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INFO BOX WITH LOGO: Type: Private limited company Industry: Coin, medals and ingot distribution Founded: 2006 Headquarters: London Areas served: UK Owners: Samlerhuset Group Website: www.londonmintoffice.org

About the London Mint Office The London Mint Office distributes collector coins, medals and ingots in the UK. Partnerships with a variety of national Mints and numismatic suppliers enable the London Mint Office to sell Gold Sovereigns, commemoratives, silver coins and medals, London 2012 Olympic Ingots, military and other British silver/gold coins. For many coin releases, the organisation has exclusive distribution rights worldwide and in Great Britain.

History Based in London, the London Mint Office was founded in 2006 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the international Samlerhuset Group. Samlerhuset was established in Norway in 1994 and is a distributor of collector coins across Europe.

The Group has a turnover of approximately €200 million. The organisation operates in fifteen countries across Europe and China and was the first privately owned organisation to be permitted to own a national mint: the Mint of Norway. The firm was granted ownership rights for 50% of the Mint of Norway in July 2003.

In 2010, The London Mint Office was appointed by LOCOG (London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games) as an official licensee for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to strike ingots commemorating the Games.

London Mint Office exhibitions The London Mint Office has worked with several organisations to develop and encourage coin collecting in the UK. In 2006, the London Mint Office worked with Oxford University’s Ashmolean Museum to host an event showcasing English Mediaeval coinage. A research paper presented at the event concerning the coins known as the ‘Brussels Hoard’ was developed by Professor Nicholas Mayhew, Deputy Director of the museum in collaboration with Professor Svein Gullbekk of Oslo University.

In October 2009 the London Mint Office launched a collection entitled Memories of Wartime Britain in partnership with the Imperial War Museum. The collection supported the Museum’s aim of showing what life was like for ordinary Briton’s on the home front during the Second World War. It also raised funds for the museum’s continuing work.

Company registration The company is registered at Companies House with the Registered Company Number: 03470348. The VAT Number is 702 9909 27 and the address is: The London Mint Office, Harmsworth House, 13-15 Bouverie Street, EC4Y 8DP.

Charity donations The London Mint Office has raised over £100,000 for a number of charities since 2007 including Help for Heroes, The Diana Award and The Imperial War Museum. Other work being undertaken is with LOCOG (London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games) as an official licensee helping to raise funds for the staging of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Criticism In 2007 a complaint relating to London Mint Office’s TV advertising for the Britannia Penny coin collection was made to the Advertising Standards Authority (the ASA). A viewer challenged whether the advert was misleading because it did not make clear that, in order to cancel their collection or to return the coins, customers would have to ring a premium rate number to obtain a returns pack. The ASA investigated under TV Advertising Standards Code rule 5.1.2 (Misleading Advertising) but did not find the company in breach, noting that customers could also contact the London Mint Office's customer service team by email, freepost letter or by calling a freephone number. As customers were not required to call the premium rate number to request a returns pack, the ASA concluded the advert was not misleading. Source: http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2010/10/The-London-Mint-Office-Ltd/TF_ADJ_49257.aspx

In 2006 the London Mint Office attracted negative press attention because their call centre did not answer calls within pre-arranged times. The same year, a London Mint Office advertisement was criticised for not clearly stating that a £5 coin issued to celebrate the Queen's 80th birthday was legal tender on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha. The company changed its advertising to address the criticism.

The organisation has also experienced criticism relating to monthly coin deliveries on its collections; some customers were unclear as to how the collections work or being unaware of the nature of the collection from the advertising materials.  Industry regulations

The London Mint Office works with appropriate regulatory bodies connected with the commemoratives industry:

Buckingham Palace – all relevant coin design proposals are approved by both Buckingham Palace and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office prior to coins being struck by the mint.

DMA – the Direct Marketing Association is the governing body which oversees the practises of direct and mail order companies. The London Mint Office has full membership of the DMA.

SHOPS – the Safe Home Ordering Protection Scheme. Membership is mandatory for any company advertising in national newspapers with a ‘send money’ offer. The London Mint Office are full members of the scheme.

Clearcast - the company responsible for the pre-transmission examination and clearance of television advertisements. London Mint Office commercials are Clearcast approved prior to transmission.

ASA - The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK's independent regulator of advertising across all media, including TV, internet, sales promotions and direct marketing. The London Mint Office complies with all guidance and recommendations issued by the ASA.

CAP – Code of Advertising Practice. London Mint Office advertising complies with all CAP guidance notes.

References Professor Svein Gullbekk, The Brussels Hoard http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Brussels_Hoard.html?id=9PIKPQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y

External Links The official London Mint Office website can be found at: www.londonmintoffice.org

See also Help For Heroes, H4H http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help_for_Heroes

The Diana Memorial Award -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Memorial_Award

London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOCOG

Danbury Mint – Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danbury_Mint Royal Mint – Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_mint Pobjoy Mint – Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pobjoy_Mint Franklin Mint – Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Mint