Okay, let's get to the part you probably have been waiting for: Heating and striking the coins! This is the actual blacksmithing part of the tutorial. Yay!

Note, It's a good idea to weld a piece of square stock to each die. This is so you can set it in the hardy hole. This will keep it steady while you strike it. I haven't done this yet. I didn't want to weld anything onto the back half of the dies because I am going to be engraving coins onto those ends too.

I ended up making it a three man job at the forge. One person heats and handles the blank coin. One person holds the dies and tubes and a third person strikes the assembly with a sledge.

First let's set things up on the anvil. The steel tube is sitting on the anvil, inside it is one of the dies with the coin pattern facing up. To the left of it is the second die. That one will go right into the tube after the hot coin is placed. On the far end of the anvil is a few of our blank coins.

Next, let's grab a coin with a pair of tongs. These tongs are specialized for 1 1/2 round stock. Any old tongs will do.

Let's put that blank into the forge and get it red/orange hot.

While that coin is heating lets prepare for the strike. This is a three man job. One man will wield the hammer. The second man is holding the tube with tongs. After the coin blank is place the second man will put the second half of the die in the tube. You can see he is holding the die in his right hand.

The hot coin is dropped in.

The die is inserted...

And the hammer blow is struck.

Then the die and coin can be poured out.

And that's it. For now do some light clean up with a wire brush.

The completed coin. Completed as far as this trial run goes. More work to do. Stay tuned!

MORE

How to Make a Sword - I take you through the whole process of making a sword. And this one is a good sized sword! Really beefy and feels good in the hands. How to Make a sword - It also comes with a detailed step-by-step youtube video.

How to Make a Sword Forge

When making a sword you don't need a forge or anvil. But, you run into the problem of how to harden and temper the blade? You need to heat the whole blade at the same time. And you can do this with a sword forge. In this tutorial I show you why and I take you through the easy making of a forge like this. And I have included a video. How to Make a Sword forge