How are Cameos formed?

guysmy

What's happens during the minting process that results in that high-contast effect?

coppercoins

The dies are sand blasted then polished to give the fields the mirror shine. Used to be done with acid, but that didn't last long - which is why the cameos in the 50s are difficult to find.

100proof1957

Thats a matter of debate !

And i aint starting it !

coppercoins

<< <i>Thats a matter of debate !

And i aint starting it ! >>



Good, because I wouldn't debate about it. What I said is just what I heard. I'm not there, so they could be using goose poop for all I know.

Cameonut

I would recommend getting a copy of Rick Tomaska's book on Cameo Proof Coinage. It will answer about any questions you have about the minting process. You can get them from Rick at R&I Coins or some of the other book outlets.

cladking

Proof dies now days are chrome plated after they are frosted which
keeps them making the cameo much longer.

100proof1957

If Rick has the older book in stock,you can buy it cheap !

poorguy

How are Cameos formed?

Well, when two brilliant coins love each other very very much......


Maybe you should wait just a couple more years before we finish this little talk.

poorguy

The dies are sand blasted then polished to give the fields the mirror shine. Used to be done with acid, but that didn't last long - which is why the cameos in the 50s are difficult to find.

Works for me

ccex

<< <i>The dies are sand blasted then polished to give the fields the mirror shine. Used to be done with acid, but that didn't last long - which is why the cameos in the 50s are difficult to find. >>



Cameo appearances of William Burroughs, Timothy Leary, and "beat poets" from the 1950s are difficult to find, too. Exactly when did the U.S. mint stop experimenting with acid on proof coins?

I find it interesting that there is now a significant premium for cameo coins produced from 1965-67, when recreational acid was growing in popularity. Even the late-60s and early '70s proof sets didn't regulalrly produce cameo coins as often as we now expect to find in modern proof sets, despite the declining popularity of LSD since then. Also, there must have been an amazing technique to prepare proof dies 100 years ago, given the few amazing PR-DCAM coins from this era one sees occasionally at auction.

Is there any truth to the rumor that the mint uses cream of tartar to prepare dies for proof coins, or did this practice also die out years ago?

I assume that almost any proof coin from 1986 to the present will have cameo, if not deep cameo appearance, and that now DCAM 69 is about average for a current proof set. A former PCI grader told me that his customers assumed PR-69 DCAM the norm from at least the last 15 years, and that the coins they picked to submit came with requests for PR-70 DCAM.

Ignore for now the requests of PCI submitters and acid trips of aging hippies. I still wish to know the years in which the manufacturing techniques of U.S. proof coins changed and how.

DHeath

Some goober at the mint figured out how hard it was to polish all the recessed features of the die every time they wore out, and he convinced his boss to market contrast as a benefit. The decided to call it Cameo, like a broach. They told collectors it was very rare and delicate, and now the mint workers polish only the flat part of the worn die with high-speed buffers and spend their down time drinking Cokes and watching talk shows.

coppercoins

<< <i>and spend their down time drinking Cokes and watching talk shows. >>



Hmm...Coke eating up their stomachs and talk shows eating up their brains....wanna job??

ibzman350

How are Cameos formed?


Cameron... care to answer .... Oh wait !! you said Cameos.....sorry


Herb

Myqqy

I would recommend getting a copy of Rick Tomaska's book on Cameo Proof Coinage

My wife just got that book for me, and I'm currently reading it- I would also recommend it if you are interested in some of the minutia about proof coins and how cameos used to be created......

ccex

<< <i>I would recommend getting a copy of Rick Tomaska's book on Cameo Proof Coinage

My wife just got that book for me, and I'm currently reading it- I would also recommend it if you are interested in some of the minutia about proof coins and how cameos used to be created......
>>



Does anyone here care to give a brief synopsis of the history of cameo proof manufactuting?

morgannut2

On the fake ebay stuff, quality fakes can have a special sand blast used like they use on motorcycle aluminum finishes, The cheaper doctors sometimes just use silver paint for their more obvious garbage.

Smitty79

<< <i>How are Cameos formed?

Well, when two brilliant coins love each other very very much......


Maybe you should wait just a couple more years before we finish this little talk. >>