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Casting mold for coins, China, 1st century AD? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/historyartifacts@lemmy.world
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[–] -3 points 1 year ago (12 children)

That won't make coins. It will make the outlines. Molds are reversed. The raised parts are what won't appear on the final blank, while the cavities hold the finished details. This is the opposite of that.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    What are you talking about? Just do a search for chinese coin and this are the perfect mold for them.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    Indeed, the coins are broken off the resulting "coin tree" and then cleaned up by filing. The edges and details stand proud. Searching for "ban liang mold" will show other similar Chinese molds.

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  • [–] -5 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    I do this for a living. This mold won't work. The material won't flow into the raised areas...only the cavities. You will end up with rings, and nothing in the middle.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    I get what you mean, but did you consider they might pour enough molten metal into the mold so it overflows each cavity along the coin tree, with the whole patterned area becoming one side of the coin?

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  • [–] -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That doesn't change the fact that cavities are where the material flows. On this mold, the cavities are all the places around the coin.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I suspect this side of the mold is flush with the face of the coin and the other side is recessed to the depth of the coin. That would give the depth of the coin for metal to flow and still make this a workable partial mold.

    Or you're completely right and this is an unworkable mold.

    🤷‍♂️

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