1.
Coin
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A coin is a small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government, Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. Coins made of metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation is less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain. Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold, while the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal face values, the Krugerrand does not. The first coins were developed independently in Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece, India, Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans. Standardized Roman currency was used throughout the Roman Empire, important Roman gold and silver coins were continued into the Middle Ages. Fiat money first arose in medieval China, with the paper money. Early paper money was introduced in Europe in the later Middle Ages, the penny was minted as a silver coin until the 17th century. The first circulating United States coins were cents, produced in 1793, Coins were an evolution of currency systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made and these were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell. According to Aristotle and Pollux, the first issuer of coins was Hermodike of Kyme The earliest coins are associated with Iron Age Anatolia. Early electrum coins were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests. The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver, most of the early Lydian coins include no writing, only an image of a symbolic animal. Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν, whose symbol was the stag, a small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend
2.
Die (manufacturing)
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A die is a specialized tool used in manufacturing industries to cut or shape material mostly using a press. Like molds, dies are generally customized to the item they are used to create, products made with dies range from simple paper clips to complex pieces used in advanced technology. Forming dies are made by tool and die makers and put into production after mounting into a press. The die is a block that is used for forming materials like sheet metal. For the vacuum forming of sheet only a single form is used. Vacuum forming is considered a simple molding thermoforming process but uses the principles as die forming. The workpiece may pass through several stages using different tools or operations to obtain the final form, the main components for die tool sets are, Die block – This is the main part that all the other parts are attached to. Punch plate – This part holds and supports the different punches in place, blank punch – This part along with the blank die produces the blanked part. Pierce punch – This part along with the pierce die removes parts from the finished part. Stripper plate – This is used to hold the material down on the blank/pierce die, pilot – This will help to place the sheet accurately for the next stage of operation. Guide, back gauge, or finger stop – These parts are all used to make sure that the material being worked on always goes in the position, within the die. Setting block – This part is used to control the depth that the punch goes into the die, Blanking dies – See blanking punch Pierce die – See pierce punch. Shank – used to hold in the presses and it should be aligned and situated at the center of gravity of the plate. Processes, Blanking, A blanking die produces a piece of material by cutting the desired shape in one operation. The finished part is referred to as a blank, generally a blanking die may only cut the outside contour of a part, often used for parts with no internal features. Three benefits to die blanking are, Accuracy, a properly sharpened die, with the correct amount of clearance between the punch and die, will produce a part that holds close dimensional tolerances in relationship to the parts edges. Since the part is blanked in one operation, the edges of the part produces a uniform appearance as opposed to varying degrees of burnishing from multiple operations. Due to the compression of the blanking process, the end result is a flat part that may retain a specific level of flatness for additional manufacturing operations
3.
Archival
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An archive is an accumulation of historical records or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organizations lifetime, in general, archives consist of records that have been selected for permanent or long-term preservation on grounds of their enduring cultural, historical, or evidentiary value. Archival records are normally unpublished and almost always unique, unlike books or magazines for which many copies exist. This means that archives are quite distinct from libraries with regard to their functions and organization, a person who works in archives is called an archivist. The study and practice of organizing, preserving, and providing access to information, the physical place of storage can be referred to as an archive, an archives, or a repository. When referring to historical records or the places they are kept, the computing use of the term archive should not be confused with the record-keeping meaning of the term. The adjective formed from archive is archival, the practice of keeping official documents is very old. Archaeologists have discovered archives of hundreds of clay tablets going back to the third and second millennia BC in sites like Ebla, Mari, Amarna, Hattusas, Ugarit and these discoveries have been fundamental to know ancient alphabets, languages, literature, and politics. Archives were well developed by the ancient Chinese, the ancient Greeks, however, they have been lost, since documents written on materials like papyrus and paper deteriorated at a faster pace, unlike their stone tablet counterparts. Archives of churches, kingdoms, and cities from the Middle Ages survive and have kept their official status uninterruptedly till now. They are the tool for historical research on these ages. Modern archival thinking has many roots from the French Revolution, historians, genealogists, lawyers, demographers, filmmakers, and others conduct research at archives. The research process at each archive is unique, and depends upon the institution that houses the archive. While there are kinds of archives, the most recent census of archivists in the United States identifies five major types, academic, business, government, non-profit. There are also four main areas of inquiry involved with archives, material technologies, organizing principles, geographic locations and these areas help to further categorize what kind of archive is being created. Archives in colleges, universities, and other facilities are typically housed within a library. Academic archives exist to preserve history and serve the academic community. Access to the collections in these archives is usually by prior appointment only, users of academic archives can be undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff, scholarly researchers, and the general public
4.
Coin collecting
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Coin collecting is the collecting of coins or other forms of minted legal tender. Coins of interest to collectors often include those that circulated for only a time, coins with mint errors. Coin collecting can be differentiated from numismatics, in that the latter is the study of currency. Though closely related, the two disciplines are not necessarily the same, a numismatist may or may not be a coin collector, and vice versa. A coins grade is a determinant of its value. For a tiered fee, a third party service like PCGS or NGC will grade, authenticate, attribute. Over 80 million coins have been certified by the four largest services, people have hoarded coins for their bullion value for as long as coins have been minted. However, the collection of coins for their value was a later development. Evidence from the archaeological and historical record of Ancient Rome and medieval Mesopotamia indicates that coins were collected and catalogued by scholars and it also seems probable that individual citizens collected old, exotic or commemorative coins as an affordable, portable form of art. Contemporary coin collecting and appreciation began around the fourteenth century, during the Renaissance, it became a fad among some members of the privileged classes, especially kings and queens. The Italian scholar and poet Petrarch is credited with being the pursuits first and most famous aficionado, following his lead, many European kings, princes, and other nobility kept collections of ancient coins. Perhaps because only the wealthy could afford the pursuit, in Renaissance times coin collecting became known as the Hobby of Kings. During the 17th and 18th centuries coin collecting remained a pursuit of the well-to-do, but rational, Enlightenment thinking led to a more systematic approach to accumulation and study. During the 19th and 20th centuries, coin collecting increased further in popularity, the market for coins expanded to include not only antique coins, but foreign or otherwise exotic currency. Coin shows, trade associations, and regulatory bodies emerged during these decades, as one of the oldest and most popular world pastimes, coin collecting is now often referred to as the King of Hobbies. The motivations for collecting are varied, possibly the most common type of collector is the hobbyist, who amasses a collection purely for fun with no real expectation of profit. This is especially true of casual collectors and children who collect items on the basis of chance, another frequent reason for purchasing coins is as an investment. As with stamps, precious metals or other commodities, coin prices are based on supply
5.
Numismatics
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Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. Early money used by people is referred to as Odd and Curious, the Kyrgyz people used horses as the principal currency unit and gave small change in lambskins, the lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horse is not. Many objects have been used for centuries, such as shells, precious metals, cocoa beans, large stones. Today, most transactions take place by a form of payment with either inherent, standardized, Numismatic value may be used to refer to the value in excess of the monetary value conferred by law, which is known as the collector value. Economic and historical studies of use and development are an integral part of the numismatists study of moneys physical embodiment. First attested in English 1829, the word comes from the adjective numismatic. It was borrowed in 1792 from French numismatiques, itself a derivation from Late Latin numismatis, genitive of numisma, throughout its history, money itself has been made to be a scarce good, although it does not have to be. Many materials have been used to form money, from naturally scarce precious metals and cowry shells through cigarettes to entirely artificial money, called fiat money, many complementary currencies use time as a unit of measure, using mutual credit accounting that keeps the balance of money intact. Modern money is essentially a token – an abstraction, paper currency is perhaps the most common type of physical money today. However, goods such as gold or silver retain many of the properties of money, such as volatility. However, these goods are not controlled by one single authority, coin collecting may have existed in ancient times. Caesar Augustus gave coins of every device, including old pieces of the kings, petrarch, who wrote in a letter that he was often approached by vinediggers with old coins asking him to buy or to identify the ruler, is credited as the first Renaissance collector. Petrarch presented a collection of Roman coins to Emperor Charles IV in 1355, the first book on coins was De Asse et Partibus by Guillaume Budé. During the early Renaissance ancient coins were collected by European royalty and nobility, Numismatics is called the Hobby of Kings, due to its most esteemed founders. Professional societies organized in the 19th century, the Royal Numismatic Society was founded in 1836 and immediately began publishing the journal that became the Numismatic Chronicle. The American Numismatic Society was founded in 1858 and began publishing the American Journal of Numismatics in 1866, in 1931 the British Academy launched the Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum publishing collections of Ancient Greek coinage. The first volume of Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles was published in 1958, after World War II in Germany a project, Fundmünzen der Antike was launched, to register every coin found within Germany. This idea found successors in many countries, in the United States, the US mint established a coin Cabinet in 1838 when chief coiner Adam Eckfeldt donated his personal collection
6.
Penny (United States coin)
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The United States one-cent coin often called penny, is a unit of currency equaling one-hundredth of a United States dollar. Its obverse has featured the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, from 1959 to 2008, the reverse featured the Lincoln Memorial. Four different reverse designs in 2009 honored Lincolns 200th birthday and a new, the coin is 0.75 inches in diameter and 0.0598 inches in thickness. Its weight has varied, depending upon the composition of metals used in its production, Mints official name for the coin is cent and the U. S. Treasurys official name is one cent piece. The colloquial term penny derives from the British coin of the same name, in American English, pennies is the plural form. Although the coins abolition has been proposed because it is now very little. As of 2015, based on the U. S. Mint Annual Report released for 2014, it costs the U. S. Mint 1.67 cents to one cent because of the cost of materials, production. This figure includes the Mints fixed components for distribution and fabrication, fixed costs and overhead would have to be absorbed by other circulating coins without the penny. The loss from producing the one cent coin in the United States for the year of 2013 was $55,000,000 and this was a slight decrease from 2012, the year before, which had a production loss of $58,000,000. In honor of Lincolns 200th anniversary, special 2009 cents were minted for collectors in the composition as the 1909 coins. In 1943, at the peak of World War II, zinc-coated steel cents were made for a time because of war demands for copper. A few copper cents from 1943 were produced from the 1942 planchets remaining in the bins, similarly, some 1944 steel cents have been confirmed. During the early 1970s, the price of copper rose to the point where the cent contained almost one cents worth of copper and this led the Mint to test alternative metals, including aluminum and bronze-clad steel. Aluminum was chosen, and over 1.5 million of these pennies were struck, One aluminum cent was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The cents composition was changed in 1982 because the value of the copper in the coin started to rise above one cent, some 1982 pennies used the 97. 5% zinc composition, while others used the 95% copper composition. With the exception of 2009 bicentennial cents minted specifically for collectors, in Fiscal Year 2013, the average one-cent piece minted cost the U. S. Mint 1.83 cents, down from 2.41 cents apiece in FY2011. The bronze and copper cents can be distinguished from the newer zinc cents by dropping the coins on a solid surface, the predominantly copper coins produce a higher-pitched ringing sound, while the zinc coins make a lower-pitched clunk. The coin has gone through several designs over its time frame
7.
Obverse and reverse
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In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called heads, because it depicts the head of a prominent person. In fields of scholarship outside numismatics, the front is more commonly used than obverse. For prints and drawings with material on both sides the one judged as more significant will be the recto, a convention now exists typically to display the obverse to the left and the reverse to the right in photographs and museum displays, but this is not invariably observed. Following this principle, in the most famous of ancient Greek coins, the tetradrachm of Athens, the obverse is the head of Athena, similar versions of these two images, both symbols of the state, were used on the Athenian coins for more than two centuries. The opposite side may have varied from time to time and this change happened in the coinage of Alexander the Great, which continued to be minted long after his death. The various Hellenistic rulers who were his successors followed his tradition and this script alone style then was used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period. The type of Justinian II was revived after the end of Iconoclasm, without images, therefore, it is not always easy to tell which side will be regarded as the obverse without some knowledge. After 695, Islamic coins avoided all images of persons and usually, the side expressing the Six Kalimas is usually defined as the obverse. The form of currency follows its function, which is to serve as an accepted medium of exchange of value. Traditionally, most states have been monarchies where the person of the monarch, if not provided for on the obverse, the reverse side usually contains information relating to a coins role as medium of exchange. Additional space typically reflects the countrys culture or government, or evokes some aspect of the states territory. Regarding the euro, some regarding the obverse and reverse of the euro coins exists. This rule does not apply to the coins as they dont have a common side. A number of the used for obverse national sides of euro coins were taken from the reverse of the old pre-euro coins of some individual countries. Several countries continue to use portraits of the monarch and the Republic of Ireland continues to use the State Arms. The Chrysanthemum Crest was no longer used after the war, and so, the side on which the date continues to be regarded as the reverse. Following ancient tradition, the obverse of coins of the United Kingdom almost always feature the head of the monarch
8.
Cameo (carving)
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Cameo is a method of carving an object such as an engraved gem, item of jewellery or vessel made in this manner. It nearly always features a relief image, contrast with intaglio. Today the term may be used loosely for objects with no colour contrast. This derives from another generalized meaning that has developed, the cameo as an image of a head in a frame in any medium. In cheaper modern work, shell and glass are more common, glass cameo vessels, such as the famous Portland Vase, were also developed by the Romans. Modern cameos can be produced by setting a carved relief, such as a portrait and this is called an assembled cameo. Sometimes dyes are used to enhance these colours, sir Wallis Budge alleged that the noun Cameo apparently comes from Kameo, a word used in kabbalistic slang to signify a magical square, i. e. A kind of talisman whereupon magical spells was carved, stone cameos of great artistry were made in Greece dating back as far as the 3rd century BC. The Farnese Tazza is the oldest major Hellenistic piece surviving and they were very popular in Ancient Rome, especially in the family circle of Augustus. Roman Cameos became less common around in the leading up to 300AD although production continued at a much reduced rate right through the Middle Ages. The technique has since enjoyed periodic revivals, notably in the early Renaissance, the Neoclassical revival began in France with Napoleons support of the glyptic arts, and even his coronation crown was decorated with cameos. In 1852 Théophile Gautier titled a collection of his highly polished, during the Roman period the cameo technique was used on glass blanks, in imitation of objects being produced in agate or sardonyx. Cameo glass objects were produced in two periods, between around 25 BC and 50/60 AD, and in the later Empire around the mid-third and mid-fourth century. Roman glass cameos are rare objects, with only two hundred fragments and sixteen complete pieces known, only one of which dates from the later period. Blanks could be produced by fusing two separately cast sheets of glass, or by dipping the base glass into a crucible of molten overlay glass during blowing, the most famous example of a cameo from the early period is the Portland Vase. Although occasionally used in Roman cameos, the earliest prevalent use of shell for carving was during the Renaissance. Before that time, cameos were carved from hardstone, the Renaissance cameos are typically white on a grayish background and were carved from the shell of a mussel or cowry, the latter a tropical mollusk. In the mid 18th century, explorations revealed new shell varieties, helmet shells from the West Indies, and queen conch shells from the Bahamas and West Indies, arrived in Europe
9.
U.S. Mint
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The United States Mint produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money, the Mint was created in Philadelphia in 1792, and soon joined by other centres, whose coins were identified by their own mint marks. There are currently four active coin-producing mints, Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, the Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and originally placed within the Department of State. Per the terms of the Coinage Act, the first Mint building was in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States, today, the Mints headquarters are in Washington D. C. It operates mint facilities in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point, New York and a bullion depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Official Mints were once located in Carson City, Nevada, Charlotte, North Carolina, Dahlonega, Georgia, New Orleans, Louisiana, Washington, D. C. and even in Manila. Originally part of the State Department, the Mint was made an independent agency in 1799 and it converted precious metals into standard coin for anyones account with no seigniorage charge beyond the refining costs. Under the Coinage Act of 1873, the Mint became part of the Department of the Treasury and it was placed under the auspices of the Treasurer of the United States in 1981. Legal tender coins of today are minted solely for the Treasurys account, the first Director of the United States Mint was renowned scientist David Rittenhouse from 1792 to 1795. The position was held most recently by Edmund C, moy until his resignation effective January 9,2011. Henry Voigt was the first Superintendent and Chief Coiner, and is credited with some of the first U. S. coin designs. Another important position at the Mint is that of Chief Engraver, the Mint has operated several branch facilities throughout the United States since the Philadelphia Mint opened in 1792, in a building known as Ye Olde Mint. With the opening of branch mints came the need for mint marks, the first of these branch mints were the Charlotte, North Carolina, Dahlonega, Georgia, and New Orleans, Louisiana branches. Both the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mints were opened to facilitate the conversion of gold deposits into coinage. The Civil War closed both these facilities permanently, the New Orleans Mint closed at the beginning of the Civil War and did not re-open until the end of Reconstruction in 1879. During its two stints as a facility, it produced both gold and silver coinage in eleven different denominations, though only ten denominations were ever minted there at one time. A new branch facility was opened in Carson City, Nevada, in 1870, it operated until 1893, like the Charlotte and Dahlonega branches, the Carson City Mint was opened to take advantage of local precious metal deposits, in this case, a large vein of silver. Though gold coins were produced there, no base metal coins were
10.
Nickel (United States coin)
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A nickel, in American usage, is a five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint. Composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel, the piece has been issued since 1866 and its diameter is.835 inches and its thickness is.077 inches. The silver half dime, equal to five cents, had issued since the 1790s. The American Civil War caused economic hardship, driving gold and silver from circulation, in response, in place of low-value coins, the government at first issued paper currency. In 1865, Congress abolished the five-cent fractional currency note after Spencer M. Clark, head of the Currency Bureau, the initial design of the Shield nickel was struck from 1866 until 1883, then was replaced by the Liberty Head nickel. The Buffalo nickel was introduced in 1913 as part of a drive to increase the beauty of American coinage, in 1938, in 2004 and 2005, special designs in honor of the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were issued. In 2006, the Mint reverted to using Jefferson nickel designer Felix Schlags original reverse, although a new obverse, by Jamie Franki, was substituted. As of the end of FY2013, it cost more than nine cents to produce a nickel, the silver half disme was one of the denominations prescribed by the Mint Act of 1792, its weight and fineness were set by law. By legend, President Washington supplied silverware from his home, Mount Vernon, in 1793, the newly established Philadelphia Mint began striking cents and half cents. Coinage of precious metal was delayed, Congress required the assayer and chief coiner to each post a security bond of $10,000, a huge sum in 1793. In 1794, Congress lowered the chief coiners bond to $5,000, subsequently, silver coinage began that year. The half dime was struck to various designs by Mint Engraver Robert Scot from 1794 until 1805, though none were dated 1798,1799, in response, in 1804 the US stopped striking silver dollars, issuance of the half dime was discontinued from 1805 until 1829. Beginning in 1829, the silver five-cent piece was struck, beginning in 1837. In 1851, it ceased to be the smallest US silver coin as a three cent piece was issued by the Mint, although specie was hoarded or exported, the copper-nickel cent, then the only base metal denomination being struck, also vanished. In 1864, Congress began the process of restoring coins to circulation by abolishing the three-cent note and authorizing bronze cents and two-cent pieces, with low intrinsic values and these new coins initially proved popular, though the two-cent piece soon faded from circulation. On March 3,1865, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Mint to strike three-cent pieces of 75% copper, in 1864, Congress authorized a third series of fractional currency notes. Clark kept his job only because of the intervention of Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase. In his 1865 report, Pollock wrote, From this nickel alloy, a coin for the denomination of five cents, only until the resumption of specie payments
