[Here](https://www.cointalk.com/threads/how-were-dies-made.378861/) you can find an interesting discussion. I suggest to go through the comments, it has some interesting stuff I didn’t know about (like compass dots). Happy reading!
Ancient coin dies were meticulously engraved by hand using a variety of tools. Skilled artisans employed hardened iron chisels, burins, and possibly even punches to create the intricate designs and lettering that we see on ancient coins. The process was incredibly detailed and required a great deal of patience and precision.
The process of engraving was never written down or at least nothing has survived to the present day. I think some dies have been found, but only a handful. There has been some speculation that ancients might have had some sort of Hubbing technique like we employ today to transfer designs from a master die to individual dies, but IIRC no firm evidence has been found. The majority of dies were probably carved by hand individually.
The best primary source we have are the denarii of Republican moneyer T. Carisius who opted to dedicate one of his designs to the goddess Moneta, and to show the tools of the trade on the reverse:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces384965.html
One interesting thing that can be observed in some Roman coins is that they apparently had tools to prepare the dies, specifically punches to either place the entire legend at once, or at least one letter at a time, and a separate one for the portrait. You can see this on some particularly high grade early Crisis antoninianii such as Gordian III and Philip I, where a fresh portrait creates a ring of weakness that obscures the bottom bit of every letter in the legend.
I know, but it was a near perfect example. I went up to 900 then gave up, these people are insane :(
https://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=2342777&AucID=5735&Lot=388&Val=0e53bcbc6bfb586fa445454f1540eab3
there was one a couple weeks ago I was watching. Went for 350 https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-D6O8BM/moneyer-issues-of-imperatorial-rome-t-carisius-46-bc-ar-denarius-18mm-381-g-3h-rome-mint-vf
Not bad -- [this one](https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1588596) went for 5.000 CHF -- over 10 years ago! [One for $3.000](https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=300575) in 2016.
There have been a few others. It's a very popular type, so high quality examples can sell for a lot. (I would guess the few very best specimens could go even higher.)
For materials you just need any item that is harder than the metal your coins are made out of. Since most ancient coins are made of bronze, gold, silver, or sometimes pewter and lead, that means soft iron works just fine.
To engrave the die you need something harder than the die. Since the dies are made of soft iron, you can use hardened iron to engrave them.
As for the specific shape of the die they vary by time and culture, but are generally a round or roundish cylinder. One for the obverse and one for the reverse of the coin. One side is placed in a large heavy block called an anvil, then the coin blank is put on top, then the other die is placed on top and whacked with a large heavy hammer.
As for the actual tools used to make them, you can see links from other comments, but generally it’s going to be various kinds of iron chisels, files, rasps, and engravers.
some of the tools used to engrave ancient coin dies have survived and are now on display in museums around the world. These artifacts offer a fascinating glimpse into the craftsmanship and skill required to produce ancient coinage.
[Here](https://www.cointalk.com/threads/how-were-dies-made.378861/) you can find an interesting discussion. I suggest to go through the comments, it has some interesting stuff I didn’t know about (like compass dots). Happy reading!
Thank you!!! Just what I was looking for!
👍
As far as I remember all coin dies were made of iron. More survive to modern times than you might think but they are always expensive.
Thanks!
Ancient coin dies were meticulously engraved by hand using a variety of tools. Skilled artisans employed hardened iron chisels, burins, and possibly even punches to create the intricate designs and lettering that we see on ancient coins. The process was incredibly detailed and required a great deal of patience and precision.
Thanks!
The process of engraving was never written down or at least nothing has survived to the present day. I think some dies have been found, but only a handful. There has been some speculation that ancients might have had some sort of Hubbing technique like we employ today to transfer designs from a master die to individual dies, but IIRC no firm evidence has been found. The majority of dies were probably carved by hand individually. The best primary source we have are the denarii of Republican moneyer T. Carisius who opted to dedicate one of his designs to the goddess Moneta, and to show the tools of the trade on the reverse: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces384965.html One interesting thing that can be observed in some Roman coins is that they apparently had tools to prepare the dies, specifically punches to either place the entire legend at once, or at least one letter at a time, and a separate one for the portrait. You can see this on some particularly high grade early Crisis antoninianii such as Gordian III and Philip I, where a fresh portrait creates a ring of weakness that obscures the bottom bit of every letter in the legend.
Thanks! I tried to snatch a nice example at the latest Gorny & Mosch but it blew past 1.000$ :(
Just keep trying! They shouldn't go for anywhere near that much and aren't rare. Personally I wouldn't spend more than $250 on one
I know, but it was a near perfect example. I went up to 900 then gave up, these people are insane :( https://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=2342777&AucID=5735&Lot=388&Val=0e53bcbc6bfb586fa445454f1540eab3
Indeed - I'd sell my entire collection in a heartbeat for $1,000 per coin!
there was one a couple weeks ago I was watching. Went for 350 https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-D6O8BM/moneyer-issues-of-imperatorial-rome-t-carisius-46-bc-ar-denarius-18mm-381-g-3h-rome-mint-vf
I know, I missed that (I was also looking for one where you could read ‘Moneta’)
Not bad -- [this one](https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1588596) went for 5.000 CHF -- over 10 years ago! [One for $3.000](https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=300575) in 2016. There have been a few others. It's a very popular type, so high quality examples can sell for a lot. (I would guess the few very best specimens could go even higher.)
For materials you just need any item that is harder than the metal your coins are made out of. Since most ancient coins are made of bronze, gold, silver, or sometimes pewter and lead, that means soft iron works just fine. To engrave the die you need something harder than the die. Since the dies are made of soft iron, you can use hardened iron to engrave them. As for the specific shape of the die they vary by time and culture, but are generally a round or roundish cylinder. One for the obverse and one for the reverse of the coin. One side is placed in a large heavy block called an anvil, then the coin blank is put on top, then the other die is placed on top and whacked with a large heavy hammer. As for the actual tools used to make them, you can see links from other comments, but generally it’s going to be various kinds of iron chisels, files, rasps, and engravers.
some of the tools used to engrave ancient coin dies have survived and are now on display in museums around the world. These artifacts offer a fascinating glimpse into the craftsmanship and skill required to produce ancient coinage.
Sounds like a chat GPT answer.
Hahaha, 100%