Located in Sydney's central business district at 10 Macquarie Street, it is near many other famous Australian historical buildings including Hyde Park Barracks, St James' Church and Parliament House.

[3] Its design is loosely based on ancient Greek architecture with its two tiers of columns made of cedar timber in the style of Doric mouldings.

Governor Macquarie signed an agreement with Garnham Blaxcell, Alexander Riley and D'Arcy Wentworth to build a new convict hospital in November 1810.

[4] While the architect is unknown, the inspiration for the form of the buildings is thought to have come from Macquarie's time in India, especially the Madras Government House.

Henry Kitchen wrote to Commissioner Bigge "that one would really imagine that they had been built for the very purpose of exhibiting a striking effect which such a structure would produce when in ruins".

Ward, appointed as Deputy Mint Master, designed the required buildings and stayed in England to order the equipment.

C. Trickett as Superintendent of Coining, was sent to Sydney in 1853 to direct the erection of the factory buildings and machinery and to ensure adequate security.

Ward, who had worked with Joseph Paxton on London's Crystal Palace, employed similar techniques in the construction of the Mint – prefabricated cast iron columns and trusses.

It was Trickett who selected the site and modified Ward's plans to incorporate the southern wing of the hospital as accommodation and offices with the remaining factory buildings forming the other three sides of a quadrangle.

With the blessing of the Society's president, Sir William Denison, also Governor of New South Wales, the Mint building and equipment was used for a number of experiments and became the heart of the scientific community in Sydney.

Similar to the Barracks next door, with no security of tenure there was little incentive to maintain the buildings and, instead fibro buildings filled all available spaces to meet the requirements of the Family Endowment Department (1927–1940), State Headquarters of National Emergency Service (1940-1950s), Housing Commission of NSW (mid 1940s) and the Land Tax Office (mid 1940s).

[4] It was expected that law courts would be established after the demolitions, however, activists successfully led a campaign in 1979 to preserve the Mint buildings as well as Hyde Park Barracks.

The Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, announced that the Mint would come under control of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.

"The refurbishment project is an example of the Integration of services systems (by Steensen Varming ), to provide a modern, functional headquarters while minimising the impact on the heritage and archaeological fabric of a site.

[4] In July 2016 the Mint celebrated its 200th anniversary of continuous civic function with a symposium "A future for the past" as part of a programme of events.

[4] The original Rum Hospital is a two-storey sandstone structure with a double-tier verandah around northern, western and southern sides.

[4] Attached to the south-east corner is a one-storey rectangular room with a bay window facing Macquarie Street, formerly the Library for the Deputy Mint Master's residence, now part of the Historic Houses Trust office space.

On the southern boundary, separated from the former Library by a covered breezeway is a one-storey building, originally the fitting shops and carpenters' workshops, now security centre and plant rooms for air-conditioning.

Works also included the construction of a theatrette and facilities in the north-eastern corner, forming an extension of the eastern quadrangle boundary.

The new sections are constructed of steel and glass box protected by cedar louvres and boarding, designed to mirror the Superintendent's Office.

[4] Carol Powell, who was employed to compile archival information relating to the Mint and Hyde Park Barracks, also undertook the recording of archaeological deposits exposed by the renovation works between 1977 and 1979.

Unlike the Hyde Park Barracks these spaces were barren, having been cleaned out in the mid-19th century and again when the Mint was moved to Canberra.

[4] Patricia Burritt's Stage II excavations revealed further cellars under the eastern verandah, which were probably filled at a later date than the first set.

Excavation was limited, in comparison to the Hyde Park Barracks, as minimal documentary evidence was available to direct the location of trenches.

[13][4] The Mint is of State significance as evidence of two important phases in New South Wales history – the development of the Colony under Governor Macquarie and its progress towards independence.

The site is also significant for the archaeological potential to reveal further information about the Rum Hospital and the minting process during the 19th and early 20th century.

[4] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

Together with the central barracks building, the place possesses a rich architectural history from the earliest days of European settlement in Australia.

[4] The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

[14] The barracks provide rare evidence of the standards and skills of building practice, architectural design and urban planning in early 19th century Sydney[4] This Wikipedia article contains material from Mint Building and Hyde Park Barracks Group, entry number 190 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 13 October 2018.