The Belgian company Royal United Mint from the municipality of Westerlo in the Antwerp province, has acquired the oldest private mint in the United States, Osborne Coinage.
Royal United Mint is part of the Belgian holding company Groep Heylen, and is also the parent company of the Royal Dutch Mint and Mauquoy Token Company from Westerlo – the largest producer of metal coins and tokens in Europe.
"With this acquisition, we are setting foot in the United States," Royal United Mint told Belga News Agency. "We are the world leader in the coin and token market. Andre McCaster, who has been in charge of Osborne Coinage for two years, will continue the management."
Osborne Coinage is an American company, located in Cincinnati (Ohio), and is the oldest private mint in the United States. For the past 75 years, the company has been owned by the Stegman family.
Credit: Het Belgisch Munthuis
"Through Osborne Coinage, small and medium-sized customers in the US can be better served," said the Belgian company. "For example, Osborne makes payment tokens in base metals or collector tokens in precious metals for collectors and central banks."
Osborne Coinage already made tokens for the campaigns of US Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin D. Roosevelt. During World War II, Osborne Coinage made food tokens out of fibre to save on the use of metal, which was then mainly used for warfare.
