DENVER MINT ARTICLE PUBLISHED 上市 Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 44, October 31, 2004, Article 21
DENVER MINT ARTICLE PUBLISHED
The Denver Journal-Sentinel published an article October
24 about the workings of the Denver Mint. Here are some
excerpts:"The Mint contracts with companies that supply 13-inch-wide
flat metal coils - from which nickels, dimes, quarters and half
dollars are stamped - or penny planchets, which are purchased
preformed.The planchets are fed into stamping machines, where they
inch their way down tiny chutes and are imprinted with
Lincoln's head and his monument.""The 4-ton metal coils are about 41/2 feet high. They are put
on rollers and fed into a blanking machine, where they're
stamped up to 700 times, creating the blanks that will
eventually become a quarter or nickel.On a recent tour of the Denver Mint, plant manager Tim Riley
plunged his hands into a tub and scooped up what looked like
little metal bow ties - what's left over from the stamped metal
- which is sent back to the coil manufacturer to be melted
down and recycled.""Planchets are washed in a mixture of soap, cream of tartar
and water and then dried. They're checked for imperfections
- wrong size or shape - and the good ones go through an
upsetting mill, which raises a rim around their edges. Riley
said this makes it easier to center the blanks when they're
struck by dies.""Above each striking machine is a large photo of the coin,
which shows spots where cracks or chips are most often
found. On the nickels, Thomas Jefferson's eyebrow, mouth
and chin are marked as trouble spots."There's different places where they'll start to chip out,
depending on the coin," Riley said. "That's what makes it
difficult for the quarter, because we have a different design
every 10 weeks.""On this day, the first day the Wisconsin quarter is being
struck, inspectors peering through magnifying loupes have
already discovered that a spot below the cow's neck chips
easily.""A mint worker showed visitors two dies used to stamp
the Wisconsin quarter.They looked fine, but under a magnifying glass, part of
Washington's head can be seen among the cow, cheese
and corn - the result of the dies striking each other without
a blank coin between them. The bad dies will be defaced
further so they can't be used again. The Mint sells used
dies to collectors.""Riley, who collects each year's proof sets, knows the plant
he oversees isn't just another factory turning out widgets."When you're around it day in, day out, you're aware it's
not just a product. It's part of our nation's history and our
nation's commerce," Riley said in an interview inside his
Denver office, the same office used by mint managers since
the building opened a century ago when double eagles and
half eagles - $20 and $5 gold pieces - were rolling off the
assembly line."They're not just stamping out little discs. They're stamping
out coins that will be held by millions of people."- 2004-10-31
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