|
Bert van Ravenswaaij was officially appointed Mint Master of the Royal Dutch Mint on 1 January 2022. He had held earlier positions at the mint since 2017 and was responsible, among other things, for all issues for the collectors market, including commemorative coins and medals.
Since 1816 there has been a Mint Master who used to be formally responsible for the quality of the coins that were minted. The coins used to be formally approved by minting the privy mark on the coin. The quality process and technical approval are now fully secured in the processes at a modern mint, but Van Ravenswaaij and his team are still responsible for the visual assessment of the coins that the Royal Dutch Mint issues.
Furthermore, the Mint Master role also includes ceremonial duties. As part of that, the office of Mint Master also carries with it a personal symbol (privy mark). Together with the mint mark, this can be found on Dutch circulation coins, Dutch collectors' items and the Royal Awards, as well as on some foreign coins struck by the mint. The privy mark of Bert van Ravenswaaij is a raven. His surname comes from the Germanic word “hraban”, which means raven. A raven is an intelligent animal, strongly socially oriented. The Royal Dutch Mint wants to be at the centre of society through the various issues for the different collectors - which the privy mark underlines. |
