What is the difference between a Proof Strike, Business Strike, and a SMS Strike? Good Read!
UrbanDecay04
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_Written by James Bucki 04/30/20
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The strike type of a coin refers to the particular minting process that was used to strike a planchet into a coin. There are three basic strike types: Circulation Strike, Proof Strike, and Special Mint Strike (SMS). Each one of these strikes has a particular purpose that it is used for within the minting processes at the United States Mint.
**Circulation Strike
**The Circulation Strike (a.k.a. Business Strike) is the most common strike type used at the mint. Remember, the primary purpose of the United States Mint is to produce coins that will circulate in commerce. The mint facilities are factories. They take raw material (metal) and manufacture it into finished goods (coins). Although the United States Mint strives for perfection on every coin, the fact of the matter is that when you produce billions of coins every year, one or two error coins may slip through the process.
The Circulation Strike is the most economical and efficient strike type that the mint uses. Mint workers handle the blanks and planchets in bulk bins and bags that way thousands of pounds each. They do not give special attention as to how they handle raw materials as they move throughout the mint. Their mission is to make coins quickly and efficiently. Die makers produce coin dies using a mechanical process that balances quality and efficiency to produce the most coin dies at the cheapest cost. These dies are then loaded in the coining presses that will be used to strike the design impression into the coin blanks.
Strips of sheet-metal arrive at the mint in coils that can weigh up to 6,000 pounds. The coils are unwound into a machine that takes the natural curvature out of the metal and makes it flat. The strip is then fed into a blanking press that punches small circular discs out of the sheet-metal. After that, the blanks are fed into an annealing furnace to soften the metal before striking. These various processes leave the coin blanks riddled with scratches and dings.
After the coining press strikes the coins, they fall into large bins for transport into the counting and bagging areas. Some coining presses can produce up to 600 coins per minute. This rapid production process does not always ensure the highest quality of the coin. However, the United States mint can produce over 1 billion coins per month across all of its production facilities. From there, they are loaded onto trucks and taken to another facility to be packaged into smaller bags or individual coin rolls.
Proof Strike
The Proof Strike is the highest quality type of strike that the mint uses. Production workers pay special attention when they are handling the blanks and planchets to minimize scrapes, scratches, and other damage that can affect the quality of the Proof coin. The mint employs a special process that polishes and washes the planchets to produce an almost mirror-like surface. After the washing process, a staff member places each planchet in a separate compartment on a tray for transportation to the coining press. They are careful that the planchets do not touch each other and in part scratches or nicks on the surface.
The coin dies used to produce Proof Strike coins are also specially prepared. The coin's devices receive a laser engraved frosting, and the fields are polished to a high mirrored surface. The coining press operator uses two or more strikes on each planchet to ensure the highest quality coin is produced. Each finished Proof coin is removed from the coining press by the operator using cotton gloves or soft-tipped tweezers. This process ensures that the coin will not be scratched or scraped so it will be in perfect condition for packaging and shipment.
The United States Mint has also produced coins that have a Reverse Proof finish. Engravers at the United States Mint first polish the coin die across the entire surface. A special horsehair brush is used to impart a mirrorlike finish to each coin die. The engraver then places the die in a computer-controlled laser etching machine that gives a frosted finish to the fields of the coin. This results in the devices on a coin having a mirror-like finish and the fields having a deep frosted finish. A Reverse Proof is the opposite of a regular Proof coin. It's
Special Mint Set Strike
The Special Mint Set Strike is better quality than a Circulation Strike, but not the same painstakingly high quality of a Proof strike. A special mint set strike usually has one or more of the following characteristics:
*Special handling of the blanks and planchets.
*Special preparation of the coining die.
*Special handling of the finished coin to minimize scratches and imperfections.
*The United States Mint has used special mint strikes several times during its history. The mint produced the largest quantity of special mint strikes in 1965, 1966, and 1967. During this time frame, the United States was experiencing a coin shortage due to the rapid increase in the price of silver. The mint was under extraordinary pressure to produce coins for circulation and did not have the time to prepare the planchets and dies for Proof coins. Therefore, they produced special mint set strike coins that were marketed to coin collectors.
Additionally, the mint has also produced Enhanced Uncirculated coins. Engravers produced coin dies that have selected areas of the design imparted with varying degrees of frosting. This finish enhances the finish and makes the design stand out
Comments
A proof is mean for collectors and is minted with exceptional detail and polish to display the design in an attractive eye catching way. A bigness strike is just a regular coin minted to be spent. It’s not as perfect as a proof
Excellent and educational post for new collectors - and even some 'not so new' people to numismatics. Cheers, RickO
Totally agree!
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
OK, so how do you tell if a coin is from a SMS? I have a 1960's (I don't remember the date) cent that I bought probably 20 years ago in a cardboard flip. The flip is marked SMS, but I don't know how to tell if it really is from a SMS or not! When I remember where it is, I'll post a picture.
OK, been so long I forgot it was a 1966 Nickel, not a penny.
Anyone?
I guess by reading the above, since they didn't really make proof coins, it pretty much has to be a SMS coin. When I send it off to get it graded, which I almost totally forgot about it, will PCGS mark it as a SMS coin?
Yes they will.
Pete
OK, then thanks!
Including the 1966 SMS nickel with F.S.?
OK, thanks, Last night , late, was kind of going through a bunch of nickels I hadn't gone through in probably 20 years to include a complete set of buffalo's and dozed off looking at a 1938 Roosevelt. When I woke up about 20 minutes later, i reached down on the desk and picked up a nickel still thinking about the Roosevelt and the first thing crossed my mind was I jolted awake thinking "OMG, I've got a 3 legged Roosevelt!"......A quick look dispelled me of that notion, but for a while there, I was famous!.......ROFL
Many years ago I collected a whole set of Jefferson's in high grade and just put them away and haven't messed with them or the Buff's in about 20 years. I inherited a folder full of high grade Jefferson's and was looking to see what I had between the 2 sets. It appears that I have the complete set, except for about 15 proofs, to 2008 in high grade with a lot of them F.S. Guess I had better get started updating!
It would depend on what grade you are collecting. I have a full set in Avg Circulated with quite a few extra's and I also have some high (MS64, 65) grade to include most of the war nickels. and maybe all of them, just not sure, still coordinating. Until i get the whole set of high grades updated, not sure what I have extra.
Would help if I knew what you needed, and grades you're looking for.
Bruce
Here's some examples of the MS ones
These are not for trade. but I may have dupes for some of them
Just so you know, every coin in the pictures is a MS 68 and will be there until they get to the TPG's!.....lol
When discussing Mint terminology, it is important to remember that people who work at the Mint are generally not numismatists so their language is slightly different. For example, to someone at the Mint, the term "uncirculated" refers to a coin that has been minted for a Mint Set. Therefore, in their world, a business strike cannot be uncirculated even after being ejected from the press.
Also remember that the term "proof" describes a method of manufacture, not a grade. A proof coin can be run over by a truck and it is still a proof coin. A circulated proof coin is known as an "impaired proof."