Image Courtesy: ACSYS Lasertechnik GmbH

Coin collectors and numismatists are very interested in the minting process. So, assuming you hope to advance in the numismatic community or maybe you just want to gain some interesting facts to surprise your friends with you should learn more about how coins are designed and made.Coin designs are drawn up in the engraving department. The pictures and writings that you see upon coins are created by patterns of relief, ups and downs that you can feel under your finger. The shading that the designer applies with her pencil represents just how the coin should look when the picture is pressed into the metal in three dimensions. These were some of the old methods which are been followed. The drawing later is handed over to an engraver who skillfully cuts every tiny detail into a block of plaster and was used to make a hard metal copy known as an electrotype. Later the pattern on the electrotype would then be reduced on one of the mints magnificent old Janvier machines.After more than one hundred years of service the Janvier machine has now been replaced by more modern technologies like the Acsys where the designs are made on a digital platform which can be transferred from one mint house to another digitally and these are been faster than the old methods as well as with the better quality especially bust images.The above films shows the journey from the first idea to the completion of the most extraordinary coin ever produced.Below is the "Fortuna Redux" – the world's first coin in a cylinder design i.e three-sided coin.The working dies are installed into specific minting machines based on their respective denominations, and then the blanks are fed into what is lovingly called the "Feeding Hopper." The amount of strikes and pressure a coin will receive is based off of the material used and the required finish. Proof blanks are fed by hand into the presses, because proof quality doesn't allow mass production. Also, some coins may receive a hand-painted finish after they are minted. After the minting process is complete, the coins receive a final inspection and many times a grading by a third party before they are capsuled and packaged.So, the next time you're admiring your collection or waiting for a new coin to be released, take a moment to appreciate the amount of effort, time, and detail that went into creating that intricate piece of art.