When the Coining Factory of the Sydney Mint opened on 14 May 1855 it contained the most modern, cutting edge technology in the colony. Not only was much of the machinery the most advanced of its type, the buildings themselves consisted of a series of innovative, prefabricated cast-iron components. These had been prepared in England and as a packaged and transported mint it was unique. Today much of this structure and evidence of minting processes survives in the buildings.

This innovation continues today, with the adaptation of the buildings as the head office of the HHT. The firm FJMT Architects designed new buildings for the site and these intertwine with the heritage buildings, with historic structures and surviving archaeological elements integrated into the new office and public spaces. Winner of the 2005 RAIA Sulman Award for architecture and the Francis Greenway Award for conservation, the award judges described the Mint as ‘a gift to Sydney’.