Royal Mint video from 1956 0

[DWLange]

 

[Henri Charriere]

Trials of the "crypt."  

[coinsandmedals]

Very cool. Thank you for sharing! 

[Ryan S.]

That was incredible to see! Thank you, David!

[RWB]

These are always great -- even if it's just for the stuff they leave out. But, these were made as "shorts" for theaters, so there was no need to go beyond the popcorn crowd.

Edited December 16, 2020 by RWB

[Hoghead515]

What were they heating  in the first 5 seconds of the video. Im very new to the exact process. First video I've seen. 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Hoghead515

[MAULEMALL]

19 minutes ago, Hoghead515 said:

What were they heating  in the first 5 seconds of the video. Im very new to the exact process. First video I've seen. 

smelting old coins for new

[Hoghead515]

4 minutes ago, MAULEMALL said:

smelting old coins for new

I see now. That was a dumb question really wasn't it ?  Lol. It showed them dumping them in the furnace right after that. I just didn't put 2 and 2 together. Good thing I'm not in the detective business aint it. 

[MAULEMALL]

46 minutes ago, Hoghead515 said:

I see now. That was a dumb question really wasn't it ?  Lol. It showed them dumping them in the furnace right after that. I just didn't put 2 and 2 together. Good thing I'm not in the detective business aint it. 

No not dumb, I had to look again..

[Fenntucky Mike]

There are a few more of these older shorts from the RM on youtube, one from 48 and one from 25. Not as good as the one above but an interesting watch.

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Fenntucky Mike
wrong date

[Fenntucky Mike]

What the heck, here you go.

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Fenntucky Mike

[Fenntucky Mike]

 

[Fenntucky Mike]

Pretty sure I saw most if not all of that equipment in from Mine to Mint.

The book not the movie.

[S3R3NDIPITY]

I’m British and love all these posts and comments about the Royal Mint by Americans. We also have a sense of humour and don’t mind Americans poking fun at us.

[RWB]

On 12/16/2020 at 6:49 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

Pretty sure I saw most if not all of that equipment in from Mine to Mint.

The book not the movie.

Much of the minting equipment was similar - once the RM switched from steam power screw presses to toggle presses, the differences faded away. Also, presses, blank cutters, upsetting mills, etc. were made by some of the same companies. This happens to be one of my favorites - Boulton's steam powered screw press used at the RM for circulation coinage until the 1880s, and in a modified version for medals and proof coins until about 1915. In this engraving the well-dressed lad is going to feed 'blanks', and possibly a finger or two, into the press. Struck coins fell into the bin at far right. Not sure where the fingers landed.

Edited December 17, 2020 by RWB
Fix formatting - as usual

[Hoghead515]

Id say there's been a few fingers suck in them machines over the years. That one video Fenntucky Mike shared with us had that one old boy holding his fingers pretty close to that press. 

[DWLange]

The steam powered screw presses shook the entire building and were tough on both themselves and associated machinery. The RM underwent a big upgrade in equipment in the early 1880s that brought it into line with the U. S. Mint and most European Mints, too. The problem with being the first to introduce new technology (in this instance steam power for coining) is that others will quickly follow and then improve on it, while the original user tends to be reluctant to see where further change is merited.

[RWB]

To follow-on Mr. Lange's comments....

Matthew Boulton's(Soho Mint) steam powered screw presses seem to have generated no direct imitators. The illustration, above, and Mr. Lange's comments might highlight some of the impediments. However, Uhlhorn (in Carlsrhue, Baden, Germany), and Thonnelier (in Paris, France) used the toggle or knuckle-joint lever approach to build coin presses that were more efficient and simpler than Boulton's. These were in regular use when Franklin Peale visited Europe. He examined and made sketches of all three press types during his visit. He then prepared a much simpler, and sturdier toggle press which became the standard for US Mints. (Both Boulton and Thonnelier attempted to sell their presses to the US Mint, but found little interest in the imported items.)

For the US Mint Bureau, simple, sturdy coin presses and related machinery was very important. Only the Philadelphia Mint had access to mechanics and manufacturing plants of high skill levels. The Branches opened in the late 1830s were in isolated regions (even New Orleans) with few skilled workmen. Coin presses had to be maintainable by local workers. Replacement parts had to be made by local blacksmiths, or ordered from Philadelphia at great delay and expense. Peale's toggle presses had large parts of simple shapes, limited gearing, and generous tolerances. All of these made local maintenance easier, but at the expense of frequent lubrication and adjustment.

[Fenntucky Mike]

1910, RM says this may be the oldest surviving footage of the mint.

Love watching these, gives you an idea of how the machinery held up and was maintained. Probably my favorite part is seeing some of the guarding they added, in the 1948 video, to the equipment to make it, ahem, "safe". Always amazes me that coins even survived the mint in BU condition, let alone still have examples today.

I'm pretty sure I saw the guy ringing the coins dealing blackjack the last time I was in Vegas or was that Elvis in Memphis?  

More video's from the RM here. https://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/collection/film-and-photographs/film-collection/