TA201T: Introduction to Manufacturing

Processes I
2020-21 Semester I

TOPIC NAME : ANCIENT COINS

Early Electrum Coinage

Name: Nikunj Gautam

Roll No.: 180481

Section : S-1

Tutor: Mrityunjay Kumar

Instructor: Dr. Anish Upadhayay

INTRODUCTION

• Initially there is a barter system in practice for

commerce and business. Everything is exchangeable
was money like clothes, food, metals etc. Not good as
commodities value are often not equally matched.
•
• Then civilizations that mastered metallurgy uses metal Barter system
ingots, silver bullion or
unmarked bars for exchange of
useful commodities. The weight and purity of bullion
would determine the
value of ingot. Bronze is an material that is most used to
form ingots. Copper ingot silver ingot, bars

• Then coin came into being. Coin, a piece of metal or,

rarely, some other material (such as leather or
porcelain) certified by a mark or marks upon it as being
of a specific intrinsic or exchange value.
HISTORY OF FIRST COIN

• Coinage is said to began in in the interior of West Anatolia, in the

form of electrum in the second half of the 7th century B.C., around
630.
• The most important evidence for this is ancient
author Herodotus wrote that the Lydians were “the first people we
know of to use a gold and silver coinage”.
Herodotus
• The first coin is said to be minted in at or near the beginning of the
reign of King Alyattes .
• The first coin is called Lydian Lion which is Lydian electrum trite
that is 1/3 stater (trite) denomination weighing approximately
4.71gm.
• This time period is the beginning of making of coins and can be
called electrum coinage since first metal used for coins is electrum.
Lydian lion
• The earliest ancient coins were made of an alloy known as coin
“electrum”, or “elektron” to the Greeks. Electrum is
naturally occurring, found in riverbeds and in nugget form.
The electrum-rich river for lydians Paktolos (Pactolus) River.
LYDIA

• Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor

located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern
western Turkish provinces of Uşak, Manisa and
inland İzmir
• It was King Alyattes around 6th and 7th century who
brought splendour to Lydia, thanks to the important
coinage favored by the abundance of gold/electrum in
the Pactolus River, which gave rise to the myth of
King Midas.
• He may have wanted to introduce coins in existing
bullian/ingot market to further increase his grasp on his
kingdom as he was a powerful ruler who ruled for half
century.
• Electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver found in the
silt of the River Paktalos.
• The stater was the usual monetary unit in the Hellenic
world.
 MYTH OF KING MIDAS
• Midas a king of Phrygia, known for his foolishness and
greed.Midas welcomed Silenus, the satyr and companion of
the god Dionysus.
• For his kind treatment of Silenus, Dionysos wanted to
reward Midas.
• The king wished that all he touched might turn to gold, but
when his food became gold and he nearly starved to death
as a result, he realized his error.
• Dionysus then granted him release by having him bathe in
the Pactolus River , an action to which the presence of King Midas bathing in
electrum in the stream is credited. Pactolus river

Ooh!! I Can’t eat food…

EARLY LYDIAN COINAGE (650-600 BC)

• Early Denominational Weight System with Strict Rules

• 1 stater (about 14.1 g) eight (hemitetarte),

• half-staters (hemistaters), twelfths (hemiekte),
• thirds (trite), 1/24ths
• quarter (tetarte), 1/48ths
• sixths (hekte), 1/96th stater (about 0.15 g).

1/3 Stater
4.73 g.

1/6 Stater – Hekte

2.36 g.
EARLY LYDIAN COINAGE (650-600 BC)

1/12 Stater Hemihekte

1.17 g. stater = weighing, weight
(a standard unit of weight)

hekteos (Gr.) = one sixth of a unit

1/24 stater
0.59 g.

1/48 stater
0.27 g.

EL 1/96th Stater 0.15 g.

WHY ELECTRUM?

• Deposits were easily available and naturally occurring from the from the
alluvial deposits of the Pactolus river. 
• Electrum worked particularly well for coinage because it was harder and more
durable than pure gold.
• They may have found it more economical to make coins in electrum rather
than in gold and silver ( If they knew how to separate gold and silver).
• They may have large deposits of electrum.
• As most of the coins have gold content 50-60%. They may have controlled
gold content in coins by adding silver as mixing is always easier than
separating. For this electrum is excellent choice.
• Electrum may offers premium to its users, they have a feeling of rich and
immense satisfaction.
MANUFACTURING MATERIAL : ELECTRUM
• Chemical Composition: Electrum
consists of gold and silver, often with
small amounts of copper, platinum, or
other metals. Its name may be applied to
any gold-silver alloy that has 20-80%
gold and 20-80% silver.
• Electrum Uses:
1. as currency
2. to make jewelry and ornaments
3. as an exterior coating for pyramids and
obelisks.
4. The earliest known coins in the Western world
were minted of electrum and it remained popular
for coinage until about 350 BC.
5. Coating of utensils
6. to obtain gold and silver
• Colour : Naturally occurring electrum is
white gold and artificially occurring is
called as green gold.
• Natural color ranges from pale gold to
bright gold. White gold has silvery or white
color as it contain high silver content.
Brassy-colored electrum contains a higher
amount of copper
• Electrum Properties : The exact
properties of electrum depend on the
metals in the alloy and their percentage.
Generally, electrum has a high reflectivity,
is an excellent conductor of heat and
electricity, is ductile and malleable, and is
fairly corrosion resistant.
Electrum Properties

Reflectivity as a function of energy of incident light

Colour variation in Au-Ag-Cu system (1)fine Au (2)50%Au-50%Ag (3)10%Au-90%Ag
(4)5%Au-95%Ag (5)fine silver
COIN MAKING TECHNIQUES

• Earliest method –Striking/Hammering : The hammering

technique was used to make the coins: an image of a
head (for eg. Lydian lion) as a symbol of the authority
responsible for issuing the coin was imprinted on to the
roughly circular piece of metal using two dies and a
hammer.
• Dies were made of bronze or iron.
• Bronze dies were easier to engrave and
did not rust, but
wore out faster.
• The obverse die was mounted on the anvil and the
reverse die, or punch,
was struck to make the impression.
• Coin Striking Gear - hammer, tongs for handling hot

flans, reverse die and anvil that houses the obverse

die.
COIN MAKING TECHNIQUES

• Apart from the hammering technique, there is also

the casting technique, whereby molten metal is
poured into moulds bearing the design of the coin.
Cast coins are less refined, so that this technique
was seldom used.
•  Chinese ‘cash-coins’ were exception because they
are more refined and uniform.
• The first Roman coins were also cast. However,
they soon switched to minting coins with hammers, Cast coins
and the hammering process spread throughout
Europe.
• Coin casting was a technique often associated with
forgers, who would cast moulds of existing coins as
an easy way of producing counterfeit coins without
any major investment.

moulds
 COIN MAKING TECHNIQUES
• Because there was little trade, demand for coins declined and the chronic shortage of
precious metal reduced the supply. From around 1500, however, there was a dramatic
expansion in international trade. New metals discovered. This led to increase in demand
for coins and coins again got started manufacturing by hammering process.
• As technological advancement occurred he screw press came into widespread use from
the 17thcentury.
• The hammer disappeared and was replaced by a press
which was operated by manpower. The boys in the
centre placed the blanks under the press. The advantage
of this technique was that the images engraved on the
dies were applied with greater force to both sides of the
coin. This improved the impression of the image.
Although the coins thus became more uniform,
differences were still possible because the screw press
was operated manually. The speed and coordination of
the people operating the lever influenced the quality of
the coins produced. Human muscle power was later
replaced by horses, water, steam and eventually
electricity.
COIN MAKING TECHNIQUES
• MODERN METHOD

• Modern coins are minted with hydraulic coining presses that automatically feed the blanks
into the machine. When the machine is running at full capacity, rates of over 600 coins
per minute can be obtained.
• Although the process is complicated because of the automation used to produce billions
of coins, there are a few common steps that every mint around the world uses. The
United States Mint is the largest mint in the world, and we will focus on its production
process.

• PROCESS:
• Step 1 : Raw materials required are mined from lot of different sites for metal. Raw
material can also be acquired from recycled metal.
• Step 2 :  Refining, Melting, and Casting
The raw metal is refined to remove almost all impurities. Some
coins require an alloy of two or more different types of metals. The refined metal is
melted, and the additional metals as required by the specifications are added to it and
cast int ingots.
MODERN METHOD
MODERN METHOD

• Step 3 : Rolling The ingot is rolled between two hardened steel rollers that are continuously moving closer
and closer together. This process will continue until the ingot is rolled into a metal strip that is the proper
thickness for the coin being made. Additionally, the rolling process softens the metal and changes the
molecular structure which allows it to be struck easier and produces higher quality coins.

• Step 4 : Blanking The United States Mint uses rolls of metal that are approximately 13 inches wide and
weigh several thousand pounds. The roll of metal is unwound and flattened to remove the curvature from the
manufacturing process. It is then passed through a machine that punches out discs of metal that are now the
proper thickness and diameter for the coin being made.

• Step 5 : Riddling Up to this point, the production process used to fabricate the metal blanks is dirty and is
ran in a harsh environment. It is possible for small pieces of waste metal to get mixed in with the coin blanks.
The riddling machine separates the properly sized blanks from any foreign matter mixed in with the coin
blanks.

• Step 6 : Annealing and Cleaning The mint then passes the coin blanks through in the annealing oven to
soften the metal in preparation for striking. The blanks are then put through a chemical bath to remove any oil
and dirt that may be on the surface of the coin. Any foreign material can become embedded in the coin
during the striking process, and it would have to be scrapped.
MODERN
• Step 7 : UpsettingMETHOD
To protect the design that’s going to be impressed on the metal coin
blank, each coin blank is passed through a machine that has a set of rollers that get a
little bit smaller and imparts a raised metal rim on both sides of the coin blank. This
process also helps ensure that the coin blank is the proper diameter so it will strike up
properly in the coining press. After this process, the coin blank is now called a planchet.

• Step 8 : Stamping or Striking Now that the planchets have been properly prepared,
softened, and cleaned, they are now ready for striking. Business struck coins are
automatically fed into the coining press at a rate that can reach several hundred coins per
minute. Proof coins made for collectors are fed by hand into the coining press and receive
at least two strikes per coin.

• Step 9 : Distribution Coins that pass inspection are now ready for distribution. Business
struck coins are packed into bulk storage bags and shipped to The Federal Reserve Bank
for distribution to local banks. Collector coins are placed in special holders and boxes
and shipped to coin collectors around the world.

US 5 cent coin-alloy of 75 percent copper

and 25 percent nickel.
REFERENCES
1. https://www.academia.edu/35530095/PRE_COINAGE_ECONOMIES_AND_THE_INVEN
TION_OF_COINAGE_2020_pptx

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia
4. https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/ancient-coins-beginning-coinage/
5. https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2020/05/electrum-the-natural-gold-and-silver-alloy-us
ed-to-mint-the-first-metal-coins/
6. https://www.thoughtco.com/electrum-metal-alloy-facts-608460
7. https://www.ganoksin.com/article/different-coloured-gold-alloys/
8. https://www.nbbmuseum.be/en/2014/07/coin-production-through-the-ages-casting-and-m
anual-or-mechanical-hammering.html
9. https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-are-cois-made-4589253
• THANK YOU !!