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It may be a giant leap to reach the Moon, but making coinage can be one small step in the right direction.
The age of sail taught us to speak of “the New World”, but the new worlds of our era are reached by bridging the void of night with rocket flame.
The design created for the 2013 medalets (at right — common reverse at left) expresses this most visible sign of Man's transition from a planet-bound to a cosmic existence.
The Luna Project Medalet Program
The Luna Project stands for nothing less than the liberation of humanity, the transformation of mankind from a species tied to one planet, to one free and at home in the vastness and wonder of the Universe. The first step — one which must and can be taken without further delay — is to establish a foothold on the Moon, as a first center of civilization beyond Earth, and a supply base for steps farther out. And this step can and must be taken by those people, around the world, who care about it and understand its importance. Nobody, whether governments, businesses, or millionaire patrons, will do for us what we are not willing to do for ourselves.
This message has to be spread far and wide to be effective. So much the better if it spreads itself. This can be helped along with promotional materials of the sort that people will show off to their friends and neighbours — bumper stickers, for example, and badges.
The best part of a thousand medalets, some in packaging
An especially distinctive and popular Luna Project promotion has been the medalet, a coin-like item about the size of a US quarter-dollar, typically put up in an attractive package with an informative insert card. A thousand of these were made back in 2008, by a private mint which afterwards folded. The intention was to release new types periodically, soliciting new designs (perhaps by way of contests) so as to engage artists, who are not as well represented in the space movement as they should be.
After many delays and diversions, the Medalet Program is moving forward. A new pattern of medalets has been designed, but now it has to be committed to metal. And that is where you come in.
The Luna City Mint
The means to the end of getting these new medalets struck is the Luna City Mint, and so this campaign has to — well, kickstart it. Once it is operating, there is a clear way forward for the further development of the Medalet Program. And, when its capabilities are not otherwise occupied, it can help pay for itself by taking on outside work. Maybe that will include a project of yours.
Existing private mints are mostly set up to produce tonnage quantities at a few cents each, or handsful at several dollars each. A run of a few hundred pieces, at a cost of less than a dollar per piece, is very difficult to arrange, and may come with onerous terms and conditions. But is taking over production really a viable solution? Not for most people, to be sure, but I am hardly most people!
The operation of coining consists basically of crushing (striking) a soft piece of metal (blank) between two hard pieces of metal (dies), so that the metal of the blank flows into the design engraved in the dies. Blanks can be bought, so the two basic problems to be addressed are striking and die-making. As an inventor and a numismatist, I am well-prepared to do exactly that.
A screw press used at the Spanish mint in the 19th century (Photo credit Luis Garcia)
Striking is simple enough to deal with. Fly-type screw presses, worked by hand, were used extensively for coining from the 1600s well into the mid-1800s, and can be obtained today new (from India) or used. A press is far better suited to making small batches than one capable of a hundred thousand strikes an hour (and it doubles as an exercise machine). Die-making, however, is a challenge all its own.
The original die, and some of its produce
There are good reasons why even a simple die, such as the above, usually costs hundreds of dollars. Creating the necessary detail in hardened steel is a delicate process, requiring time and skill, and a single error can mean having to scrap the work and start over. But I have a shortcut.
The 2013 design, laser-engraved into graphite
Graphite is much more easily cut than steel. It can even be engraved with a laser. And a design carved in graphite can be transferred directly to hardened steel by electrical-discharge machining. Counterfeiters have used ‘spark-erosion’ dies, made by a crude version of this process (starting with a real coin), for years.
“Why should I back this campaign?”
- You want to support the overarching goal of space settlement
- You are an artist who wants to see where this can go
- You are a friend of the Luna Project, and want to support this step forward
- You are interested in the technology of coining, and will be eagerly following my progress at the Mintmaster’s Notebook
Rewards
The main point of this campaign is to create new Luna Project
medalets, as seen at the top of the page, and I want to put them into
your hands.
If we raise enough money to fulfill the goals of
purchasing a coin press and creating dies, I will also create a
special design of medalet which will be produced only on the first day
of operations.
Whatever happens, I will personally ensure that everyone who
contributes two dollars or more receives a specially-printed “Thank
You” postcard, mailed with space-themed US postage stamps up to 50
years old, and everyone who contributes at least $5 gets both the
postcard and a button based on the new medalet design. If need be, I
will spend my own money to provide these rewards, because I appreciate
your support.
The first fifty people to contribute — again, at
any level, no matter what happens with the funding — will receive a
Luna Project Medalet of the original pattern.
Assuming that funding is sufficient for both the “2014” and
“First Day” medalets, anyone who contributes at least $5 to the
campaign can apply that contribution towards rewards according to the
following price list. You will be contacted by e-mail when the
campaign ends, to determine your reward preferences.
- One 2014 Luna Project medalet in nickel-silver — $2
- A premium set pairing the 2014 Luna Project medalet with a genuine US dollar coin, “Anthony” type, dated 1979, the tenth anniversary of the first human footsteps on the Moon, having a reverse design based on the Apollo 11 mission patch — $4
- A premium set pairing the 2014 Luna Project medalet with a genuine US dollar coin, “Eisenhower” type, dated 1972, the year of the last Apollo landing, having a reverse design based on the Apollo 11 mission patch — $5
-
(The above will be available later at the same prices, and
quantities are not limited)
Prototype of the “Standup” reward - First Day medalet in nickel-silver or bronze — $5 (limit 250)
- First Day Cover : First Day medalets, one each in nickel-silver and bronze, mailed on the day of striking — $15 (limit 200)
- A 2014 Luna Project medalet Anthony dollar premium set, like the $4 item, but with a dollar dated 1999, thirtieth anniversary of the first human lunar landing — $10 (limit 20)
- One 2014 Luna Project medalet struck in silver — $20
- The Standup’ (see photo above), a 2014 Luna Project medalet and a First Day medalet, in a laser-cut plastic holder that will stand on your shelf or desk (the only reward item which brings together both types of medalets) — $20 (limit 100)
- The Paperweight’ (see image below), a 2014 Luna Project medalet, an original-pattern Luna Project medalet, a 1972 dollar, and a 1979 dollar, cast into a plastic puck with the distinctive rocket logo of the Project in the base — $35
- One First Day medalet struck in silver — $50
- A 2014 medalet Eisenhower dollar premium set, like the $5 item, but with the medalet struck in silver, and a silver-composition dollar made by the US Mint for collectors — $50
- ‘Cased Set’, one original-pattern Luna Project medalet, one 2014 medalet in nickel-silver, and one 2014 medalet in silver, [bold]or[/bold] one First Day medalet each in bronze, nickel-silver, and silver, packaged in a case originally used, many years ago, for an official government proof coin set — $150 (limit 10)
(The above are only available through this campaign, and may be
limited in quantity as mentioned)
Prototype of the “Paperweight
SURPASSING THE GOAL
If the money falls short for buying a press, but is enough to commission production of a run of 2014 medalets, that is what I will do. It will mean no First Day Medalets (at least, not this year), but you will still have a choice of 2014 medalet items, including silver items to the extent I can arrange for them.
- But what if funding is more than adequate? Then I have bigger
plans! For example, I can add a Castaing machine to my suite of
equipment, allowing me to put lettering and other decorations on the
edges of the coins I make. That opens up possibilities such as
adding a message to the “third side”, or a groove to allow wrapping
a wire around it, for easy use in jewelry. And that also means new rewards.
Wire-wrapped suspension applied to a coin with a grooved edge
- Beginning at $7500, for each additional $100 contributed, one lucky backer who requests a 2014 medalet in nickel-silver will receive a silver one instead.
- At $8000, all First Day medalets will receive special laser-cut packaging.
- At $9000, all 2014 medalets will also receive laser-cut packaging, which will not be available to the general public.
- At $10 000, everyone who gives $5 or more will receive a Canadian dollar coin overstruck with a design based on the Spanish colonial “pillar dollar”. Call them “Doubloonies”!
- You’ve heard of “rolled coins” — If we make it to $15 000, everyone who gives at least $2 will receive, in addition to the “Thank You” postcard, a genuine United States five-cent nickel, not rolled flat, but rolled through the Castaing machine to impress a motto on its edge.
- If need be, I’ll come up with something beyond that!
Example of medalet packaging, laser-cut from matte-board and
decorated using a rubber stamp
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