The Royal Mint of Belgium has confirmed that it will cease its minting activities on 1 January 2018, reportedly due to overcapacity in the market.

According to local reports, the Ministry of Finance has attempted to close the Royal Mint of Belgium since 2010 due to its business being unprofitable, but has met resistance from both the public and trade unions. However, a statement on the Mint’s website confirms that the decision has now been taken to cease activities at the end of the year.

The Mint, which was founded in 1830 and began minting coins two years later, employs 25 specialised members of staff. In addition to commercial and commemorative coins it also produces national euro coins.

Since the announcement, the Department of the Treasury have made the remaining stock of coins available to consumers at discounted prices.

The announcement of the Belgium Mint closure follows that of the Royal Mint of Denmark which closed last year. Another mint, AB Myntverket which minted coins for Sveriges Riksbank, closed in 2011.