How do the various mints from around the world actually make coins, rounds and bars from scratch?

[MuddyOfCoventry]

Just curious about the entire process, and if it is affordable and easy to gradp for beginners.

[dicker]

Many buy blanks from the Perth mint and then do their own strikes.

Cheers

Dicker

[CollectForFun]

You may like this video which in my opinion nicely guides you through much of the production process at the Royal Mint.

 

[CANV]

is it possible to find out how many Bullion and proof coins each mint churns out in any given year? 

[HerefordBullyun]

I'd ask an expert like our own Mr @LawrenceChard he may know.

if you asked me who mints the most drivel on this forum - its yours truly! 😁

[LawrenceChard]

54 minutes ago, CANV said:

is it possible to find out how many Bullion and proof coins each mint churns out in any given year? 

Most mints issue reports including their mintage figures, although in recent years, some mints seem to be delaying or avoiding publishing these figures.

Our own British Royal Mint used to issue an annual report, which I used to read. Each report included mintage figures for UK coins for the most recent year. It appear to have stopped publishing mintage figures for many coins, but bullion ones in particular, because of concerns about market intelligence and competition.

Proof coins should not be affected, but I think the publication of their mintage figures has also been delayed.

I believe some people have submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and you may find some of the answers online.

Publishers of coin magazines and books used to publish mintage figures, but they are affected by the above considerations.

[LawrenceChard]

On 04/11/2021 at 20:51, CollectForFun said:

You may like this video which in my opinion nicely guides you through much of the production process at the Royal Mint.

 

 

It used to be possible to take a guided tour round the Royal Mint when it was still at Tower Hill in London. I took one in the 1960s. This was round the actual factory.

The "new" tours do not allow visitors into the main production areas, only to a viewing area of the "telling" room.

When the Royal Mint Experience opened, the RM issued an inaccurate and misleading press release claiming that the public could now take a tour of the Mint for the first time in the Mint's 1100 year history.

I pointed out at the time, not only the Tower Hill tours, but the fact that there were tours of Llantrisant in its early years, from about 1969. I do not know how long these operated for, but it is possible they were discontinued on Health, Safety, and Insurance grounds, possibly after and because an RM worker got killed in an industrial accident, probably due to negligence. The RM was never prosecuted for this, possibly because it has or had Crown immunity.

It should be quite safe to watch the video though! 😎

[HerefordBullyun]

15 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

 

It used to be possible to take a guided tour round the Royal Mint when it was still at Tower Hill in London. I took one in the 1960s. This was round the actual factory.

The "new" tours do not allow visitors into the main production areas, only to a viewing area of the "telling" room.

When the Royal Mint Experience opened, the RM issued an inaccurate and misleading press release claiming that the public could now take a tour of the Mint for the first time in the Mint's 1100 year history.

I pointed out at the time, not only the Tower Hill tours, but the fact that there were tours of Llantrisant in its early years, from about 1969. I do not know how long these operated for, but it is possible they were discontinued on Health, Safety, and Insurance grounds, possibly after and because an RM worker got killed in an industrial accident, probably due to negligence. The RM was never prosecuted for this, possibly because it has or had Crown immunity.

It should be quite safe to watch the video though! 😎

Also back in the day the madness song Baggy trousers was also more appropriate when visitors were leaving the mint also 

[LawrenceChard]

4 minutes ago, HerefordBullyun said:

Also back in the day the madness song Baggy trousers was also more appropriate when visitors were leaving the mint also 

Probably true.

On my visit, the guide told us about one production worker who was caught stealing coins because he could barely walk as his wellies were full of coins. Apparently a  true story.

[HerefordBullyun]

1 minute ago, LawrenceChard said:

Probably true.

On my visit, the guide told us about one production worker who was caught stealing coins because he could barely walk as his wellies were full of coins. Apparently a  true story.

Ah yes the same man I met in a pub. He was the one with extremely long pockets and very short arms, espically when he bought a round in the pub. 

[modofantasma]

On 03/11/2021 at 20:13, MuddyOfCoventry said:

Just curious about the entire process, and if it is affordable and easy to gradp for beginners.

There are some manufacturers that offer a 'private labelling' type service. Eg will manufacture to your design and spec

https://bulmint.com/en/services

[frugalman]

On 04/11/2021 at 20:51, CollectForFun said:

You may like this video which in my opinion nicely guides you through much of the production process at the Royal Mint.

 

Good video thanks for posting.

250 bullion coins per hour sounds about right for 2014, I wonder how many press machines they operated. Did they increase the amount of machines for future demand or just whack the revs up. And how many of the older more experienced guys still work there.  

[frugalman]

1 hour ago, frugalman said:

Good video thanks for posting.

250 bullion coins per hour sounds about right for 2014, I wonder how many press machines they operated. Did they increase the amount of machines for future demand or just whack the revs up. And how many of the older more experienced guys still work there.  

The guy states that the mint produces up to 250 bullion coins per hour, meanwhile the press in the background is pumping out at at a rate of more than one per second lol.

Edited November 6, 2021 by frugalman

[HerefordBullyun]

59 minutes ago, frugalman said:

The guy in the background is pumping at a rate of more than one per second lol.

Fixed that for you. Have you been spying on me? I tell ya its the best 39 seconds of anyones life from me!

[frugalman]

3 hours ago, HerefordBullyun said:

Fixed that for you. Have you been spying on me? I tell ya its the best 39 seconds of anyones life from me!

Images of Mr chips with a bullseye T shirt on. Thanks lol

Keep pumping em out 

[Bimetallic]

On 03/11/2021 at 11:13, MuddyOfCoventry said:

Just curious about the entire process, and if it is affordable and easy to gradp for beginners.

The processes aren't very secret at this point. You can just Google silver bullion mint and refining, and you'll find lots of videos. There are videos of the RCM, PAMP Suisse, etc. There's nothing fundamentally new in minting silver coins these days – it's just striking blanks with a die, and before that the supplier is melting and refining using standard processes.

I don't understand your question about affordable for beginners. Mints are industrial operations. You can't have that scale of production equipment in a home. The dies are enormous and expensive. You can melt silver at home, and cast it, but that's a different process than what mints do. Look up "poured silver" – that's what you can do at home. It will be rough, lumpy bars, not the kind of precision you get in minted coins with radial lines and microprinting.