SAN FRANCISCO MINT VISIT Público Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 2, January 12, 2003, Article 6
SAN FRANCISCO MINT VISIT
Numismatic researchers and writers Richard Kelly & Nancy
Oliver write: "On January 10th, 2003 we got a unique
opportunity to receive a tour of the third San Francisco Mint
while it was in the process of making the 2003 Proof Sets for
sale to the public.The third SF Mint is not open to the public for tours so we
jumped on the chance for a tour when it was offered to us.
A gentleman we know arranged it for us and gave the tour
personally. It was an enriching experience to say the least.Our tour began with the outside of the facility, with its thick
walls of granite to the upper facade where large concrete
representations of each commemorative coin made by the
mint circle the roof. Inside, we were shown where the
blanks for the proof sets arrive, massive vault doors, the
storage bins for the blanks for all denominations and then
the mint operations.We were right there with our guide on the floor where all
the planchet making operation is conducted. In fact, he
reached his hand into the turning burnishing bin and showed
us several newly polished dollar blanks. We saw the upset
mills, and the storage of newly made planchets. But, what
we saw next gave us a deep appreciation of the delicate and
hard work involved in making every proof coin as perfect
as possible.The SF mint receives all its dies from Philadelphia unpolished,
so all the work of polishing and chrome plating has to be done
in SF. The work involved in this, not only includes the
polishing and plating of each die, but the intricate microscopic
work required to remove any excess metal or plating in the
crevices of each and every die. The dozen or so workers in
this room labor over the small detail of their work for 8 hours
per day. Perfection was the key and these workers were very
intent on their task. With protective ear plugs, we entered the
press room where we watched as the massive presses stamped
out beautifully frosted, double struck coins. Near each press
operator was a bag of reject coins, but the ones we were
shown had but smears and light scratches on them. Perfection
was also the key here.Lastly, we saw the packaging process of each 2003 proof set
as they made their way down several conveyor belts that made
loops and stops as they inserted each individual denomination
by machine. Then the filled sets arrived at the sealing operation
to eventually be placed into their final packaging to all be sent
out to Tennessee for final processing and shipping.All the people we met during our tour were friendly and were
more than willing to answer any questions we might have
concerning their department. The tour was an eye-opening
event for us both. And we left with a deeper appreciation of
the hard work involved in making proof coins for the public."- 2003-01-12
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