A planchet of considerable thickness is required for a high relief medal in order to accommodate the massive amount of metal movement and multiple strikes it will take to bring up the design. To produce these planchets the alloy is first cast into ingots, which are in turn rolled under great pressure in to sheets or strips of the proper thickness. It is from these sheets that the individual blanks are punched. The individual blanks for this medal were punched one at a time from strip stock of commercial bronze, which contains between 90 to 95% copper, with the remaining 5 to 10% being zinc. This blank is 2.8125 inches (2-27/32 or 3/32 over 2-3/4 of an inch) in diameter, 0.266 (17/64 or 1/64 over 1/4 of an inch) inches thick and weighs 224.7 grams. You can tell which side of the planchet was facing up by the deformation of the metal caused along the edge as it is sheared from the strip. The mark left by the hydraulic ram that presses the blank through die or hole in the blanking machine is clearly visible on the bottom image. This process differs from coin production only in that the blanks are punched one at a time instead of several simultaneously. At this point the blank is ready to be washed, annealed and delivered to the press operator. Coin blanks on the other hand would require one further operation, edge raising or forming, before they would be delivered to the pressroom.

After the blanks or planchets have been washed and annealed (softened) they are ready to receive an impression from the dies. Even today's large modern presses can not bring up such an intricate high-relief design in a single blow. The results of the first blows leave the medal recognizable but the details in the area of greatest relief soft. The dies forced the metal to flow out of the low areas of the design and into the high areas. Due to the design of this medal the metal on the obverse wants to flow from the field around the portrait in toward the President's bust and out toward the edge were a rim will be eventually formed by the die. On the reverse the majority of the metal movement is toward the rim and the shield over the eagle's breast. This medal, unlike a coin, is struck without a collar. This method is typical of medal production and already at this stage you can see a flange, called "flash" starting to be squeezed out from between the obverse and reverse dies. This movement of metal generates great heat, which under the tremendous pressure of the press causes the planchet to work-harden. This work-hardening makes additional strikes fruitless until the medal is annealed again.

Bronze is annealed by heating it in a furnace and then quickly cooling it by immersing it in water. Interestingly this same process is used to harden the steel dies used to strike the medal. After annealing, the medal is carefully aligned between the dies for a second striking. Aligning the medal with the dies becomes easier with each successive striking due to the fact it becomes somewhat self-keying. The sides of the obverse and reverse dies help dam the metal flowing outward and force it up into the raised rim being formed. This second striking brings up even more detail as metal flows from all parts of the surface into cavities in the dies as even more "flash" is squeezed out at the edge. On the obverse the detail of President Bush's cheek and nose are now nearly complete, as is the knot of his tie. On the reverse the shield is taking shape but the stars are still weak and the legends around the periphery are now clear. However, it will take one more round trip to the annealing furnaces before the rim is completed and the medal fully struck!

Annealed once more the medal is struck for the third and in this medal's case final time. The total number of strikes required for any art medal can vary from two to a dozen or more depending on the relief of the design. However, this third strike finally brings up the full detail leaving a proof-like finish on our subject medal. The rim detail, which was the last design element of the medal to strike up, is now bold and complete. It is for these reasons that areas of high relief are not usually designed back-to-back on coins since they are required to "strike up" in a single blow of the dies. However, this has not been a problem on our high-relief art medal where multiple round trips between the annealing room and the pressroom have not posed a problem. Also notice that the flange or "flash" from having been struck without a collar is very prominent at this point. This is evidence of the tremendous amount of metal movement generated by the three strikings on the powerful art medal press. The medal now leaves the pressroom for the last time. However, unlike a coin it is not finished.

Our medal now enters the sizing and finishing stage, which has no parallel in coin production. There are multiple steps represented in this stage of the manufacturing process of an art medal. However, the medal illustrated in this stage represents only the trimming or sizing step in the process. The medal was mounted on a turning lathe in soft keys that mimic the design to protect it from damage where it was then machined to the proper diameter removing the flange or "flash" in the process. The flash on this medal is considerably closer to the reverse than the obverse which, I believe indicates the obverse was the lower or anvil die in the striking process. The flash that was removed also protruded out from the edge by a varying amount and was about 1/8 of an inch thick. Furthermore, the flats of the edge above and below the flash were tapered to allow easier removal from the dies. The machining operation has left the edge square and one can see the fine groves left behind.

Typically process sets that feature only three strikes will illustrate a sandblasted medal at this stage. Sandblasting, which is a high pressure pelting of the entire surface with tiny grains of sand or glass beads, is usually done at this time to mute the proof-like surfaces of the medal before it is antiqued. Close study of the finished medal makes it clear the Medalcraft Mint did not sandblast the medal before antiquing it. The lines in the design on the finial finished medal are just as sharp as those seen after the finial strike illustrated above in stage 4. The medal that Medalcraft placed in the process set at this point only illustrates the application of the edge lettering identifying the minter, metallic composition and appropriate copyright information. Therefore the only difference between this and the medal in the previously illustrated stage is the addition of " ã 2001 MEDALCRAFT MINT - GREEN BAY WI BRONZE" impressed into the edge. Interestingly, the grooves left from the lathe operation are not obscured and are still visible. Unfortunately, this operation does not display well when giving an obverse/reverse exhibit of the medal.

Most bronze as well as silver medals are marketed with an antique finish and this one is no exception. To achieve this effect the medal is first coated with an oxidizing solution designed to darken and highlight the lower elements of the design. Each mint or manufacturer has its own "secret recipe" for oxidizing or antiquing the surfaces of their medals. Emulsion in ammonium sulfate for only a few seconds to give it its dark color is one technique used in the past by Art Medals Incorporated (AMI) however, I do not know if this is how Medalcraft Mint antiqued this medal. Whatever method is used a finisher would then have removed the solution from the high points and adjusted the effect before the solution dried. Timing is critical at this stage as the longer the time the darker the color and the more difficult it becomes for the finisher to manipulate it. The solution was allowed to dry on this medal for purposes of illustrating this step in the process.

After the finisher removes or "relieves" the dark color from the high points and background using a powered buffing wheel leaving color only in the crevices and recesses the medal takes on a "two-toned" appearance that further highlights its sculptural detail. This handwork does give each medal a slightly different look but is amazingly quite consistent. The medal is then washed, dried, and baked to remove all moisture before finally being lacquered to protect the bronze from tarnishing. The medal is now complete! In it's final state it is now 2.78125 (2-25/32) inches in diameter and it measures 0.28125 (9/32) inches thick at the rim. The maximum relief measured from the highest point on the reverse (the point of the shield) to the highest point on the obverse (the tip of the President's nose) is 0.37 inches or just under 3/8 of an inch. The President's nose, eyebrow and necktie knot on the obverse rise below the protective rim and the shield over the eagle's breast on the reverse also rises above the protective rim. Its weight has been trimmed to 192.1 grams approximately 32.6 grams or 14.5% less than the original 224.7 gram blank it started from. Much work and craftsmanship have gone into this medal and it now only requires packaging and home.