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Ancient civilizations used a variation of this process to produce coins
March - The beginnings of metal stamping might just be found with the hammer blows that blacksmiths, tinsmiths, silversmiths and goldsmiths used to forge or shape metal for use as everyday objects.
Although this type of metalforming is far from shaping steel or nonferrous metals using a machine as we see it today, you can see the beginnings of how a "ram," as the hammer, was used to shape metal on an anvil acting as the "bolster or bed."
With blacksmiths being around since the dawn of the metal age (roughly B.C.), metalforming using stamping tools probably started when civilizations began minting their own coins using hand tools to "stamp" silver, gold, bronze or alloys of precious metals using iron tooling that needed the relief of the coin etched in the die and punch. However, there is very little information as to how they produced the forms or reliefs on the tooling.
According to the Web site www.fleur-de-coin.com, the first coins were most likely produced in the seventh century B.C. by the Lydians in Asia Minor. Coin blanks were cast from a gold and silver alloy called electrum. Starting with simple molds into which the molten metal was poured, the Lydians moved to more complicated molds, allowing greater production.
This type of production of round coin blanks remained the same for centuries, until the population and economy growth in Europe in the 16th century demanded a large increase for coins. The industrialization of minting techniques began to meet this demand.
During the 16th century, shears were used to cut blanks from sheet metal that was hammered to reduce its thickness. These blanks were then filed and hammered to a particular weight and thickness. Then the blank was coined by using a hammer, an upper and lower die and an anvil. A worker put a blank on a fixed-bottom die that rested on an anvil. Then the upper die was placed over the blank and held in place by the worker who hit the upper die with a hammer.
Often, you can find ancient coins that have been struck off center of the blank or might show two impressions when the worker moved the hammer during a double strike, which is indicative of this coining process.
Olives and wine and presses
Throughout Europe and other places in the world during the Middle Ages, the wine or olive press was a common tool.
The first ones that used a machine-style screw were made of wood, including the screw. These are still available today to crush grapes or olives. Metal pieces might have been used to reinforce the container holding the grapes or olives for crushing.
When the blacksmith was able to develop a metal screw-type apparatus to apply pressure to the olives or grapes, he produced a press that with some refinement could use tooling to impress an image on or "stamp" a coin. This might have been the first metal stamping press.
Coining by screw press
A German silversmith named Marx Schwab invented coining using the screw press around , according to www.fleur-de-coin.com.
"Two heavy-iron screws pressed the coin metal to the desired thickness. Blank preparation was aided by roller-mills that produced uniformly thick strips that blanks could be cut from with metal shears. Then these blanks would be coined in the press."
King Henri II of France (-) imported the new machines: rolling mill, punch and screw press. Eight to 12 workers were used to move the arms driving the screw to strike the metal. After each quarter hour, workers changed places.
Because this was a more efficient operation than hand stamping coins, and it would eliminate workers, Henri II experienced hostility from coin-makers.
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Therefore, the process was only used for small-value coins, medals and tokens. By , however, it became the standard production method for minting coins. FFJ
Part 1 of a multipart series
Metalworkers were valuable members of early societies. As more products and tools began to be made from metals, society needed more people skilled in the craft of metalworking. Objects made from metals are necessary for heavy industry, farming, jewelry-making and defense purposes. Precision metal stamping is now used in nearly every product we use. As the capabilities of the process improve, new markets are opened.
The evolution of coin making has led to the modern stamping press. Coin making developed into a process in which the coin was struck using two coining dies: a lower die depicting the coin in a negative form and a companion upper die. A metalworker placed a blank between these two dies and the upper die was struck with a heavy hammer, rendering a positive image on the blank. The hammer method was used well into the Middle Ages. Even today people occasionally speak of coins being 'struck.'
's style German or French coin screw press.In , a German silversmith, developed a screw press for stamping coins. The screw press was turned by as many as twelve men to exert the pressure needed to form the metal. As the industrial revolution approached, the brute force of the human powered screw press was replaced by using steam power to lift a heavy weight above the die and dropping it to strike the image. As technology improved, the speed with which coins could be stamped rose dramatically, but stamping metal parts for industrial use was almost unheard of until the s. Prior to then, manufacturers relied on forging and die-casting for the fabrication of most metal components. However, in , a German bicycle manufacturer began making parts for bicycles using metal stamping.
As manufacturers discovered how fast and inexpensive parts could be fabricated using metal stamping, the process began to flourish. Surprisingly, one of the last manufacturers to embrace the metal stamping of automobile parts was Henry Ford. An innovator in the assembly process, his engineers had to convince Ford that metal stamping for fenders and other parts was not only faster and less expensive than die-casting, but the quality was just as good. As production demands increased, Ford had no choice but to accept the new technology to keep up with demand.
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