Extruding

From Billet to Sheet

The solid metal forms referred to as "billets" are dislodged from the steel containers and transported to the billet oven (shown at right), where they are reheated for 15 minutes at approximately 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit in preparation for the next step in the process. Using specially designed channel locks to collect the heated billets from the oven, technicians load the billets into a massive machine called an extruder, which operates under extreme pressure to fashion the heated forms into thin strips of soft, annealed metal.

The extruded strips are then sent to the roller, where they are rolled to precise thicknesses.

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Hot Topic: Extruded Bars

When Pan American Silver wanted a solution for minting 100 Troy Ounce silver bullion bars, Northwest Territorial Mint proposed manufacturing these from extruded silver which is then sand blasted and pressed. The result is a highly acclaimed bar purchased as an investment but prized for its beauty.

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Roman Coin Sizes, Metals, and Language

Northwest Territorial Mint: Did You Know? Roman legends are in Latin which uses our usual alphabet. Many of the words will remind you of English words. The coins were minted in silver, copper, or gold. Of course, the lower denominations in copper and silver are more common. Most range in size from that of a dime to the size of a half dollar, but thicker. Because the coin was stamped by mallet between dies with no collar, the shapes are irregular and the edges rough.