Custom Silver Coins

Custom Silver Coins is almost a separate field in the fascinating hobby of silver coin collecting.

Whereas silver coins are traditionally produced by government owned or controlled mints around the world (although this is changing with the culture of privatization), custom silver coins are produced, usually to order for specific purposes by private mints or manufacturers.

The North West Mint is a good example. On their site at http://www.nwtmint.com/ custom silver coins.

Here they show you the steps in minting a gold or silver coin designed either as a commemorative coin or for sale as a beautiful object. Custom silver coins and customer gold coins are manufactured with great care and

For commemorative and medallion coins staff artists work from an idea or a very rough sketch supplied by the customer. Once a design is finalized, the artist sculptures the design in relief. Each original sculpture is made proportionately larger than the medallion's actual size, to allow as much detail and depth as possible.

The sculpt is then mechanically reduced to make the die. The die is a reverse engraving of heat treated, hardened steel, and is used to strike the medallion.

The gold. silver, brass, and other alloys that go into our products are melted down and poured into cylindrical shapes called billets. These are then pressed through a small rectangular opening, drawing them into long thin strips of soft annealed metal.

The strips of metal are rolled down to the exact thickness required to achieve the proper size-to-weight ratio so the pressed medallion will meet certified specifications. The strips are then run through the 'blanking' press which punches out blank discs of metal. These are then scrupulously cleaned in preparation of striking the medallion.

The top and bottom dies are locked into the minting press capable of up to 1000 tons of pressure. The impact of the dies on the blank within the collar forces the metal to 'flow' into the recesses of the die and shape the medallion. A proof medallion requires several strikes to achieve it's beautiful mirror-like finish.

An exclusive rim marking system has been incorporated into our manufacturing process to further enhance and distinguish each medallion. Edge options include the traditional ridged or reeded variation, as on a dime. In addition, serial numbers, commemorative slogans and special dedications can also be embedded into the edge.

The finished coins are then packaged according to the customers specifications Most commonly, each is sealed in a clear Lucite protective capsule and encased in a plush lined leatherette display box.

Custom coins and special presentation coins are available from this and other private mints.

Custom silver coins can be a delight to buy and collect and are easily available for the coin enthusiast.