Table of Contents

2. Production of Coins and Medals

2.2 How is a coin minted?

Explanation of the question 

The term "minting" is often used, yet many collectors don't know exactly how a coin or medal is actually made.

Answer

During minting, a prepared blank is deformed with very high force between specially manufactured dies. The motif engraved into the dies is transferred to the blank under very high pressure.

In the process, the blank's material must flow so that both the background and the relief are fully and faithfully struck.

Besides an accurate reproduction of the motif, other features, such as the coin's edge and specified dimensions, must also meet the respective quality requirements.

The quality of the finished collectible depends, among other things, on the properties of the blank, the quality of the dies, the manufacturing parameters used, careful handling throughout the entire production process, and not least on the properties of the minting press. The minting press must be able to reliably achieve the quality required for the respective product. To do this, it must not only generate sufficiently high pressing force but also transfer it precisely and reproducibly to the dies and blank according to the defined minting parameters. Hydraulic minting presses are therefore generally used for high-quality collector coins and collector medals. Modern hydraulic presses can generate pressing forces in the three-digit ton range while also enabling very precise control of numerous manufacturing parameters.

 

Explanation

Fundamentally, the minting process consists of three essential components:

• the prepared blank,
• the dies bearing the desired motif,
• and the minting machine or press.

During the minting process, the blank is pressed together with high force between the upper and lower dies. The resulting pressure causes the metal to deform plastically and take on even the finest details of the dies.

Depending on the product, the following, among other things, can differ:

• the pressing force used,
• the number of minting strikes,
• the minting speed,
• the design of the dies,
• the preparation of the blanks,
• as well as other manufacturing parameters.

High-quality collector coins and collector medals in particular place high demands not only on the minting tools and presses but on the entire minting process. Even minor deviations can affect the surface quality, the reproduction of detail, or the sharpness of the struck image.

 

The minting machine alone does not determine the quality of a coin. Only the interplay of suitable minting data, high-quality dies, optimally prepared blanks, precisely matched manufacturing parameters, and careful handling enables the production of high-quality collector coins and collector medals. In the following articles, we go into further aspects of this topic.

This article is part of the Satoshi Silver Academy — a knowledge platform covering modern coins, medals, blockchain technology, and high-quality collectibles.