Minting coins is a process executed by a mint. In order to be allowed to mint coins, minting rights are required. In the past, this minting right was highly sought after because it allowed influence on the economy.
Minting coins is a process that uses modern techniques in part, but also includes craftsmanship. The process consists of several steps:
When designing the coin, a drawing is made of the final coin. This takes into account the requirements of the production process. For example: the maximum height of the relief must be taken into account. The drawing of the coin design is four times as large as the final coin. In addition to a working drawing, the various elements of the design are also traced onto transparent paper.
When modeling the coin, the image on transparent paper is mirrored and then traced onto plaster. An engraver works out the relief in the plaster. Elements with a fixed relief height, such as the letters, are brought into the plaster model in mirror image using a pantograph. A pantograph is a tool with which parts can be traced. This tool can also be used to enlarge or reduce the image.
Once the plaster model is ready, a cast is made in flexible rubber. A convex plaster model is cast in a hollow shell. This must be convex, because this makes it run more smoothly during the pressing of the metal. This convex plaster model is used to make a cast in plastic with a hard surface layer that does not wear.
Using a reduction machine, the model is read and reduced to actual size. The result from the reduction machine is a steel stamp that is also called the mother stamp. The stamp is taken directly from the reduction machine to a hardening chamber where it is heated to +- 900 °C. After heating, the stamp is cooled very quickly so that the steel becomes harder.
When minting coins, dies get damaged. For this reason, the master die is not used to mint the coins. Based on the master die, various working dies are made. To ensure that these working dies are hard enough, they are also treated in the hardening chamber. They are then provided with a chrome layer.
Minting of coins starts with cutting the blanks to the correct diameter from a large metal plate. These blanks are annealed to ensure that the relief can be transferred properly. The blanks are then washed for the correct shine.
The coins are then minted in a machine. The working stamp is pressed onto the blank with great pressure. This transfers the relief to the blank and creates the coin. With proof coins, the coins are placed in the machine one by one to guarantee higher quality.
Within the European Union, euro coins are minted in various mints. Some countries in the European Union mint their own coins. However, some countries do not have their own mint or cannot provide the required capacity. In those cases, the minting of coins is outsourced to another mint.
An example of outsourcing the minting of coins is that Finnish euro coins will be minted by the Royal Dutch Mint as of 2025. The Royal Dutch Mint will do this under the name of Helsinki Mint, which is an initiative of the Royal Dutch Mint.
An example of insufficient production capacity are the Greek euro coins from 2002. Greece was only allowed to introduce the euro in 2001. This was too late to have sufficient coins available on 1 January 2002. Some of the 2002 coins from Greece were minted in Finland, France and Spain. The coins minted in Finland have a mintmark ‘S’ on the coin. Coins minted in France have an ‘F’ and the coins minted in Spain have an ‘E’.
German euro coins also have a mintmark. This is because Germany has five mints. The table below shows which mintmark belongs to which mint:
| Mint | Mintmark |
|---|---|
| Berlin | A |
| Munich | D |
| Stuttgart | F |
| Karlsruhe | G |
| Hamburg | J |
