Medal maker not easily determined
I recently received the Korean Peace Talks Summit Coin [not really a coin of course] being sold by the official White House Gift Shop. Do you have any information about…
I recently received the Korean Peace Talks Summit Coin [not really a coin of course] being sold by the official White House Gift Shop. Do you have any information about who manufactured this piece?
I was surprised how little information was published on who manufactured this souvenir. According to the South China Morning Post newspaper for May 22, “The commemorative piece was minted by the White House Military Office, which typically designs coins for Trump’s trips abroad.” Officially the WHMO provides military support for White House functions, but it wasn’t clear if they use outside contractors for such things as souvenir medals. Considering the artwork, the color enhancement, and that these were made on short notice, it is unlikely the U.S. Mint could have reacted this quickly. Any reader with more information is welcome to jump in on this one.
Many collect just crowns. Some like myself collect non-crowns. It appears more and more confusing what coins are considered crowns. For example, the France 25 euros, KM1581, 1761-1763. They are listed as 33 millimeters and 18 grams, yet are worth over $25. Do you consider this coin a crown?
I checked with five different sources and found five different definitions and standards by which each source determined a coin to be a crown or not. The British crown is an adaption of the French ecu a la couronne. For the purposes of collectors in the United States, a crown is usually considered to be any foreign dollar-size silver or copper-nickel composition coin. I would suggest such a coin should have a diameter anywhere between 33 and 50 millimeters.
What does the term “al marco” have to do with the blanking process during coin production?
Al marco refers to the width of the metal coil strip that will be punched into coinage blanks. The width of that strip has an impact on the average weight of a batch of finished coins. Strip is so exacting it is measured down to a portion of a millimeter.
Can a coil from which coin blanks are punched be used to make these blanks for more than one denomination?
All coils from which coinage blanks are punched are made specifically for a single coinage denomination.
How many coin planchets can a blanking machine strike per minute?
The number of strokes per minute varies by machine maker and denomination. 800 blanks per minute is a fair figure.
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