The earliest minted coins were literally made one at a time, by hammering or punching a design into metal using a die. Experimental archaeology has shown that using this technique, 100 Lydian lions could be made in an hour. The process required two, maybe three, people to hold the die, to position the metal and to hammer the design. It was slow, painstaking work, dies wore out quickly and human error was a constant factor.
In contrast, casting uses a cast or mould to produce coins. The process was particularly favoured in the east, although it was well known in the Mediterranean, where thousands of clay moulds, used by forgers, have been found.
In countries like China, casting was the ideal solution to the huge demand for coinage created by…
