Home U.S. Coin Forum

The cost of making money

For those who wonder how much it cost to make coins at the U.S. Mints, here’s what it cost in 1896 at the Philadelphia Mint.

Denomination and cost to strike $1,000,000 in gold:

$20 - $969
$10 - $1,337
$5 - $2,130

Denomination and cost to strike 1,000,000 T oz of .999 fine silver:

$1.00 - $12,983 (to make 1,292,000 coins)
$0.50 - $11,343 (to make 1,332,408 coins)
$0.25 - $16,115 (to make 1,332,408 coins)
$0.10 - $14,798 (to make 1,332,408 coins)


[Memorandum 11/30/1896 from coiner. NARA-P RG 104, entry 17, box 2]

Typos on $ and dime corrected.

Comments



  • << <i>

    Denomination and cost to strike 1,000,000 T oz of .999 fine silver:

    $1.00 - $2,983 (to make 1,292,000 coins)
    $0.50 - $11,343 (to make 1,332,408 coins)
    $0.25 - $16,115 (to make 1,332,408 coins)
    $0.50 - $14,798 (to make 1,332,408 coins)


    [Memorandum 11/30/1896 from coiner. NARA-P RG 104, entry 17, box 2] >>



    Typos?
  • RWBRWB Posts: 8,082
    Corrected. The dollar was $1.2929 in silver price and subsidiary silver was $1.33.

    The costs are for production and do not include the gold, silver or copper
  • RWBRWB Posts: 8,082
    One bump, then it dies....
  • adamlaneusadamlaneus Posts: 6,969 ✭✭✭
    I wonder what makes quarters the most expensive?

    Why so cheap to make silver dollars?

    Any idea what factors were measured in order to determine cost? Obviously materials such as dies are involved. Payroll too I suppose.
  • I would have guessed the dime
  • CoinosaurusCoinosaurus Posts: 9,614 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The ratios look a lot better than what they did in the early days of the first Mint.....interesting stuff.
  • RWBRWB Posts: 8,082
    I wonder what makes quarters the most expensive?

    It cost approx $5,000 to adjust the quarters. The dimes were not adjusted.
  • RampageRampage Posts: 9,416 ✭✭✭✭
    Thanks for posting this. I like these informative posts.
  • adamlaneusadamlaneus Posts: 6,969 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I wonder what makes quarters the most expensive?

    It cost approx $5,000 to adjust the quarters. The dimes were not adjusted. >>



    Really? They were adjusting planchets as late as 1896? Can't say i've ever seen an adjustment mark that late.
  • Those numbers make no sence to me. 50 cents cost more to make than quarters and dimes?
    Winner of the "You Suck!" award March 17, 2010 by LanLord, doh, 123cents and Bear.


  • << <i>Really? They were adjusting planchets as late as 1896? Can't say i've ever seen an adjustment mark that late. >>



    They may have adjusted the planchets, not the finished coins. If so, most of the details would be lost in striking.
    <><><><><><>sig<><><><><><>

    Love Errors and Varieties

    <><><><>

    WTB an error forum!


  • << <i>Those numbers make no sence to me. 50 cents cost more to make than quarters and dimes? >>



    Not sure how the punched out the planchets back then, but you'd punch out more quarters and dimes per strip than halves and dollars since they are smaller. Might of been more labor intensive.
    <><><><><><>sig<><><><><><>

    Love Errors and Varieties

    <><><><>

    WTB an error forum!
  • adamlaneusadamlaneus Posts: 6,969 ✭✭✭
    I'd assume that one of the factors here is the cost of the dies. Larger coins are harder to strike perhaps; you can get less strikes out of a half-dollar die than you can from a quarter dollar die?
    But look how cheaply the silver dollars were produced!
    It begs a more detailed breakdown!
  • <<<< Really? They were adjusting planchets as late as 1896? Can't say i've ever seen an adjustment mark that late. >>



    They may have adjusted the planchets, not the finished coins. If so, most of the details would be lost in striking.>>

    In the very old days, it was the planchets that were adjusted, not the coins although adjustment marks could still show.

    By 1896, maybe the threw planchets out of spec back into the melting pot and tried again.
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Interesting information.... amazing how costs of production vary over the years. It would appear, that making coins from precious metals, would always be cheaper, given the right denomination. However, the volatility of the metals market would not allow it. Cheers, RickO
  • astroratastrorat Posts: 9,221 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I wonder what makes quarters the most expensive?

    It cost approx $5,000 to adjust the quarters. The dimes were not adjusted. >>



    Roger-

    How were the quarters adjusted? Were halves and dollars adjusted as well? Were gold coins adjusted? This is interesting.

    Lane
    Numismatist Ordinaire
    See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
  • RWBRWB Posts: 8,082
    I corrected a couple of my typos in the original post. The dollar cost was about $12,980.

    The reason costs varies is mostly labor. It took longer to strike halves and quarters - The records say it would take 19 days to produce the dollars and 26 to produce the half dollars.

    The breakouts are by operation: Rolling room, Adjustment Room, Whitening Room, Coining, and labor/materials for each. For example, the Coining Dept would spend $312 to count the dollars, but $800 to count the halves - longer time & larger quantity.
  • BaleyBaley Posts: 22,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Here's what I think you mean: (changes in bold)


    Denomination and cost to strike 1,000,000 T oz of .999 fine silver:

    $1.00 - $12,983 (to make $1,292,000 in one dollar coins)
    $0.50 - $11,343 (to make $1,332,408 in half dollar coins)
    $0.25 - $16,115 (to make $1,332,408 in quarter -dollar coins)
    $0.10 - $14,798 (to make $1,332,408 in ten cent coins coins)

    Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry

  • RWBRWB Posts: 8,082
    Yep. I copied by own short notation, thereby confusing the "toning" out of a generation of collectors! image

    Sorry for the mix-up folks - next time, no attempt to multitask.
  • adamlaneusadamlaneus Posts: 6,969 ✭✭✭
    I am curious as to what a Whitening Room is.

    image

    The room of the chemical rinse? I hope.
  • <<

    Denomination and cost to strike 1,000,000 T oz of .999 fine silver:

    $1.00 - $2,983 (to make 1,292,000 coins)
    $0.50 - $11,343 (to make 1,332,408 coins)
    $0.25 - $16,115 (to make 1,332,408 coins)
    $0.50 - $14,798 (to make 1,332,408 coins)


    [Memorandum 11/30/1896 from coiner. NARA-P RG 104, entry 17, box 2] >>

    Something still does not compute here. To make the equivalent 1,000,000 T oz of .999 fine silver, you would need twice the number of halves shown and ten times the number of dimes unless the units were dollar worths of coins.
    I find it interesting that the subsidiary numbers are so spot on. I calculated $1,382,408.8 out of a million troy ounces.
    The dollar coins in theory would be 1,292.929.3.


    OOps, somebody beat me to it in mid-post while I was running errands.
  • LoveMyLibertyLoveMyLiberty Posts: 1,784 ✭✭✭
    This is the Whitening Room

    image


    For silver dollars, after going through the Upsetting process the planchets would be taken to the
    cleaning, or Whitening Room to be annealed and cleaned again. They were softened by heating
    to a cherry red & then whitened by being dipped into a weak solution of sulfuric acid and water
    to remove any tarnish or oxidation caused by the heat of annealing. After a thorough rinsing in
    boiling water, they were dried and brightened in a revolving riddle with sawdust, then taken to
    be struck by the coin presses.

    From the Van Allen & Mallis book on Morgan & Peace Dollars.
    My Type Set

    R.I.P. Bear image
  • RWBRWB Posts: 8,082
    Some details in the quoted section are incorrect, but the overall idea is on the nose. Officers of different mints had lively discussions about the best way to whiten planchets. The process different from mint-to-mint and time-to-time.

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file