Evolution of US Minting Technology, 1793 to 1840 Now Available From EAC - Photos Added
Rittenhouse
Posts: 672 ✭✭✭✭
Copies of my book, The Evolution of US Minting Technology, 1793 to 1840, are now available from EAC at https://www.eacs.org/books/. You can use CC or check.
This is the second edition. I printed a limited number of signed and numbered first editions as gifts for friends and those who helped with my research over the years. EAC subsequently expressed an interest, so I donated the copyright to them in perpetuity. All proceeds from the sale go directly to the club. EAC did not pay for the copyright and I will not receive any royalty. So, get a great book on minting tech for very little money and support EAC at the same time.
Edited 1/19 to add:
@preubas said y'all like pics, so here you go, pics from the book. Read the book to see how this equipment was used.
![]
(https://us.v-cdn.net/6027503/uploads/editor/0r/rb65mbcc355d.jpg "")
Comments
Geez guys, this should generate a little more interest. First, the book is just 36 bucks post-paid. Where can you find a numismatic text for that price?
While I do stop with 1840, realize that's because by 1840 all the processes and equipment of a modern, mechanized mint are in place: the rolling mills, draw benches, planchet cutters, and coining presses are all mechanically driven and remain fundamentally unchanged through the turn of the century. The Contamin lathe has partially mechanized the engraving and while the mint did get a new Hill Reducing lathe in 1867 that produced a more finely engraved reduction, it still was only used to create the central device.
I didn’t reply, but I did order the book in response to this post. Quick and easy with Apple Pay (thanks, EAC).
I purchased the Uhlhorn family collection out of Germany about 10 years ago. Uhlhorn invented the toggle press in the early 1820s, which transformed minting away from the slower screw press. Thonnelier in France took it further.
I look forward to reading the book!
Congrats on the collection, if you don't mind, what was in it? Uhlhorn was undoubtedly the greatest coining press inventor ever. He made an experimental press in 1812 and then improved upon that. His "knuckle-joint" strike mechanism is still used today.
Thonnelier certainly improved the mechanism, as did Peale and other US engineers. The German firms of Grabener and Schuler arguably make the highest-speed mechanical presses available today. And it all started with Uhlhorn. Thanks Diederich.
I think you’re expecting too much of the posters here. Most are not numismatists. They are collectors, stackers, or dabblers. Those that are numismatists are more interested in the coins themselves, rather than the technology used in their manufacture.
Roger B always tried to drum up interest in research, but his crude humor got him banned.
I’ll post some photos of the coins when I get them off my old computer. The best piece is a gold medal from Napoleon in 1810 when Uhlhorn was still in the cloth printing business. Napoleon awarded gold medals for the arts, but as most recipients were “starving artists,” they got sold and melted for much-needed funds. This piece remained in the family for 200 years.
Thank you for the heads-up. I likely would not seen it otherwise. This is something that I look forward to reading. As for the topic falling, well, my experience is that the less image-centered a post the more likely it is to not generate all that much traction. This, in combination with a subject many (most?) would consider rather niche, may have led to it not getting responses. Of course, random chance could have come into play, as well. Thank you for the research and for making the book available.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I just ordered your book. Looking forward to reading it and learning more about the early minting process.
I truly love these sorts of numismatic books. I just ordered a copy and look forward to its arrival.
I have ordered my copy from the EAC. I teach modern minting for the ANA summer seminar and look forward to reading this to help with any whys and how's in class about this time period of minting.
This looks really interesting. I may get a copy. I have always enjoyed numismatics but I’ve grown to enjoy more of the process and history involved than the coins themselves which seem to have a runaway cost right now.
Missed it first time round, order in!
I just saw this thread for the first time. I'm looking forward to reading the book, it looks interesting.
It came in the mail today
Looking forward to my copy!