Close collar minting is a method of coin manufacture that is used almost exclusively today. With close collar

minting Minting is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated south from the A158 road. The population (including Gautby) at the 2011 census was 286. Minting Priory was located here. Mi ...

, the

planchet A planchet is a round metal disk that is ready to be struck as a coin. An older word for planchet is flan. They are also referred to as blanks. History The preparation of the flan or planchet has varied over the years. In ancient times, the f ...

is centred within a solid metal collar during the minting process. This restraining collar prevented the expansion of the planchet sideways and outwards and thus made it possible to mint completely round coins for the first time. These could also have a slightly raised edge ( edge bar) and an edge inscription without additional

milling Milling may refer to: * Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin * Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill * Milling (machining), a process of using rota ...

. The edge minting made possible with the new technology is not only difficult to forge; it also increases the circulation security of the coins, since

coin clipping Coin debasement is the act of decreasing the amount of precious metal in a coin, while continuing to circulate it at face value. This was frequently done by governments in order to inflate the amount of currency in circulation; typically, some o ...

is very easily noticed. A

pearl circle A pearl circle (also pearl rim or pearl ring; French ''grènetis'', German ''Perlkreis'', ''Perlrand'', ''Perlreif'') is a circular arrangement of fine, raised points or "pearls" on the edge of coins; it also sometimes appears in round or oval fra ...

often adjoins the edge bar on the inside. Halfpenny 1790 George III Pattern by J

Close collar minting is an invention of French

medalist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

and engraver Jean-Pierre Droz (1746–1823). Its prototype of a functional minting machine had a six-part minting ring. Close collars were used for the first time in the new

Soho Mint Soho Mint was created by Matthew Boulton in 1788 in his Soho Manufactory () in Handsworth, West Midlands, England. A mint was erected at the manufactory containing eight machines, to his own patent design, driven by steam engine, each capable of ...

. In Germany, Prussia systematically promoted such coinage via the

German Customs Union The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had b ...

from the middle of the 19th century.Hans-Dietrich Kahl (1972) ''Hauptlinien der deutschen Münzgeschichte vom Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts bis 1878.'' Frankfurt: Dr. Busso Peus Nachf., p. 34

References

Literature

* Ewald Junge (1977): Droz, Jean-Piere. "Circular minting". In: Tyll Kroha (main author) ''Lexikon der Numismatik''. Bertelsmann Lexikonverlag, Gütersloh. p. 121. * Gerhard Welter (1977): "Circular minting". In: Tyll Kroha (main author) ''Lexikon der Numismatik''. Bertelsmann Lexikonverlag, Gütersloh. p. 370. Production of coins Metal forming