Sydney Mint Museum

Address: 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

The Sydney Mint is a heritage building in central Sydney that housed the colony’s first official mint and one of Australia’s earliest minting operations, established in the mid-19th century. The mint occupies part of the early colonial Rum Hospital complex.

The site contains restored masonry and interior spaces that illustrate coin production and colonial administration from the 19th century. Visitors can view period rooms and interpretive displays that explain the building’s role in producing sovereigns and other coinage.

The building began life as the Rum Hospital in the early 1800s and was converted to a branch of the Royal Mint in the 1850s, operating as a mint into the 20th century. Its adaptation from hospital to mint and later uses reflect changing civic needs in colonial Sydney.

The Sydney Mint sits on Macquarie Street in central Sydney, adjacent to Hyde Park and within the historic government and civic precinct close to Circular Quay.

• Minting history: Operated as a branch of the Royal Mint from the mid-19th century and struck gold sovereigns and other coins for the colony.
• Historic precinct: The building is part of Sydney’s historic Macquarie Street precinct and sits close to the Hyde Park Barracks and other colonial-era sites.

What to See#

• Rum Hospital core: The original Rum Hospital building dates to the early 19th century and forms the core masonry structure that later became the mint offices and workshop.
• Coining and administrative rooms: Interior spaces that housed coining machinery and administrative offices during the period the site operated as a branch of the Royal Mint.

A five- to ten-minute walk from Circular Quay or Martin Place stations. The building sits on Macquarie Street near the State Library and the Museum of Sydney precinct; arrive on foot to take in the surrounding colonial streetscape.

• Visit as part of the Museum of Sydney precinct to see period rooms and coin displays together.
• The building is historic and compact - check if guided tours are running for access to normally closed rooms.