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Article: Manufacturing Process for U.S. Coins


Guest Stujoe

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Guest Stujoe

<CENTER>Manufacturing Process for U.S. Coins</CENTER><br><br><B>Step 1: Blanking: </B><BR><BR><IMG HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://www.coinpeople.com/images/invdot.gif" WIDTH="25" BORDER="0">The U.S. Mint buys strips of metal approximately 13 inches wide and 1,500 feet long to manufacture the nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, and dollar. The strips come rolled in a coil. Each coil is fed through a blanking press, which punches out round discs called blanks. The leftover strip, called webbing, is shredded and recycled. To manufacture cents, the Mint buys ready-made blanks after supplying fabricators with copper and zinc.<BR><BR><B>Step 2: Annealing, Washing and Drying: </B><BR><BR><IMG HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://www.coinpeople.com/images/invdot.gif" WIDTH="25" BORDER="0">The cupronickel blanks are softened by annealing in a special furnace, then they are cleaned in large rotating barrels which contain a chemical solution that washes and polishes them, and then they are dried.<BR><BR><B>Step 3: Upsetting: </B><BR><BR><IMG HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://www.coinpeople.com/images/invdot.gif" WIDTH="25" BORDER="0">The blanks go through an upsetting mill. This raises a rim around their edges, turning the blanks into planchets. It also serves two other purposes. The edge hardens during the upsetting process, thereby preventing soft metal from squirting between the collar and the dies during stamping. It also removes any burrs and smoothes the edge, making it easier to automatically feed them into the high-speed coin presses. <BR><BR><B>Step 4: Striking</B>: <BR><BR><IMG HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://www.coinpeople.com/images/invdot.gif" WIDTH="25" BORDER="0">Finally, the planchets go to the coining press. Here, they are stamped with the designs and inscriptions that make them genuine United States legal tender coins. Most of the presses are equipped to strike four coins simultaneously, while others simultaneously strike two coins.<BR><BR><IMG HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://www.coinpeople.com/images/invdot.gif" WIDTH="25" BORDER="0">Generally, the manufacturing process is the same for all denominations, except that the edges of dimes, quarters, half-dollars and dollars are marked with tiny ridges. This process is known as &reeding&. It is done by a collar which is a part of the stamping operation. More than just a decoration, reeding was originally intended as a preventative measure to discourage the illegal shaving or clipping of the precious metal in the gold and silver coins. It has been retained on today's cupronickel clad coins not only in deference to a long-standing practice dating back to colonial days, but also as a distinct aid to the visually handicapped.<BR><BR><B>Step 5: Inspection: </B><BR><BR><IMG HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://www.coinpeople.com/images/invdot.gif" WIDTH="25" BORDER="0">A press operator uses a magnifying glass to spot-check each batch of new coins. <BR><BR><B>Step 6: Counting and Bagging: </B><BR><BR><IMG HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://www.coinpeople.com/images/invdot.gif" WIDTH="25" BORDER="0">An automatic counting machine counts the coins and drops them into bags. The canvas bags used to ship coins are purchased from commercial suppliers. Each bag is weighed before shipment to ensure that it contains the correct number of coins. One-dollar coin bags contain $2,000; bags of ten-cent coins, quarter-dollar coins and half-dollar coins contain $1,000; five-cent coin bags contain $200; and one-cent coin bags contain $50. The bags are sealed, loaded on pallets, and taken by forklifts to be stored. New coins are shipped by truck to Federal Reserve Banks. From there, the coins go to your local bank.<BR><BR><B>Step 7: Shipping:</B><BR><BR><IMG HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://www.coinpeople.com/images/invdot.gif" WIDTH="25" BORDER="0">The final step in the manufacturing process is when the United States Mint ships the newly-made coins to the Federal Reserve Banks for distribution into the economy through the banking system.<P ALIGN="center"><I>Courtesy of the US Treasury Department</I></P>

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