The Currency Centre (also known as the Irish Mint) is the

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s and

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

s for the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland ( ga, Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) is Ireland's central bank, and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is the country's financial services regulator for most categories of financial firms ...

, including the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

currency. The centre is located in

Sandyford Sandyford () is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Sandyford Business District makes up much of the suburb and encompasses 4 business parks: Sandyford Business Park, Stillorgan Business Park, Central Park and ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The centre does not print the complete range of euro banknotes; other denominations are imported. The centre was designed by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Sam Stephenson Sam Stephenson (15 December 1933 – 9 November 2006) was an Republic of Ireland, Irish architect who studied at the Bolton Street School of Architecture, which is now known as Technological University Dublin. Many of his buildings gene ...

, for which he won the

RIAI Triennial Gold Medal The RIAI Triennial Gold Medal has been awarded since 1934 to the best building completed in the preceding three years by a member of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. Recipients {, class="wikitable" ! Years ! Building ! Architec ...

in 1977-1979. Construction began in 1972, with the first notes being printed in 1974. In 1976 the Currency Centre printed the first notes of Series B along with the first mint of Irish coins. Before the centre was established, Irish coins were produced in the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...

. The first euro coins were minted in the centre in September 1999, whilst the first banknotes were printed in April 2000; these commenced delivery to banks and retailers in September (coins) and October (banknotes) of 2001. The final Irish coins, based on the

Irish pound The pound (Irish: ) was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or IR£ for distinction). The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin cir ...

, were minted in September 2000 and the final banknotes were printed in April 2001. The decision to continue printing euro notes in

when those notes could be printed much more cheaply on existing presses elsewhere was described as a colossal waste of money in April 2012.

References

External links

RIAI Gold Medal for Currency CentreGoogle Maps satellite view
Irish companies established in 1978 Currencies of the Republic of Ireland Mints (currency) Mints of Europe Banknote printing companies Sandyford {{money-stub