Coining by hammer, from the origins to
the XVI century
1582 : Stained-glass window in Strasbourg
a feature from the window In this stained-glass window showing a
coin workshop, a workman can be seen using
a hammer to reduce the thickness of a sheet
of metal, in which the blanks are then
cut out by shears, then filed and hammered
to reach the desired weight and thickness.
The coin maker carries out the so-called
striking :
He puts the blank on the fixed die, then
the mobile die is held above by hand. He
then strikes several blows with a hammer.
Coining
by screw press (since about 1550)
Around 1550, the German silversmith Marx
Schwab invented coining with the screw
press. Henri II (1547-1559) imported the
new machines : rolling mill, punch and
screw press. 8 to 12 men took over from
each other every quarter of an hour to
manoeuvre the arms driving the screw which
struck the medals. Henri II came up against
hostility on the part of the coin makers,
so the process was only to be used for
coins of small value, medals and tokens.
In 1645 it came into general use for minting
coins.
Scew Press Louis XIV
Discover the manufacture of the euros
to the monetary Establishment of Pessac
|
