Stamping blanks or planchetts... DIY coining, I need help!

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Ok guys.

I'm going out on a limb here and hoping that there are some old school metal machinists here that can help me out with getting started on my next "project".

I have been perfecting my ingot casting down and have perfected making a nice uniform blank ingot. I can pour them well in brass and bronze, but mostly i have been making them in silver. Bought a lot of silver when it was cheap(er) and have been playing with it ever since.

Anyway.

I am interested in having some dies made to where I can stamp these into "art bars". But thats pretty much where my knowledge ends.

l know I need dies, and I know I need a press. But I have no idea where to look. Does anyone know where to go for getting coining dies? And on a press. Do I have to get a big hydraulic press, or is there a manual one that uses force like a break.

Any insight or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Lost wax may be better for you. Also, it is a process that is fairly easy to learn and can turn out excellent parts that are near machine quality.
 
I'm a retired toolmaker/machinist, but I am not a die maker, nor do I claim to know much about dies. They are a specific part of the machining trade, with few machinists advancing to that particular level.

You can use various types of presses to coin silver, OBI, coining, hydraulic four post, etc., but the size of your intended object will dictate the size of press. It takes considerable tonnage, so don't get too excited about your idea until you've explored the die making proposition, and have an idea of the tonnage you'll require. Unfortunately, I don't have any formulas that will help.

You'll likely have to turn to a die maker for the die----although most of the companies that make stamps likely are now equipped to make proper dies. They use EDM's instead of other methods (machining with a pantograph, for example), which has allowed dies to be made somewhat more easily, and by people that may not have die making credentials.

I have a 100 ton four post press that I may use for coining a 1 ounce gold medallion some time in the future. It was a manual hydraulic, but I will convert it to powered hydraulic. A press such as this would serve your needs, assuming you can find one. If your production would be limited, you could actually strike the medallions by hand power, assuming you can find someone to build your die. It would be slow, but you likely won't be selling your wares in huge volume and could work adequately.

Truth be told, a crude die could be made by anyone that has modest skills on a milling machine, although your final product would likely resemble one so made.

You mentioned casting your planchets. They are generally die punched from material that has been rolled to the proper thickness, in order to control weight. It's very difficult to cast a precise amount of metal, in part because droplets have a way of being left behind when you pour. I had that very problem when I used to pour ingots of both gold and silver. Rarely do you get one that weighs the amount you desire. You might keep that in mind, and consider a set of powered rolls if you intend to pursue this with a vengeance. I suppose the alternative is to strike a cast planchet in a plain die (to level the surfaces), then adjusting the weight before striking the detail. I expect you'd get mixed results because of the questionable surface on the ingot. Food for thought.

Regards choosing the type of press----I don't have enough knowledge to guide you, but you may benefit by doing some research on coining. There are presses built specifically for that purpose, and you may have good fortune to find one surplus.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Harold
 
The press that the Alaska Mint, in Anchorage, uses to strike medallions uses 350 tons pressure. The die look like they weigh a bunch too. Certainly does not look like the type of equipment a casual user would ever be wanting to have around.
 
Thanks for the pointers, I will set out for more knowlwge and keep you posted.

The die making world seems to be a bit closed off. While most topics have hordes of info on them online I have found very little about the process of die making.

Any ideas of a good place to start for finding a die maker?
 
mrgreenblack said:
Thanks for the pointers, I will set out for more knowlwge and keep you posted.

The die making world seems to be a bit closed off. While most topics have hordes of info on them online I have found very little about the process of die making.

Any ideas of a good place to start for finding a die maker?
Click to expand...
I suggested a stamp making firm. Check the yellow pages for such an outfit. I'm not sure they'd do it, but they make simple dies all the time. That's all stamps are if you think about it. The difference is a die for coinage will be set up in a shoe, so the two components (punches, top and bottom, align with the center piece, which forms the OD of the unit. It would also have the capability to remove the object from the die when the press opened, so you don't have to fight with it. Round is easier to make for obvious reasons, although if you can find a good die man, he'd have no trouble producing any configuration you desire, especially if he has CNC available to him.

Your comments about the lack of information. It's a bit of a black art. Most of the guys learned by working under old masters. Could be that today there are schools that teach the basics, but it takes a heap of experience to be an accomplished die maker. It truly is an art. I don't know that they protect the information so much as it doesn't make good reading, so it's not well published. Who the hell cares, really! :)

Regards tonnage-----if you find it's gets out of hand quickly, remember that the thickness isn't important---surface area is. You might consider a small diameter object that is fairly thick. Lowers the requirements considerably.

Harold
 
This website has machinists of all descriptions, here you'll find a tool and die maker willing to make your stamp.

Lots of free cad software on the net, if you have Corel use it to design your coin stamp.

http://www.rfqwork.com/
 
Well here's a topic I can really shed light on. I do a lot of stamping as I build silver parade saddles. I have three different presses that we stamp out all kinds of conchos, figures, plates, etc. These stampings are out of 22 ga. sterling and German Silver. Stamping dies are not cheap. But they are not out of this world either. If you plan on stamping a planchett with great detail and relief, say, like a coin, then you are going to need a lot of tonnage and some very costly dies. But, if you are just wanting to stamp words or simple designs into the blank, then you can get by rather cheap. If you need to locate a very good die-maker, then I suggest you call this company and ask to talk to Jimmy. This guy will take the time to talk to you and shed light on any questions you may have. Super-nice guy. He knows dies like Steve knows acid. And tell him Scott from Iowa gave you his name.

Henry A. Evers Corp.,Inc.
72 Oxford St.
Providence, RI 02905
401-781-4767
800-553-8377

Good luck and happy stamping!

I've added a pic of one of the stampings I make. This one is 22 ga. nickel silver.
 

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I have looked into having coins minted before by a token company, they will use your silver and they do not charge much for the initial set up, just google token companies. I cant recall exact prices but its not as expensive as anyone thinks,,,, Frog
 
Hi all:

This is my first post on this forum... I was invited here by a member that goes by the name of "junkelly" from another forum I frequent that has to do mostly with base metals and whatnot.

I have been doing metal work since the early 1970s... mostly knives and swords... but delved into coining in 2001 when I purchased my first antique screw press. I've been learning die-making and coining almost as a recapitulation of the historical development of the process. I'd say that I've made it up to the late 1800s at this stage. My website is at http://www.shirepost.com
click the "coinage" link and then down at the bottom there's a "workshop tour" to see what the shop looks like. There are eight presses on the floor right now... four manual screw presses, two powered screw presses, a knuckle press and a hydraulic.... ranging in power from about 5 tons up to 320 tons. I've acquired an experiential feel for what needs to be done to accomplish a particular task... a feel gained through breaking a lot of dies that weren't made heavy enough... by having many coins that failed to strike up through being poorly designed with overly high relief, and by pushing the boundaries of what a press can do. I've had collars snap and pieces of steel zing past my head, and have gained an appreciation for the OSHA type guards that are found on more modern presses.

My main effort over the last couple of years has been learning the almost-lost art of hobbing dies. I've managed to amass a fairly large collection of vintage hubs and dies from the 1920s to the 1980s.

My primary interest is fantasy coins... meaning coins related to fantasy or mythology. I like making coins that emulate various periods of history and evoke the "sense of place" when held in the hand. To me coins are a tactile art form... putting them in a plastic holder is a horror... they are meant to be held, felt, hefted, flipped, rolled, and rubbed.

At the moment I'm working on a bullion project in which sorted pre-'82 copper cents are "overstruck" with a new design, redefining them by their weight and fineness rather than as fiat currency.

All this is just a hobby that's gotten a bit out of control... my "real job" is as a geologist doing exploration work, mostly gold, copper, uranium etc. which puts me out in the desert a lot. But I like to mess around in the workshop when I'm home.

Anyway, glad to be here and it looks like there is a lot of interesting activity taking place here!
 
Help! I have several hundred very small (1 grain) round, solid gold (24K) planchettes that were produced by Cohen Mint in New York. I'm looking for some way to stamp them into small coins.

Bill Carleton
[email protected]
 
karmakat said:
Help! I have several hundred very small (1 grain) round, solid gold (24K) planchettes that were produced by Cohen Mint in New York. I'm looking for some way to stamp them into small coins.

Bill Carleton
[email protected]
Click to expand...

Wow, your idea smarts sound karmakat. Well, if you wanna a stamp those 24 carat golds planchettes into small coins. You should get connected with a metal stamping company. And, if you want a good Metal Stamping and tool and die company I know one. That is bastesville tool and die company which has been a leading company for precision metal stamping, welding, tool and die, etc. You can follow the link and check them out.:)
 
at Knotsberry fram I saw some Celtic dudes selling hand made pendants made from brass, silver, gold etc. Simple process (if not rough and ancient looking) but they had literally a drop hammer and dies. They had a steel block weighing about 100#, they pulled it up with a small block and tackle, put the blank in between 2 dies and let it drop. Voila! Coin! You could fab the sucker for the price of the steel, getting the dies wuold be the expense. Obviously these coins had the rough edge but looked freaking cool!

mlgdave
 
The largest arbor press I've had access to was a 5 ton compound leverage type. You might get away with some small diameter very thin blanks but I expect it to be drastically under sized. The lack of ram guidance in an arbor press would put your tooling at constant risk.

I worked with an 80 ton Komatsu with hydraulic overload that might serve well for this, both blank and coin within limits. I have seen them sell on eBay for under 10K.
 

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