What is the production process for making our coins?
There are six stages to the manufacture of a U.S. Mint coin. Every coin is blanked, annealed, upset, struck, inspected, and finally, counted and bagged. Step 1: Blanking: The U.S. Mint buys strips of metal approximately 13 inches wide and 1,500 feet long to manufacture the nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, and dollar. The strips come rolled in a coil. Each coil is fed through a blanking press, which punches out round discs called blanks. The leftover strip, called webbing, is shredded and recycled. To manufacture pennies, the Mint buys ready-made planchets after supplying fabricators with copper and zinc. Step 2: Annealing, Washing and Drying: The blanks are heated in an annealing furnace to soften them. Then they are run through a washer and dryer. Step 3: Upsetting: The blanks go through an upsetting mill. This raises a rim around their edges, turning the blanks into planchets. Step 4: Striking: Finally, the planchets go to the coining press. Here, they are stamped with the designs
