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Old 04-03-2008, 08:15 AM
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Tom Maringer Tom Maringer is offline
Steel
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Springdale Arkansas
Posts: 48
Default Re: Engraving coining dies

Quote:
Originally Posted by gravertom
Hi Tom, I think there is interest, but the prospect of building or buying a coining press is pretty imtimidating for some of us. Are there any "lower tech" methods that may get us able to strike some kind of image, to make a sample like you suggest? Or are some of the metal forming presses out there capable of some of this type of work? Do you offer services for those who may be able to do part of the work, but not the parts that require the press? I have thought that this has been a very good thread.
Thanks, Tom
Ah! Yes of course. I have a shopful of presses, but the die-generation is always the bottleneck in any project. I often job out the die work for particular projects. Typically I would ship annealed tool-steel die-blanx to the engraver that have already been turned, faced, and necked... sometimes with rims already cut and sometimes with certain design elements already hobbed in place.

I can also do the actual pressing of coins/tokens etc from dies that you engrave. Either I would send you the steel blank or I'd need to provide detailed specs so that your die could be accommodated in my press tooling.

I have a 3hp 5 inch rolling mill for reducing plate, and a multitude of blanking punches for creating blanks... both round and in various shapes.

Here is a website of Joel Anderson's, where he is selling some fantasy coins I made, on dies engraved by Greg Franck-Weiby... one in 5th century Roman style, and the other in 10th century Viking style.
http://www.joelscoins.com/fantasy.htm

Many people would like tokens made to advertise their shops or services... but getting good dies engraved is difficult. Frankly, I'm a beginning engraver and the dies I make myself look pretty amateurish. That works fine if the STYLE of the piece is intended to evoke medieval coins, because the originals were pretty crude and the overall effect works. But if the work is intended to be more modern in style I generally try to hand off to someone with more refined skills.
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