Embossing stamp

The coin die plays a central role in the coin manufacturing process and is an indispensable tool in numismatic history. In classic coin minting, two dies are used: the lower die and the upper die. The lower die is firmly anchored in an anvil and shows the mirror image of the coin’s obverse. The coin blank, i.e. the unprocessed coin blank, is placed on top of this. The upper die, which originally served only as a chisel for fixing, was further developed over time and eventually also bore a motif – usually the image that would later appear on the reverse of the coin.
The upper die was struck onto the blank with a precise hammer blow, which shaped it between the two engraved metal surfaces. The result was a coin with an image on both sides. In the early days of coin minting, the simple upper die initially left only an indentation on the reverse, known as the incus mark. It was only when the minting process developed further that this die was also given a full coin image.
The precision and quality of the dies had a direct influence on the appearance and recognisability of the coins. Especially in ancient and medieval coinage, dies were often engraved by hand, which led to slight individual differences in the design. Today, such details make each individual die an important object of study in numismatics. They allow conclusions to be drawn about mints, minting periods and even individual die cutters.
The principle of minting with upper and lower dies has been retained in modern coin minting, although high-precision machines are used today. Nevertheless, the history of the die remains a fascinating part of coin production and an important aspect in a numismatic context. For collectors, historians and coin enthusiasts, knowledge of the technology and function of dies is an essential part of understanding the history of coins.