The Minting Process

All varieties of error coins are produced at different stages of the minting process. To fully understand how these varieties are made, it is therefore necessary to have a basic understanding of how coins are minted. A list of steps in the minting process and a brief description of each is given below:

1. Alloys are formulated to the proper composition and cooled to form ingots.
2. The ingots are rolled out into long sheets. Groups of these sheets are then welded together lengthwise.
3. The sheets are fed into a blanking press where Type 1 (rough-edged) planchets are punched out. Planchets at this stage are considered raw and unsuitable for striking.
4. The Type 1 planchets are fed into a milling machine that upsets and smoothes the rim. This results in refined Type 2 planchets that are more desirable for coinage.
5. The blanks are heated and then cooled to make them more malleable.
6. The blanks are fed into the coinage press and struck by the dies.
7. The coins leaving the coinage press are counted and deposited in mint bags.
8. The mint bags are sewn shut and shipped to the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank for distribution to private banks on the Federal Reserve System.

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