How Are Coins Made?

History

• The first government secured coins were created in ancient Greece in the seventh century B.C. Coins were initially made of an alloy of silver and metal known as electrum, but in less than 200 years, coins were being made of pure gold and silver. These early coins, like modern coins, were of uniform weight and had images pressed into their front and back surfaces. From this point forward, virtually every important nation has had its own coinage, but the basics of coin creation have changed very little.

Material

• Until the 1900s, the majority of coins were made with precious metals. This guaranteed their value in the marketplace. The two most common metals used to mint coins were gold and silver. Smaller denominations were sometimes made of bronze, nickel or other less valuable metals. In the mid 1900s, the U.S. (among other places) began to mint clad coins out of metal alloys. This was done because of the skyrocketing price of silver and gold.

Images

• Once the material is decided upon, the next step in creating a coin is drawing up the images that will grace it. After the initial drawing is complete (and the design approved), a large model is created out of clay and plaster, digitally scanned and finally perfected. This entire process may be run through several times until the coin is perfect.

Dies

• The dies are the stamping surfaces that impart the image on the coin. Making dies starts with making a master hub out of a steel blank. A hub is a stamp that imparts the relief image into the master die. Once the master die has been created, it is meticulously measured and polished. Then a set of working hubs are created from the master die, followed by a set of working dies created from the working hubs. These working dies are what impart the images onto the coins.

Blank Preparation

• At the mint (the facility where coins are made), blanks--coins without any images--are cut from large slabs of metal called ignots. The blanks are the heated (usually to more than 700 degrees Celsius), then cooled and washed in order to remove imperfections. Once the coin is dried, it is sent to a machine that raises the edges of the blank (the raised rim protects the finished coin's design) and reduces the size of the blank to the specific coin to be minted. Reeded edges and inscriptions are added to the sides of the coin. The prepared blank is now known as a planchet.

Coining

• The process of coining is the final process in creating a coin. Stamping is the first step in coining. Stamping imparts the image on the coin (both obverse and reverse at the same time). One die (the anvil) is stationary while the other die (the hammer) strikes the coin. The force required to strike coins differs depending on the material of the coin. Coins are then personally inspected for quality. If they meet quality standards, they are electrically counted and scanned before being bagged and distributed. With the exception of the automated machines and computer scans, the historical coin production process was very similar to this.