is important to do all we can to create a level playing field on which the Royal Mint can compete, appealing to collectors worldwide, even at the top end of the market. However, the Olympic coin programme has been designed to ensure the widest possible levels of participation.

Coins of many denominations will be produced, providing an accessible opportunity for those just starting their collections to own a commemorative Olympic coin for as little as £2.99. That is one of the reasons why it was fantastic that “Blue Peter” was able to be part of the design process. I shall come to that in a moment. The non-numismatists will not miss out; we all, I hope, look forward to seeing Olympic coins in our pockets as they enter general circulation between now and 2012, and we will have them as a reminder of a fantastic event long after our games have finished.

I am happy to report that the Royal Mint has opened up the design process to a wider group than ever before. Design competitions have been organised by “Blue Peter”. Designs have been submitted by countless secondary school children, art and design colleges, and members of the public. Although not all the results of the contests have been decided, I remind the House of one further competition winner—the Royal Mint. Following a competitive tender procedure, the Royal Mint has, as we heard, secured the honour of producing our Olympic and Paralympic medals. That further cements the important relationship between the London 2012 Olympics and our world-class export mint.

I urge hon. Members across the House to take a look through the brochure that the Royal Mint has produced, showing the 50p coin collection that will be issued. There are some wonderful designs. My personal favourite is No. 12, the athletics 50p, which is the one designed by “Blue Peter” viewers. It is brilliant. It will make everybody who sees it and uses it over the coming years smile every time they fish it out of their wallet or purse.

We all want the 2012 games to be a resounding success. I, like my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North, have strong constituency ties to the Olympics. Those include potential Olympians such as Jessica Harper, who has been identified as a future champion by British Swimming’s disability swimming section. Locally, Southfields underground station will be a key Olympic gateway for people to get to the All England club, where the Olympic tennis events are to be held. We are delighted in my constituency that last year it became the 60th station to be step-free. We will have the experience of one of the Olympic events just down the road from us. We are used to having Wimbledon every year, but June and July 2012 will be even busier than we are used to. I am delighted that during the rest of the year Southfields station will be accessible to all of my constituents in a way that it just was not before, and there have been further improvements to make it safer and easier to use.

The Olympics are fantastic for our country and we must make the most of the opportunities that they bring. The Bill is part of enabling us to do that—enabling the Royal Mint to be part of the process.

[Christopher Pincher]

We have heard a lot this afternoon about the Olympics and their being the driving reason for a 1 kg coin to be struck, but next year we will also enjoy the diamond jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. Does my hon. Friend think that when we mint an Olympic coin, it would be appropriate to mint a similar coin in honour of Her Majesty’s jubilee?

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend raises a very good point. I am sure that future events of national cultural or historical significance, such as the one that he describes, could be commemorated in this way. However, the final decision would be taken by Her Majesty the Queen and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the advice, as I have said, of the Royal Mint advisory committee on the design of coins, medals, seals and decorations.

The background to this issue is twofold. First, the Royal Mint has more than 50 years of experience in the international commemorative coin market, and secondly, historical data from previous Olympic games show that the kilogram coins are big sellers. In fact, 14,000 were sold at Sydney 2000 and 20,000 were sold at Beijing 2008, and we have high hopes that we will see that figure rise when the Royal Mint issues its coins for London 2012.

The Royal Mint regularly attends international seminars with other mints, numismatists, collectors and trade partners, from which it is clear that there is a sizeable international market for kilogram coins. As I said, they first featured in the international commemorative coin market in 1992. They tend to be attractive to numismatists across the world, not just due to their size and the high-profile artists who design them, but because ultimately they become works of art as well as an investment opportunity. During the past 10 years, more than 40,000 Olympic kilogram coins have been issued around the world and their ongoing popularity makes them an important addition to any international Mint’s commemorative coin range.

Not only does the Bill give us the benefit of being able to continue what seems to be becoming a tradition by having an Olympic kilogram coin for London 2012, it will mean that we strengthen the Royal Mint’s ability to compete further in the commemorative coin market. We all need to do our bit to make the 2012 Olympics a games that we can be proud of. The Royal Mint wants to do its bit, and that is why the Bill is necessary. It is good for the games, good for the Exchequer and good for the country too.

I repeat my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North for promoting the Bill, which the Government wholeheartedly support, and I look forward to further discussions on it.