The History of Industrial Era Coins

Hammered Coins

In the Ancient times, up until the 1550 AD, the process of creating coins involved striking a piece of metal between two dies. This process, known as "hammered coinage", was a slow process that sometimes required 2 people, one to hammer and one to hold the dies in place. Eventually, sheets of metal of the correct diameter were used to create multiple coins at once. This was used to meet the rising demand of coins used in business transactions. Unfortunately, this process created a few problems. Trying to create multiple coins at once made the coins more generic. This led to the easier counterfeiting of coins. This is because none of the coins were the exact diameter that they were suppose to be. Furthermore, the coins were not perfectly round. This allowed for the edges of the coins to be clipped of precious metals. This is why another method was needed. However, it wasn't until the renaissance and the industrial era that the technology was available to invent a better method. (2)

Casting Coins

Casting coins is the process of pouring melted metal into a pre-made mold. This process was an alternative to creating coins during the ancient times. It was used mostly in Asia. This method was more beneficially than the "hammering method" because up to a dozen coins could be created from one mold as opposed to just one per strike. In addition, cleaner, more refined coins were produced which prevented fraudulent coins and removing of slivers of precious metals from coins. (2)   

Milling Coins

During the Industrial Revolution, "milled coinage", or "milled edge coins", became mainstream. Also known as machine-struck coinage, this process simply means creating coins using a machine. During the industrial revolution, the Watt steam engine was created. This steam engine was used in all facets of manufacturing businesses. As more and more people went to work in factories, the need for more coins became much greater. This is when an investor known as Matthew Boulton used the steam engine to power a coin-making machine. Eventually, this led to a contract to mint coins for the East India Company, and another contract to supply machines to the British Royal Mint. (1)

Sources

1.) Porteous, John (1969). Coins In History. New York: Putnam. OCLC 44608
2.) Bean, Simon C (1994). "Methodology". The coinage of Atrebates and Regni (PDF) (Ph.D.). University of Nottingham. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 5 Oct. 2016