Highest coating quality for coin minting tools

Mints strive to perform the entire process in-house, from coin design to final quality assurance. This is mainly for safety reasons, as these companies are often not allowed to use their tools outside their own premises. 

A challenge for tools used in minting applications is the adhesion of the coin material to the tool surface. When cleaning the tools, special attention must be paid to corrosion. Minor corrosion on the tool surface can destroy the entire tool.

PLATIT units for coating coin minting tools meet the highest requirements

In order to meet the high requirements in coin minting, we have developed a custom coating unit that offers solutions.

• Minting dies for so-called “proof” coins requiring the highest surface quality are known in particular for their high-gloss polish and fine relief structures. These surfaces are flawlessly mirrored using PLATIT sputter technology.
• The coating temperature is less than 250°C due to steels that are thermally treated at rather low temperatures. A standard coating process with temperatures above the annealing temperature of these steels could lead to a change in the hardness and volume of these special steels.
• The process costs of the PLATIT units for coating coin minting tools are around 20 euros per batch.

Example: S-MPuls for Monnaie De Paris

The Monnaie de Paris is probably the best-known mint in France and can look back on an incredible 1000 years of company history. In addition to minting currency coins and medals (for example, Orders of the Legion of Honor), the company’s repertoire has expanded in recent years into many areas of proof coins and collectibles such as Asterix collector coins. The company’s expectations and requirements for its production quality are correspondingly high.

In the French mint Monnaie de Paris, our PVD coating unit from the S-MPuls series is used. It stands out in daily operation through its

• extremely high surface quality
• very high level of smoothness
• precise replication of every detail
• excellent, long-lasting coating durability
• high coating adhesion
• ability to significantly extend the service life of the coin minting tools

The comparison with the conventional hard chrome plating of these tools shows the unmistakable advantages of PVD technology:

• No hexavalent chromium (Cr6) is produced
• Elimination of extremely toxic chemicals
• No vapors are generated during production
• There is also no toxic waste
• The PVD process avoids noise
• No pollution
• Safe for the health of workers

Thanks to this unit, Monnaie de Paris is therefore producing in a much more environmentally friendly way, more quietly and with considerably less risk for employees. At the same time, it works particularly efficiently and economically thanks to the long service lives of the tools.

Additional  S-MPuls coating units are installed in the following mints:

• Swissmint in Bern, Switzerland
• Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rom, Italy
• State Mints of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany
• Shanghai New Century Minting