YouTuber Demonstrates How to Make Your Own Coins And it is Tough
Andy from How to Make Everything shows you how the most basic of objects are made. From sandwiches to shorts, Andy takes you through the complicated and highly skilled process that is required to make some of the most ubiquitous objects.
In his latest video, he attempts to mint his own coins. After a long process of making molds and melting down metals, Andy comes to the conclusion that trying to make your own currency is a pretty dangerous and time-consuming endeavor.
For his own coins, Andy, of course, had extracted his own silver which you can watch in another video. He then made wax molds from into which he would pour the silver.
Even the intricacy of carving the initials of the show and a rough profile into the wax was a tough task, requiring several attempts before the casting could even begin. That too was a long convoluted process that required many attempts.
Eventually, one casting technique was replaced by creating a die in which to strike the coin. The silver is melted down, laid on the anvil and hit hard with the die. A rough impression of the intended coin sticks, but the process once again is extremely difficult, getting the coin, the right size, thickness and hitting accurately and hard enough to make an impression is tough.
While the coins won’t be making an appearance in common circulation any time soon, they once again show just how complicated and labor intensive it is to create so many of the common objects around us.