It was established in 1998 as the result of a merger between the Karlsruhe and Stuttgart mints. Nonwithstanding the merger, the two formerly separate mints have retained their respective mint marks: 'F' for Stuttgart and 'G' for Karlsruhe.
The SMBW has been chosen[1][2] by the Latvian government to mint its euro coins, since Latvia joined the eurozone on 1 January 2014.