Have there been injuries at the mint?

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CommemKing
CommemKing Posts: 2,202 ✭✭✭✭✭
in U.S. Coin Forum
Just wondering if anyone has been injured at the Mint. A lot of moving parts. I'm imagining someone getting a finger pressed by a die. That would be horrible. Not injuries from falls, but some more serious stuff.

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  • BAJJERFAN
    BAJJERFAN Posts: 31,659 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: CommemKing

    Just wondering if anyone has been injured at the Mint. A lot of moving parts. I'm imagining someone getting a finger pressed by a die. That would be horrible.




    Seeing as how workplace injuries are fairly common in many manufacturing facilities, I'd expect that the Mint facilities have their share.
    theknowitalltroll;
  • 291fifth
    291fifth Posts: 25,218 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Machinery in the 18th and 19th century was often very dangerous. The attitude may have been: 1. Worker maimed in machinery and no longer able to work. 2. Terminate useless worker. 3. Go down to the docks and see who is coming in from Europe. 4. Hire new immigrant. 5. Repeat.
    All glory is fleeting.
  • LindeDad
    LindeDad Posts: 18,766 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I'd say several pension plans were funded there.



    image
    My Current project....https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/mysetregistry/album/160794
  • MorganMan94
    MorganMan94 Posts: 1,331 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    http://articles.philly.com/200...33945_1_mint-osha-coin



    Very old article but it sounds like they had quite a few injuries in just that year.



    "Beckham said two fingers of a mint employee were crushed in a machine in January. Beckham also said employees had suffered from back problems and injuries sustained in falls. Employees have been injured by forklifts running into them. Welders have started fires inside the mint, and employees have been exposed to "welders flash" because of improper safety procedures, Beckham said."
  • Jackthecat1
    Jackthecat1 Posts: 1,122 ✭✭✭
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    A quick Google search showed 59 employee injuries at the Bureau of the Mint in 2015 (the last year with statistics posted), with 29 causing the employee to lose time off from work and no fatalities. Probably mostly minor cuts and bruises, but having seen the machinery they are dealing with, I could imagine some pretty bad injuries are just one careless move away.
    Member ANS, ANA, GSNA, TNC



    image
  • MorganMan94
    MorganMan94 Posts: 1,331 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    https://www.osha.gov/dep/fap/s...gms_stats11_final.html



    Another link from the Department of Labor for all injuries and cases for 2011. A few years old but still some good information, although only for one year. It looks as though if you want to dive deeper you can find other years on the same site as well as the US Mint annual reports.
  • CommemKing
    CommemKing Posts: 2,202 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I guess the Mint might not be as lovely as we thought.
  • 3keepSECRETif2rDEAD
    3keepSECRETif2rDEAD Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    ...struck through finger would make for a real life error coin image
  • MrHalfDime
    MrHalfDime Posts: 3,440 ✭✭✭✭
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    One of the earliest injuries which occurred at the Mint can be read here.
    They that can give up essential Liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither Liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin
  • CommemKing
    CommemKing Posts: 2,202 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Neat story.
  • LindeDad
    LindeDad Posts: 18,766 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: 3keepSECRETif2rDEAD

    ...struck through finger would make for a real life error coin image






    Dough if it would ever get out as cleaning up after those type of accidents is mandated by OHSA considered hazardous waste because of the blood involved. Sorry to say I had to clean up after one of those types of accidents in a manufacturing plant.



    image
    My Current project....https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/mysetregistry/album/160794
  • golden
    golden Posts: 10,535 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Peter the eagle was a victim.
  • ms70
    ms70 Posts: 13,958 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: MrHalfDime

    One of the earliest injuries which occurred at the Mint can be read here.




    That's one of the best stories I've read here. Thanks for sharing it.
  • mr1931S
    mr1931S Posts: 7,309 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I don't know how credible this story is but I heard that a Mint worker was struck in the eye in a freak accident.

    According to reports,a nail flew off the die as a coin was being struck. A full recovery of the worker with no permanent eye damage is expected. The coin was not recovered.

    The incident occurred on April 1 of this year.image

    "Two things are infinite: human stupidity and the universe; and I'm not sure about the universe."
    -Albert Einstein-

    Mistakes are natural. But repeated mistakes without reflection are something else. That may be the “stupidity” he was referring to. In research, he admitted uncertainty openly. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” This shows humility. Even a Nobel laureate accepted doubt. That humility makes the quote less cynical and more observational.

  • cladking
    cladking Posts: 30,312 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I'd guess at least five workers have been killed or died of injuries at US mints since 1792. I'd estimate about 12 based on the nature and scope of the work assuming they are very safety conscious. Some plants could do a small fraction of the work and kill a great many more.
    tempus fugit extra philosophiam.
  • cladking
    cladking Posts: 30,312 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    It's a shame all the search engines have been ruined. This used to be an easy google away but now the searchs never work.



    It appears the internet will be the death of knowledge rather than its birth.
    tempus fugit extra philosophiam.
  • Shamika
    Shamika Posts: 18,785 ✭✭✭✭
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    I've worked in several manufacturing plants during my career and have seen some serious injuries. Some were due to poor equipment/safety designs while others were due to poor employee habits or employees trying to circumvent safety features. Most employers are VERY safety conscious so reducing the likely of accidents is always important but unfortunately they can never be eliminated without eliminating employees.

    Buyer and seller of vintage coin boards!
  • DeepCoin
    DeepCoin Posts: 2,781 ✭✭✭
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    The Mint is a manufacturing facility or rather set of facilities where BILLIONS of coins are struck each year. Of course there will be injuries. Safety is a huge priority and the year end bonus has a factor for safety included in it. There are many caustic materials as well as sharp implements used in production. Having spent some time on a couple of the manufacturing floors, I would say that the Mint's record is good with regard to safety.

    We should also be cognizant of the fact that injuries come in many forms. Hurting your back lifting qualifies as well as an injury from a cut, wound or chemical abrasion.

    As Shamika said above, you can reduce accidents significantly, but never eliminate them completely (paraphrased)
    Retired United States Mint guy, now working on an Everyman Type Set.
  • dcarr
    dcarr Posts: 10,256 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    At my mint:

    Sore back; tired feet; joint aches; strained muscles; small cuts, small splinters.
    Does that count ?
    Moonlight Mint
  • SaorAlba
    SaorAlba Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: Shamika

    I've worked in several manufacturing plants during my career and have seen some serious injuries. Some were due to poor equipment/safety designs while others were due to poor employee habits or employees trying to circumvent safety features. Most employers are VERY safety conscious so reducing the likely of accidents is always important but unfortunately they can never be eliminated without eliminating employees.







    Years ago when I worked at a metal company in Houston there were frequent injuries on the production line, but the worst was someone falling off the roof and dying. Even though I worked in the finance dept I still had to be EMT certified because of the possibility of mass injuries in the plant.

  • OldEastside
    OldEastside Posts: 4,602 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: dcarr
    At my mint:

    Sore back; tired feet; joint aches; strained muscles; small cuts, small splinters.
    Does that count ?


    That's what happens when you Moonlight image

    Steve
    Promote the Hobby
  • BAJJERFAN
    BAJJERFAN Posts: 31,659 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: 3keepSECRETif2rDEAD

    ...struck through finger would make for a real life error coin image




    I have a dime struck on a fingernail planchet.image
    theknowitalltroll;
  • TwoSides2aCoin
    TwoSides2aCoin Posts: 45,216 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Job hazards produce injuries. Huh ? I can't hear you. Blew my ears out in the old days.

  • messydesk
    messydesk Posts: 20,814 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I wonder if there are annual employee destruction reports at NARA with the die destruction reports.
    John
    Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
  • Boosibri
    Boosibri Posts: 12,714 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I've worked in three major manufacturing plants and had oversight for another 15 or so. Safety can never be taken for granted in any production environment. I have always thought that all accidents are preventable be it through engineering, machine guarding or human behavior. I then saw a three hundred pound woman jump off a stool and shatter her ankles. Genetics may have been at fault there. Or McDonalds.







    Latin American Collection

  • CommemKing
    CommemKing Posts: 2,202 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    This has been quite a topic. I didn't mean the typical strained back, fall or scrape. Call me demented, but I wanted to hear of hands pressed in $20 gold coins, Arms lopped in belts, and other more gruesome injuries. There had to be some. I saw a video on PBS of a woman placing $20 gold eagle planchets in the collar for pressing. She set each planchet in the collar (my lingo may be wrong) and it pressed it several times. Her hands were around the moving press most of the time. It looked like a serious accident waiting. Sounds gruesome to have hundreds of thousands of pounds crushing an appendage. Maybe its never happened. If they are as good and quick as me there would be no problem. image
  • cladking
    cladking Posts: 30,312 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: CommemKing

    This has been quite a topic. I didn't mean the typical strained back, fall or scrape. Call me demented, but I wanted to hear of hands pressed in $20 gold coins, Arms lopped in belts, and other more gruesome injuries. There had to be some. I saw a video on PBS of a woman placing $20 gold eagle planchets in the collar for pressing. She set each planchet in the collar (my lingo may be wrong) and it pressed it several times. Her hands were around the moving press most of the time. It looked like a serious accident waiting. Sounds gruesome to have hundreds of thousands of pounds crushing an appendage. Maybe its never happened. If they are as good and quick as me there would be no problem. image




    It's not quite as dangerous as it looks.



    There are two buttons to operate presses in most instances so there are no free ones to get inside. Sometimes fellow workers or their hands can get in though.



    Obvious dangers usually aren't the ones that get you. Even if everyone is diligent there are always special events and processes that can occur in an industrial setting.



    tempus fugit extra philosophiam.
  • 3keepSECRETif2rDEAD
    3keepSECRETif2rDEAD Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: Boosibri
    I've worked in three major manufacturing plants and had oversight for another 15 or so. Safety can never be taken for granted in any production environment. I have always thought that all accidents are preventable be it through engineering, machine guarding or human behavior. I then saw a three hundred pound woman jump off a stool and shatter her ankles. Genetics may have been at fault there. Or McDonalds.






    ...at 300 pounds plus on a woman...any ankle most likely would shatter everytime the said stool jump was performed...anything 220+ usually requires a nice set of cankle's for safety and stability image
  • johnny9434
    johnny9434 Posts: 34,051 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: BAJJERFAN
    Originally posted by: CommemKing
    Just wondering if anyone has been injured at the Mint. A lot of moving parts. I'm imagining someone getting a finger pressed by a die. That would be horrible.


    Seeing as how workplace injuries are fairly common in many manufacturing facilities, I'd expect that the Mint facilities have their share.


    no doubts about that. its gonna happen like it or not image
  • pmac
    pmac Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭
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    On a tour through the Philly mint, I noticed the prestigious VPP banner above along the ceiling. This is the highest rating an organization can get with OSHA. It involves cooperation between OSHA and the facility and has the highest of safety standards. Congratulations to the mint!
    Paul
  • CommemKing
    CommemKing Posts: 2,202 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I did a google search of "smashed finger us mint" and I got this. It doesn't look smashed to me. Your thoughts...

    image
  • epcjimi1
    epcjimi1 Posts: 3,489 ✭✭✭
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    Here's a US Mint injury...

    image

    complete link, full story

  • keets
    keets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I worked in manufacturing going back to about 1971 and I will say that worker safety back then wasn't a high priority, it was typically left to the worker to be safe. things improved over the years and the last industrial job I had still struggled with it, lots of meeting and constant improvements. worker safely in the early years of the industrial age were hideous and the post by 291fifth might seem harsh but it is probably quite accurate. I have heard stories that I won't repeat and seen accidents where I was at that still make me shudder.



    I would bet that deaths at the Mint during the 1800's were by no means common, but they happened. working around that type of unforgivable machinery is just inherently dangerous. once a stroke starts it doesn't stop till it's complete. other than the type of stuff mentioned by Dan I would imagine carpal tunnel is a biggeee.
  • epcjimi1
    epcjimi1 Posts: 3,489 ✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: CommemKing
    This has been quite a topic.


    Not really.

    Her hands were around the moving press most of the time. It looked like a serious accident waiting. Sounds gruesome to have hundreds of thousands of pounds crushing an appendage. Maybe its never happened. If they are as good and quick as me there would be no problem. image


    Typical stamping press safety, whether automotive metal parts or striking a coin, uses at least, dual palm switches to roll the press over. Both hands are needed to activate the press. Other metal stamping presses, at a minimum, use light curtains that interrupt the stamping process when the machine is running automatically. Penetrate the curtain, machine stops.

  • denga
    denga Posts: 922 ✭✭✭
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    In May 1832 a night watchman, at the new mint under construction in Philadelphia,
    fell into a 30 foot deep hole and was killed. Not exactly a coinage-related injury but
    reasonably close.
  • Rittenhouse
    Rittenhouse Posts: 677 ✭✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: CommemKing
    This has been quite a topic. I didn't mean the typical strained back, fall or scrape. Call me demented, but I wanted to hear of hands pressed in $20 gold coins, Arms lopped in belts, and other more gruesome injuries. There had to be some. I saw a video on PBS of a woman placing $20 gold eagle planchets in the collar for pressing. She set each planchet in the collar (my lingo may be wrong) and it pressed it several times. Her hands were around the moving press most of the time. It looked like a serious accident waiting. Sounds gruesome to have hundreds of thousands of pounds crushing an appendage. Maybe its never happened. If they are as good and quick as me there would be no problem. image


    While I haven't read any account of such an injury at the first or second US Mint, Pistrucci did note that every coiner at the London Tower Mint had lost at least one digit. That would be circa 1815 - 1825. But then the English mint used hand-fed screw presses whereas the US Mint used a feed mechanism. Anyway, maybe you can find a mashed finger on an old shilling or sovereign.

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