Forward

    The Leadership of your club is always interested in ways to enhance your overall experience within the world of numismatics.  I have referred to the words “your club” rather than the Tidewater Coin Club because without this most important ingredient, the club does not exist.  One area of improvement that has been suggested is the utilization of articles within our newsletter.  I was asked by a number of you to present this suggestion to the Board.  Well, I presented your ideas and guess what?  Yours truly gets to write some articles.  Well, I'm the farthest from a numismatic expert as you can get and I assure you it will be a joint learning experience.
    As most of you know, numismatics probably offers the largest variety and greatest depth of structure than any hobby known today.  Most everyone equates the collection of numismatic materials with an appreciation of history.  Well, of course, da.  Most people that collect like to know some things about the various eras represented.  However, there is a wide spectrum that numismatics covers that not only includes history but art, science, math, economics, sociology, psychology, physics, chemistry, and, oh yea, economics.  Gee, did I leave anything out?  When you think about these other areas that I mentioned, doesn't our hobby take on an even brighter gleam?
     Now, for those of you with technical aptitude, here are a few of my ground rules.  This is strictly voluntary and while I'm probably a better writer than I am an editor, I wish to make one thing perfectly clear.  I abhor comments, that when met with straight jaw boned determination flees to the all encompassing phrase “I meant it to be constructive.”  Criticism is criticism in my book, and there should be none of it in our club. Those being said, if I miss quote, miss spell, or generally louse up the English, please remember this is not a college thesis.  I'm not writing this to acquire a grade or to be ridiculed.  However, I am writing this for fun and positive feedback is hereby promoted and expected.  Now, I will proceed forward towards shaping up our first newsletter article.  At least it's the first one that I have seen.

Introduction

    Double dies, triple dies and rpms, vams, mules, errors, defects, business strike, proof and proof like are but a few of the terms regularly used in our hobby.  To me, these best represent areas of description such as surface, devices, field, strike, planchet condition, die preparation and die condition.  Are you familiar with any of these terms?
    You know I hear lots of discussion over grade and very little about accepted conditions of strike.  Consider the New Orleans Morgan Dollar for example.  What about double dies, rpms and vams?  Earlier last year (in 2002 to be technical) while I was in Raleigh, a collector came to my table and inquired if I might have any double die state quarters.  I responded that I didn't know any double dies existed within this series.  Oh but how that opened Pandora's box!  That guy ever more shelled the corn on all the attributes of the state quarter double die collection he was amassing.  He showed me about ten pieces that he had already purchased at the show, and with a proverbial wink eluded that the dealer most assuredly had underestimated their value at only $12.00 each.  Wow!
    Doing my best not to offend, I asked the man a few questions.  For example, was he aware that the mint now used the single squeeze process in die making?  Single what, he inquired?  I quickly explained one simple basic principle of where double dies come from.  Then I inquired of him how such could occur with a single squeeze?  He of course could offer now explanation but quickly rebounded with a suggestion to offer an appraisal on his mint state quarters.  No, I didn't have the heart!
    Some of us may be wondering what I'm talking about while others may have gotten a good chuckle.  This brings me to the place to start, at the beginning.  Lol, the way to eat en elephant is one bite at a time.  Now having completed this pitiful introduction, here is the first of what I hope will be followed up.

The Minting Process

Understanding the minting process is the first basic key to a genuine understanding of grade, condition, errors, varieties and all the other attributes of numismatics I already mentioned.  Lets start with the errors versus varieties.  A variety is an occurrence that repeats itself, while an error is not.  In other words, errors such as an off center strike are unique and occur during the actual minting process.  While, on the other hand, a double die would be a variety that started in the pre-minting process.
    Another way to view and understand varieties, errors and condition is though the use of Alan Herbert's PDS system.  Generally speaking, there are three production areas in the mint, planchets, die manufacture and striking, thus PDS.  There are some variations at the different mint locations but for the most part they follow a similar manufacturing process.
    Lets start with planchets.  While private contractors are now making cent planchets and some of the other denominations outside of the mint, the process used still mimics that of the mint.  Raw material, once alloyed and melted is rolled into long sheets of approximately 1300 feet in length.  Now coiled and weighing between 1100 and 7000 pounds depending on the type of planchet to be struck, each is carefully assayed and stored by the mint.
    Once needed a coil is placed onto a reel and mechanically fed into a machine called a blanking press.  This press, something along the lines of a super sized souped up cookie cutter punches round pieces of metal from the coil.  The left over material is called webbing and is of course recycled by the mint.  Once punched, these round pieces of metal or blanks are rough and flat and need further processing before they can be used.  This process starts as conveyors transport our blanks to an annealing furnace to be heated and cleaned.  This furnace holds about 4000 pounds of blanks and tempers them at about 1700 degrees.  Bet you didn't know your favorite coin had been cooked.  The blanks move through the furnace by means of a turning retort system, which takes them between 45 and 90 minutes depending on the type of blank.  Once through the furnace, they are dropped into a water vat to cool for 30 - 45 minutes.  After they have cooled they are rinsed in a bath of okite and soap chips to brighten and polish them.  Oops, your favorite coin has been polished!
     Of course, after a good bath, our blanks must be dried, and so they are by means of a souped up clothes dryer if you will.  Inside the chamber of this dryer are special baffles, like fins in your dryer at home, that catch our blanks thus burnishing and shining them.  Mmm, new washed money all bright and clean, but it won't spend yet.  Now dry; Oh boy its back to the conveyor.  Sure beats a bus ride!
    If you would like, after being punched and cooked and washed and dried our little blanks get promoted if you will.  They are no longer just plain oh blanks, what are they?  At the end of the conveyor ride our little blanks (thought I was going to tell you didn't you) arrive at the upset mill.  As if all what has happened to them already isn't upsetting enough.  The upset mill consists of an inner rotating die and an outer stationary one.  Picture your car's wheel with the rim and tire.  Now think of the tire not quite touching the rim with a wider space on one side than the other does.  In other words the distance between the tire and rim grows smaller as you travel around the rim.  Now think of the rim as turning inside the tire.  I know this sounds like a ridiculous description of an upset mill but perhaps it will help.  Each die of the upset mill has grooves cut into its surface as our blank is fed into the mill it is caught up in the rotation.  These dies are aligned so that the grooves match and the distance closes as it proceeds.  As our blank passes through the mill, it is squeezed between the grooves approximately 10 thousandths of an inch.  This squeezing raises the edge of the blank and gives our blank a rim.  Now our blank has graduated again and earns another designation, do you know what it is?  In some texts a blank remains a blank until it is upset.  This point is applicable in its own right and for practical purposes the two separate designations are interchangeable except that the use of the word blank assumes there is not a raised rim evident.
    Next month we will look at the design process, the second letter of our PDS system.  Within our club we have a great wealth of knowledge and I encourage you to write in with your questions.  We will try to get you an answer.  Now, to tickle your cranium and to really see who is interested, here is a little homework for you.

Homework

    The purpose of having a raised edge on a coin is threefold.  Please explain these three important reasons.  Here are a few hints.  Forcing, protecting and stacking.
    You may turn in your homework, along with the two mystery questions outlined in the text in writing at the next meeting.  Who knows, you may receive honorable mention in the next newsletter.  Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to serve and as always good luck in your search.