Minting silver coins is a process that involves several steps, from design creation to the final striking of the coin. Here's a breakdown:
1. Coin Design
- Artist's Concept: It all starts with an artist creating a design for the coin. This design dictates the imagery, inscriptions, and overall aesthetic of the final product.
2. Die Creation
- Master Die: Based on the approved design, a master die is created. This die is a hardened steel stamp that contains the reverse (tails) image of the coin. Another die is created for the obverse (heads). These dies will be used to strike the coins.
3. Silver Preparation
- Melting and Extrusion: Pure silver is melted down. Then, it is poured and extruded into long, thin strips of the desired thickness. This ensures a consistent composition for the coins.
4. Blanking
- Punching the Blanks: The strips of silver are then fed into a blanking press, which "punches" out circular silver blanks. These blanks are essentially the raw coins, pre-design. The weight of each blank is carefully controlled to meet the coin's specifications.
5. Blank Preparation
- Cleaning and Burnishing: The silver blanks are cleaned to remove any oils or impurities accumulated during the blanking process. They are then burnished, a process that polishes and hardens the surface of the blanks, preparing them for striking.
6. Striking the Coins
- The Press: The prepared silver blanks are fed into a coin press. Each blank is positioned between the obverse and reverse dies.
- Applying Pressure: The press applies immense pressure, forcing the design from the dies onto the silver blank, thus creating the coin's detailed imagery. This is what's known as striking the coin.
The final result is a newly minted silver coin, ready for distribution or collection.
