Search in Swissmint
Coin production flow sheet
Blanks
 |
Casting The coinage metal is cast in ingots or bars. |
 |
Rolling
The ingots are then rolled into strips. |
 |
Stamping out Blanks are stamped out of the sheet metal. |
 |
Rimming The blanks are flattened until a smooth raised edge or rim is formed. |
Minting tools
 |
Sketch The artist draws a sketch. |
 |
Plaster model An oversized plaster model is created from the sketch. |
 |
Reducing The model is scaled down on a reducing machine to the actual dimensions of the coin. |
 |
Engraving The steel-positive die thus produced is subsequently reworked by an engraver. |
 |
Pressing Afterwards, the steel-positive die is hardened and pressed with great force into a mild-steel model. |
 |
Hardening The negative minting die thus produced is then turned into shape, hardened and chromium-plated. |
Minting
 |
Minting The coins are continuously struck. |
| Preparing blanks for minting in proof quality (polished plate) | |
 |
Annealing The malleability of the blanks is enhanced by soft-annealing in a furnace. |
 |
Peen-finishing To achieve optimum surface quality, the minting blanks are subsequently pickled and peen-finished. |
 |
Washing The blanks are washed in order to remove any pickling and polishing-agent residues. |
 |
Individual minting The stain-free dried blanks are struck one by one. |
Packing
 |
Packing collector's coins Commemorative coins in proof quality (polished plate) are packed by hand in elegant cases. |
 |
Dispatch Swissmint dispatches collector's coins to banks, coin dealers and private collectors. |
 |
Packing circulation coins Circulation coins are automatically rolled in paper, packed in cardboard boxes and palletised. |
 |
Delivery The pallets with the boxes of coins are delivered to the Swiss National Bank. |
 |
Distribution The Swiss National Bank distributes circulation coins to post offices, banks, etc. |