Planchet

AplanchetEnglish:/ˈplæntʃət/is a round metal disk that is ready to be struck as acoin.An older word for planchet isflan.They are also referred to asblanks.

History

The preparation of the flan or planchet has varied over the years. In ancient times, the flan was heated before striking because the metal that thecoin dieswere made of was not as hard as dies today, and the dies would have worn faster and broken sooner had the flan not been heated to a high temperature to soften it.

An unusual method was used to mint the one-sided, bowl-shapedpfennigsof theHoly Roman Empire.The planchet used for these so-calledSchüsselpfennigswas larger than the coin die itself. The coins were made by striking with only one upper die on the larger planchet. As a result, the perimeter of the planchet was pressed upwards in the shape of a bowl or plate. Until the 18th century they were minted mainly in theHarz Mountains.The curved shape of the pfennig was very useful for handling small change because it was easier to grip than a flat coin.^[1]

Modern striking

Today's dies are made fromhardened steel,and the presses use many thousands ofpounds of forceto strike coins (varying according to the size of the coin and the complexity and relief of the design). In addition, today's coins have much lower relief than ancient coins. Because of this, the planchet no longer needs to be heated immediately before striking, although it isannealedby heating and slow cooling which softens the coin.

Preparation

A 6,000-pound coil is fed into a blanking press at the US Mint.

Preparation of the modern planchet involves several steps. First, the metal (or metals in the case of clad or multilayered coins) is rolled out into a large roll or sheet of the correct thickness. This process is often done by third parties, not by themintitself. These flat rolls or sheets of metal are then punched out into round blanks that are a little larger than the coin being struck. The blanks are then subjected to an annealing process that softens the metal through heating to approximately 750 degreesCelsius(1400 degreesFahrenheit) and are then slowly air cooled. They are then washed to remove residue from the annealing process and dried.

Completion

Finally, the planchet is struck. After striking, it becomes a coin and is no longer a planchet. Occasionally, a planchet will escape the mint without having been struck. This is a blank planchet error, and is usually worth a few dollars for modern coins. Occasionally, blank planchets can be rare and valuable, such is the case forMorgan Dollarblank planchets, although authentication and appraisal by a coin grading service is highly recommended for such pieces as they would be fairly easy to counterfeit.

References

^Helmut Kahnt:Das große Münzlexikon von A bis Z.(2005), p. 249.

External links

How coins are minted– an extensive description of the minting process through the ages
winsociety.org
Circulating coins (flash required)
Minting Process

[1] Helmut Kahnt:Das große Münzlexikon von A bis Z.(2005), p. 249.

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