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Old 04-13-2008, 02:34 PM
Tom Maringer's Avatar
Tom Maringer Tom Maringer is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Springdale Arkansas
Posts: 48
Default Re: Engraving coining dies

I have no interest in making replicas... the fine line between "replica" and "fake" is too gray for me... don't even want to go there. But I would like to be able to copy some basic design motifs from existing coins... like the excellent galleon off the back of a British pre-decimal 1/2p, or the eagle on the back of a Washington Quarter... then use them in a different context. I'm far more interested in fantasies and original works.

Before you go to the (very extensive) trouble of building a press, I suggest you compare what you'd spend with what it would cost to obtain an old used one. They're not as expensive as you might think if you shop around... and somebody has already gone through the engineering and made all the mistakes so you don't have to. I see you're in KC... that's just five hours away. I'm in the extreme NW corner of Arkansas just down Hwy 71 from you. If I'm around you'd be welcome to stop and visit. I have a Zeh & Hahnemann model 5, 30 ton screw-type percussion press that is currently not being used here. The motor is 2hp three-phase, the leather clutch belt is in good shape. I have other smaller or larger presses that perform all the same functions so it is currently superfluous for me. I got it because I thought I was going into high level production on buttons... but that plan never came off so I never actually bolted it down and got it running, but it's been well cared for and everything is there. It's just sitting in a corner right now. This size press would be ideal for striking pieces in the dime/penny/nickel size range. Weighs about 2500 pounds and would need to be bolted down to a solid slab floor. Shipping on these heavy things can be a real pain, but you're close enough to haul it in a day on a trailer. I don't have any photos of it, but this Z&H #5 is basically the slightly smaller sibling of the Z&H #7 that I show on my website... the gray one next to the blue manual one.... http://www.shirepost.com/ShopTour.html
This is a late 18th century design originally run from a steam-driven line shaft and converted to electric drive. The overhead shaft is run by the electric motor. There are two clutch plates mounted on the shaft. The operator moves a lever which shifts the clutch shaft longitudinally, engaging one plate to the screw flywheel through a leather belt and driving it down. When the lever is released the other clutch plate engages, raising the flywheel back up to start position. It's quite ingenious and far more sophisticated that something anybody could conceivably make on their own.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SVD
Just finished reading my copy yesterday - I agree, it's a great book! The info on how to copy an existing coin is interesting, and I can see it being potentially usefull if you're ever called on to make replica coins. From a web search it appears Mr. Larson has been doing some of that in Isreal. He set up for making some very faithful copies, then added his signature to the coin's edge so you can tell they're replicas.
Sometime this summer I have to find someone with a machine shop so I can make / help make a press for hammer forging (similar to the one on page 138 but with a few modifications) and then design a token of my own.
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