Dies

Two hardened steel dies, each engraved with a unique design, are used to strike your custom medallion. These dies can either be rendered with two dimensional or three dimensional engraving, depending on the complexity of your design and the look you want for your finished coin. Corporate logos or slogans can often best be replicated using a two-dimensional die. Portraits, landscapes, and other highly detailed imagery typically require use of a three-dimensional die.

When the dies are ready, we turn our attention to the process of creating blanks. This usually starts with the melt.

Would you like more information on the types of minted items available from Northwest Territorial Mint? Request a FREE information packet with detailed information about custom coins and other minted products.

Hot Topic: Splash Minting

Extraordinary coin relief can be achieved through the use of special dies that allow excess metal to “splash” out sideways when the coin is struck. After the strike, the excess metal is machined off, leaving a coin in which ships look like they are ready to sail away. Such coins are also thicker and have a heftier feel.

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Celators

Northwest Territorial Mint: Did You Know? Die engravers of antiquity were known as celators. Before the invention of lenses of magnification, even the earliest celators were able to create amazingly small detail in their dies, leaving many historians to now wonder how they did it.