What is a Blank?

The blank metal on which a coin design is stamped. Blanks are unfinished planchets that have not gone through the steps leading up to a coin being minted.

Blanks are the first step in the coin minting process. To make a blank, metal strips made specifically for this process are scrubbed to smooth the surface and remove imperfections. These strips are then fed through a press that punches out round disks. The strips left over after blanks are punched out are shredded and recycled. The blanks produced at this point are larger than the final coin size.

After the blanks have been punched out, they are then sorted and screened in order to identify and eliminate any defective coins. Any blanks that have been rejected due to found defects are returned to the furnace to be remelted into usable metal bars.

The melting and hardening step is an important part of making blanks that will become coins. Melting and cooling the metal is a process called annealing. Annealing ensures that the blanks reach a certain hardness so that they capture the full intended design during the minting process.

Blanks can be worth a few dollars, depending on the precious metal composition. Blanks that are the size of the Native American Dollar coins are valued at somewhere between $12 to $15. Larger blanks the size of the Eisenhower dollar can sell for $20 and $30.

Blanks can be purchased from coin blank suppliers or can be produced by the mint itself.

See “Planchet”

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