1 Usual method of hand-striking a coin design onto blank metal using a pair of dies. This method was used until the mid- 17thC. 2 Metal articles shaped by hand, a process used since ancient times. The metal is gently hammered into shape over a wooden block or leather pad. See planishing, raising. 3 See martelé.
The striking of a coin by placing a blank or flan horizontally between two dies and then striking the back of the top die with a hammer. Last used in Australia to produce the Dump and Holey Dollar, the technique has now been replaced by the Coining Press.
The name given to coins created by placing the blank between the two dies and hitting the top die with a hammer, by hand to impart the image on the coin. Until the recent invention of powered machinery to strike coins, hammering by hand was the only way a coin could be made.