Heaton, Ralph the Younger

English mechanic and moneyer.

Ralph Heaton the Younger apprenticed as a die-maker to Thomas Willetts from 1808 to 1812. In 1817, his father, Ralph Heaton the Elder, transferred land and property in Birmingham to him so that he could set up his own factory, which was engaged mainly in casting, die-stamping, engraving and punching. Heaton began producing coins in 1849 and changed the name of his business in 1850 to The Birmingham Mint (originally: Heaton’s Mint or Ralph Heaton and Sons). The company was considered a private enterprise even though it worked closely together with the Royal Mint. The Birmingham Mint had a successful history for over 200 years.

While Johann Conrad Fischer was in England 1851, an ironmonger put him in contact with a friend, Ralph Heaton, to discuss die-stamping. This is how Fischer made the acquaintance of Heaton, who not only showed him around his whole workshop but also gave him a present of six gold coins, which he was just then minting for the Republic of Chile. Fischer was very impressed by Ralph Heaton the Younger and had many good things to say about him in his 1851 journal.

Cite as: Heaton, Ralph the Younger. In: Travel Reports of a Pioneer: Digital Edition of the Travel Journals of Johann Conrad Fischer 1794–1851. Published by Franziska Eggimann. Edited by Franziska Eggimann, Nicolau Lutz, Valerija Rukavina und Christopher Zoller-Blundell. Schlatt 2023, Version 1.2, https://johannconradfischer.com/en/names/gfa-actors-7522, viewed on 7 June 2025.