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VOLUME 2 / MARCH 2015 World Money Forum - On the Road to Optimized Innovation Everywhere Profitability More and more governments now consider their mints nothing but a profit centre with profit guarantee, and when this fails to happen, mints face closure. The mints’ response is to upgrade production in terms of volumes, speed and quality, which benefits the equipment suppliers. Visitors to the World Money Fair’s Technical Forum were given the chance to see the latest in production, some of which in On 29 January 2015 the 11th Technical 3-in-1 PVD coating terms of performance were amazing. Forum took place in Berlin at this year’s For example, the South African Mint’s Coated dies have a longer life expectancy, World Money Fair. 18 talks were on new packaging system can process without question. The only question the schedule, focusing on the latest 5 million coins every day – an remaining is that of the coating technique. innovations in the minting industry. Mint impressive number. PVD (physical vapour deposition) coating News Quarterly brings you an overview And yet …. mints are resorting to is becoming increasingly popular. In this of the most important developments. dumping prices in their fight for every process, the solid coating material is first order, to avoid idle capacity. Increasing sublimated and then resublimated on the Innovative Measurements automation will only lead to ever more surface of the object. Unlike the more The Austrian Mint has been testing excess capacity. At some point in traditional electroplating, PVD coating is Alicona’s optical 3D micro-coordinate the near future there simply won’t be a relatively clean procedure and subject measurement technique for application in enough work left for all mints. coin production. With promising results. to very little government regulation. Integrating a coating machine into existing Only the largest mints will survive, When trying to locate and eliminate or those who have made good use problematic areas in the manufacturing production requires only moderate additional effort. of their history to convince their process by die measuring, this is currently government and population that it With this in mind, Oerlikon Metaplas has the best technology there is. is a matter of national importance developed a machine that can execute Instead of just giving individual meter to have a national mint – even if it three different PVD coating processes points, the system produces a coherent would be cheaper to relocate coin – a combination that produces not only image of the entire die profile and production offshore. saves it for subsequent analysis and single layers of coating but complex architectural coating structures. A lot of money is currently being spent comparison with other profiles. Even on automation and the marketing of microscopically small irregularities which Inspection and Packaging commemorative coins – to the extent may cause problems during the minting that the cultivation of a mint’s image Mühlbauer has developed a method to process can be detected. as manufacturer of national money improve edge inspection with minimal The system also produces profiles of is considered a minor matter. This, additional effort that is as brilliant as it rimmed edges, as well as data sets however, might be a good strategy for is simple. Relying on an optical effect, needed for the manufacture of dies that smaller mints to ensure their survival. the peripheral mirror image of the coin are used to produce exact replicas of edge can be captured and inspected Ursula Kampmann – Editor existing coins. in one single shot. The edge inspection runs simultaneously with the inspection

MINT NEWS QUARTERLY www.currency-news.com InfiniteFocusSL World Money Forum (Continued) InfiniteFocusSL is a cost-effective optic of the obverse and reverse, resulting minting in one step. The end result shows measuring system for the simple, fast in no additional time. The new system a significant overall improvement due and traceable measurement of micro- can inspect up to 3,000 coins a minute to the higher ductility of ring and core patterned surfaces, providing the and can be integrated into all existing before the joining stage. This means less opportunity to measure the form plus Mühlbauer systems. pressure is required for the minting, which the surface roughness of an object with INEA and InduVis, meanwhile, have jointly in turn leads to a longer life expectancy of just one device. developed a machine that combines the dies. Additionally the InfiniteFocusSL produces inspection and packaging. According to In recent years the Mint of Poland has brilliant colour pictures featuring a high the manufacturers, payback for the new been exploring the third dimension in contrast and depth of focus, while the system – RHINO – is just two years. coin production. After having successfully intelligent lighting technology allows it to It has lower energy consumption, minted a cylindrical coin, it went on to be used close to the measured object. fewer rejects, and is very easy to mint a coin shaped as a pyramid. The operate. It can also be upgraded to mint’s latest achievement in this field is the include 3D inspection, EMS checks minting of a spherical coin. and other features. New technologies for commemorative On the packaging front, the South coins also include a photonic coloured African Mint presented a brand new coin produced by the Royal Canadian system, produced by the French Mint. The colours are generated from company Velec. This fully automated, nano-structures created during minting, self-unjamming packaging system can rather than via the application of dyes count and package 5 million coins a day or pigments. And unlike the colour – with no human intervention required. effects generated by holography, they are fixed so do not change according Commemorative Coins to the viewing angle. Even more technological innovations The nanostructures are created by a have sprung up in the commemorative specialised laser technique, and the coin sector. colours themselves are produced through the selection and control of parameters Dr Gerd Wagner from Reischauer such as nano particle size, spacing presented an entirely new type of blank between the particles, or materials – the hd-pro blank. This has significantly characteristics. A patent for the new higher ductility, which means better technology is pending. It is likely to plasticity, and a profile that provides more make its first commercial appearance metal to create higher reliefs at relatively on a commemorative coin, but the RCM low pressure. envisages it being used as a security CCI Edge Inspect In cooperation with the Berlin Mint, Sack feature on circulating coins as well. & Kiesselbach has introduced a feeding Summaries of all the presentations at the CCI Edge Inspect is Mühlbauer’s system for the TMP (Tisch Medaillen Technical Forum can be found at TEMA Vision multi-purpose inspection Presse) which joins the ring and core of module for edge inspection of coins bi-metal blanks and combines this with www.worldmoneyfair.de. (blank edge, lettering, and serration). It is suitable for blanks, circulation coins, collector coins and bullion coins featuring a diameter of 26-36mm. The hardware can be easily changed for other diameters. RHINO – the High Speed CCI Edge Inspect provides high precision inspection combining surface and Blanks Sorting Machine edge inspection in one distortion-free The high speed blanks sorting RHINO can handle up to 3,000 pieces per analysis image. It can be integrated into machine RHINO from Inea and InduVis minute. It measures objects from 9-40mm Mühlbauer’s fully automatic coin inspection incorporates a 2D and 3D scanner, in diameter and 0.75-3.3mm thickness. machine Coin Inspect. It can also be used enabling it to detect and differentiate It detects surface and colour defects as a separate conveyor solution for edge between all known defects on complex starting from 0.12mm². inspection and as a manual laboratory surfaces such as coins, including solution for spot check edge inspection. bubbles and dents. The machine is based on proven mechanical concepts that, say the two companies, provide high reliability, process control and sorting accuracy. The customer can choose between one or more reject stations which allows coins to be sorted to different quality levels or by different kind of defects. The machine can also be configured and used for the inspection of circulation coins and other similar parts.

2 MINT NEWS QUARTERLY VOLUME 2 | MARCH 2015 Royal Australian Mint SAVE Act – Well-Intentioned, Celebrates 50th Anniversary Badly Worded On 22 February 1965, HRH Prince Since its opening, the Royal Australian In January the SAVE Act was Philip officially opened the Royal Mint has produced more than 15 billion introduced by Rep Patrick Murphy in Australian Mint, which had been circulation coins, and is the only to make the US House of Representatives. The built to produce the new Australian Australian circulation coins. While the 60 page bill is intended to cut wasteful decimal currency. Perth Mint, controlled by the Government spending by the US government, with of Western Australia since 1970, mainly the minting of coins also targeted. In 1959, the Australian government refines and strikes gold and silver, the appointed the Decimal Currency The bill proposes that ‘the Secretary may Royal Australian Mint has established Committee to investigate the not mint or issue any coin that costs more its reputation as a centre of excellence introduction of an entirely new decimal to produce than the denomination of the that assists countries in issuing new coin currency. The Committee’s report the coin (including labor, materials, dies, use of series. Cook Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu following year was positive, and so machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, are the latest countries to commission the government decided to replace and shipping).’ the Royal Australian Mint to produce the Australian Pound, based on the their coins. To mark the first strike, a If this bill were to become law, the US Mint currency of UK which harked back celebration was held on 3 March 2015, would only be permitted to manufacture to the 9th century, with the Royal, with high-ranking representatives of the those denominations than are produced consisting of 100 cents. The name involved states attending. at a cost less than their face value. That proved unpopular, however and was would put both the cent and the nickel dropped in favour of the Dollar. The Mint celebrated its 50th anniversary (with production costs amounting to by hosting a special family day, involving 1.66 cents and 8.09 cents respectively, But where to produce the new coins? a rare opportunity for adults to walk according to the annual report from 2013) The existing mint in Australia – founded through the highly secure coin factory, out of contention. in Perth in 1899 to process the local while children enjoyed inflatable castles gold and turn this into money – was The numismatic community is worried, and candy floss. still a branch of the UK’s Royal Mint. too, especially because the wording of The government therefore decided Thanks to its exhibition and the this Act might well affect other numismatic to construct its own mint in Canberra opportunity to watch the coin production products as well. Most commemorative in 1962 to produce the new decimal from a gallery, the Royal Australian Mint coins are produced at a cost considerably coins. Construction started in 1963, has become a favourite site for tourists in greater than their face value. The fact that and Prince Philip opened the new Canberra. It is now firmly established in they are distributed at a price much higher Royal Australian Mint two years later. the national identity, as was illustrated by than their face value is an aspect this bill Countless television commercials were a speech by Kelly O’Dwyer, Parliamentary does not take into account. broadcast, putting the somewhat Secretary to the Treasurer, who said: reluctant citizens in the right mood ‘for half a century the Mint has chronicled for the monetary reform. Meanwhile, Australian society, sharing through our the RAM was already operational, coins the events, people and subjects producing more than one billion coins which mean the most to us as a nation. Swedish Coins in preparation for the introduction of the This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate decimal currency on 14 February 1966. the Mint’s role in our national life.’ without Nickel Cupronickel is frequently used in the production of coins those of the US, UK, Eurozone and Switzerland all use it. According to the Swedish researcher Carola Liden, however, frequent handling of nickel by people with heightened sensitivity can result in unpleasant allergies. It appears that the researcher’s claims have been taken on board. In 2011, the Sveriges Riksbank decided to recover all cupronickel coins as part of a wide- ranging monetary reform. The new 1, 2 and 5 krona coins will be released in October 2016. All are made from copper plated steel and an alloy made of copper, aluminium, zinc and tin, respectively. The old coins will be demonetized on 30 June 2017 and 2 billion coins will be withdrawn from circulation. The 10 krona coin is the only coin that will remain unchanged, perhaps because it did not consist of cupronickel in the first place, but was made of copper, aluminium and The Royal Australian Mint’s production area as seen from the observation gallery (© Ursula Kampmann). zinc which means a clean bill of health.

VOLUME 2 | MARCH 2015 3 Spanish Royal Mint Celebrates 400 Years 2 March 2015 marked the 400th Philip III appointed the Duke of Uceda to fill In 1987, meanwhile, a Workshop anniversary of the inauguration of the the position of Treasurer of the Court Mint, for Specialty Minting was created Madrid Mint, the present-day Fábrica and granted him complete control. In 1718, to produce commemorative coins Nacional de Moneda y Timbre-Real the Madrid Mint was brought under the for the upcoming 1992 events in Casa de la Moneda (FNMT). To mark direct authority of the Crown. Spain (the Olympic Games, the fifth the occasion, a plaque was unveiled The Madrid Mint and the country’s Stamp centenary of the discovery of America on one of the mainstays of the viaduct Factory, set up in the reign of Felipe IV, and the Universal Expo in Seville). in Madrid, in commemoration of the were merged into the Fábrica Nacional de This also produced coins for the new Mint’s historical location. Moneda y Timbre in 1893. In 1940, the monetary system introduced in 1990 The Madrid Mint was founded by a Royal FNMT was authorized to print banknotes, and, subsequently, the euro. Warrant proclaimed by Philip III in 1614 and soon after it also began production In 1999, in recognition of its position and coin production was first set in action of security paper. Passports and national and service to the country, HM King in April 1615 with the minting of gold 2 ID cards followed when it moved to its Juan Carlos I granted the FNMT the escudo and silver 4 real pieces. Until 1861 current premises in 1964, and – more title of ‘Royal’. it was located in the Calle de Segovia, recently – it has moved into smart cards situated at the foot of the current viaduct. and electronic certification.

Old Subjects with a New Livery Publisher: Monea in cooperation with Currency Publications Ltd. Editor: Dr Ursula Kampmann (left) in cooperation with Dr Björn Schöpe Translator: Dr Annika Backe and Teresa Teklic

Mint News Quarterly is an independent supplement which is produced every three months and distributed with Currency News™. Britannia is an ancient term for for ways to cement the union that makes 4 Windmill Business Village, Roman Britain and also the female up the country, the future of which was Brooklands Close, Sunbury, personification of the island. Since 1672, threatened by the Scottish referendum TW16 7DY, UK she has featured on all British coins, but on independence of last year and which www.currency-news.com was replaced in 2008 when a new set of could be again. circulating coins was introduced. She According to Adam Lawrence, Chief is, however, about to reappear, gracing Executive of The Royal Mint, ‘the instantly the reverse of the new £2 coin, together recognisable figure of Britannia has a long, PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH MONEA with a new portrait of HM The Queen, enduring history which has evolved and the fifth definitive coin portrait since her changed in keeping with the nation which No part of this publication may be reproduced, accession to the throne. strored in a retrieval system or translated in any she represents. She has come to stand form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, Following the issue of a new series of as a symbol of renewed optimism for our photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the rightholders. The copyright coins in 2008, Britannia was replaced country, and has a rightful place on the is owned by the author. If no author is mentioned by a modernistic adaption of Bruce currency of the United Kingdom.’ the copyright is with Dr. Ursula Kampmann. Rushin’s ‘History of Technological Meanwhile, the definitive coin portrait COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Achievement’, and her effigy was of Queen Elizabeth II, the fifth since her relegated to a series of commemorative accession to the throne in 1952, has a Sponsors coins issued by The Royal Mint. tradition of its own. It was designed by So why reinstate her now? young artist Jody Clark, an engraver and designer with The Royal Mint. The portrait This is in part, no doubt, due to the fact was chosen by a closed competition that, by 2013, 25% of the British people commissioned by the Royal Mint Advisory no longer recognised Britannia, according Committee and will feature both on the new to a survey by The Royal Mint. And also £2 circulating coin and, from this month, all due to the fact that politicians are looking British commemorative coins as well.

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