Galvanos ?

[Justafarmer]

What is the mint's process in producing one? Never have been real clear on this.

[coop]

This may help:

http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/coin-production#coin-production

[mustbebob]

This information if from John Wexler's site:

The galvano is a large model of the design that will appear on the coins. Each galvano is anywhere from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter. It is made from clay and plaster.

The French Portrait Lathe was a reduction tool that traced out the design on the galvano and engraved that design onto the face of a Master Hub. This process was a slow and tedious one taking anywhere from a day and a half to two days to complete the transfer of the design to the master hub. When finished, the master hub had the design in relief and the face of the master hub was the exact size of the coins that would ultimately be produced with that design.

[Justafarmer]

Wexler's site really doesn't explain how the galvano is made. IS it a cast of original art work? A compilation of of casts of orginal artwork? Is it actually original artwork? etc.? Has the Galvano production process changed over the years and what changes? Maybe later on today I'll be able to watch the video COOP posted.

[mustbebob]

A Galvano is engraved by a mint artist. The design was drawn out on paper first, and the engraver used tools to transfer that design on to the galvano. Today, the design is made and edited on computers using CAD software.

[jallengomez]

That's a great video that Coop posted.

[liveandievarieties]

Agreed, that was very well done!

[BadThad]

A Galvano is engraved by a mint artist. The design was drawn out on paper first, and the engraver used tools to transfer that design on to the galvano. Today, the design is made and edited on computers using CAD software.

And, IMO, it's a shame.....something was definately lost in the transition to a digit format. Today's coin designs are made around production rather than art.

[liveandievarieties]

Totally agree Thad. Anyone notice how low releif and ugly the obverse of the State Parks quarters are? I know from a production standpoint it makes sense, but sad that our circulating coinage will never again acheive the beauty of the Adolf Weinman designs- the Walking Liberty Half and Winged Liberty Dime or Agustus St. Gaudens' $20 gold design. In my own opinion, that and the flowing hair bust coinage is the most beautiful our country has ever produced.

[coppercoins]

Actually my understanding is that the original engraving was done at around 15 inches in plaster and clay. From that, a rubber mold was made that was used to create an epoxy positive. This epoxy copy would be bronzed to make it very hard. This was the "galvano".

I use all this in past tense, because I found out from a very reliable source that galvanos have not been used since the mid-1980s.

The main difference between the old process and the current process is that the original art work is scanned into a computer using 3D scanning. The resulting digital file is fine-tuned and output in a 3D model. This model is used to create a rubber mold, then the epoxy cast, which is used to create the reduction to a master hub.

I suspect the reduction lathe will be out soon, if it's not out already. Lasers can do a better job of reduction than a lathe.

[Justafarmer]

So in 1909 was VDB part of the original reverse art work and thus cast as part of the Galvano? And if so once VDB was removed fromwhere was it removed?

1. New original art work created and a new galvano cast and then placed on the reduction lathe and a new master hub created?
2. VDB was removed from the original art work and a new galvano cast and the placed on the reduction lathe and a new master hub created?
3. VDB was removed from the original galvano and placed back onto reduction lathe and a new master hub created?
4. VDB was buffed off of the original master hub?
5. VDB was not a device originally included on the galvano and therefore the master hub but was hand punched into the master die and therefore no need to create a new master hub?

[jallengomez]

According to David Lange, they were removed from the master hub, and new dies were struck.

[Justafarmer]

Variety Vista lists 21 ODV design varieties for the Lincoln Cent from 1909 - 1958 and 4 RDV design varieties. I am just trying to get clear in my head where the origins of these changes are. New original art sculpture, modification of existing art sculpture, master hub, master die or etc - ?