We are always talking about how coins are made. Thought it might be fun to see any images folks have saved of the equipment used in the process. I only have a couple. I'm not sure what this one is. I'm guessing the blanking press. Maybe it's the machine used to bring the strip to the proper thickness.
I have some of the Denver Mint but will have to search for them on my external HD. If I find it; then I will post here. OOPS!!! sorry I only have the postcards...I remember now I was not allowed to take pictures inside the Mint. I do have some on the outside; but I am sure that is not what you are looking for. Sorry.
Looks like clad sheeting being fed into punch. Want a job at the mint? Then you gotta be able to lift one of those rolls, seen at left on to the feed spindle! Cal
Judging from the recent crash in Delaware, PLUS what I know about the new nickel alloy plans, I'd guess that the step shown above is now done outside the Mint by a contractor, not that I think that's a good idea.
It's almost certainly the blanking press. Rolling the coil to the specified thickness and tolerance is done by the coil producer before delivery to the mint.
Do they do ANY blanking in-house any more? Looks like more and more, blanking is done before the blanks ever see a mint building.
I remember my first Philly mint tour. We got to pet the mules that turned the screw presses and everything.
This pup is at the old New Orleans mint building, but IIRC the sign said this particular one was never used there.
I'm not positive that blanking is still done in-house, but I'd be very surprised if not, as blanking is far from being a bottleneck in the process. Depending on the tonnage of the press used, they can produce dozens of blanks in a single stroke of the press. It takes far more time per coin to strike the design onto the planchet with the dies. Besides, the inbound coil (OP photo) is un-perforated, leaving blanking as the only subsequent press operation before the blanks are riddled and edge milled.
But then why would a truckload of already cut blanks be spilled all over I-95 in Delaware, headed for Philly? In addition, I know for certain the Mint does NOT cut blanks in any of the 3 bullion metals, and their plans for the new nickel alloy include blank cutting BY THE FOUNDRY that came up with the alloy.
Good questions all. I strongly suspect the blanking of bullion coinage is outsourced for 2 reasons: To make someone else responsible for security during as many operations as possible in the process, and To transfer the high cost of carrying bullion inventory to the vendor, rather than bearing most of that cost at the mint. Government operations are not known for being as efficient as private industry, and therefore, it is more affordable for the vendor to move the metal through whatever process steps the government is willing to outsource. Even for non-bullion blanks, it probably now make more sense for the mint to farm that work out for the very same reason . . . an inability to match the vendor's efficiency on a cost basis. It's entirely possible that no blanking is currently being done at the mints, and that the photo of the BP-05 press is not very current.
I'm interested in the names of the manufacturers of the coining presses. What were some of those names, and what are the more contemporary companies that make presses?
The iron-arch early presses shown here were manufactured by Morgan & Orr, which was here in Philadelphia. The current US Mint equipment is (I believe) mostly horizontal presses from Schuler, who currently (along with Grabener) dominate the worldwide market. These presses are capable of 850 strikes per minute - when you contemplate that, you can understand how the sheer velocity of the coins moving through the system pretty much guarantees untouched Superb Gem examples will be few and far between. You should ask @dcarr about his equipment. I'm surprised he didn't mention it earlier.