# What do U.S. Mint engravers do when they make a mistake? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2004, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158 "2004-01-12T12:35:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/1 "2004-01-12T12:35:04Z")
Every once in a while I see documentaries about the U.S. Mint on various cable channels. The story is always quite fascinating, documenting the process by which U.S. bank notes are printed. They inevitably show some poor guy hunched over a steel plate, holding a thick magnifying lens and a manual engraving tool. As the story goes, no one engraver does all of the work: some do numbers, others portraits, and still others signatures. My question is this: Do they have to do an entire plate to perfection? Is there some patch substance that they can use if they make an error? It seems like a tall order for umpteen specialists to all add their bits to a plate without somebody being distracted for a minute and adding an unwanted line. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/2 "2004-01-12T13:01:02Z")
Noteworthy nitpickery: Paper money is made by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Coins are made by the US Mint. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/3 "2004-01-12T13:14:10Z")
These guys have been doing this for a long time, and they don’t have to copy anything exactly, once a note is engraved it will be used as the master for as long as that note is in circulation. If they make a mistake they can easily incorporate it into the design, just like a gun engraver would. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/4 "2004-01-12T13:15:00Z")
I’d have thought this sort of thing would all be done by CAD now; is that not the case? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/5 "2004-01-12T14:40:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I’d have thought this sort of thing would all be done by CAD now; is that not the case? \*\* No, it is still engraved by hand: [Bureau of Engraving and Printing](http://www.moneyfactory.com/document.cfm/18/121) > [@](#): > > \*\*Production of United States paper currency is not an easy or simple task, but one that involves over 65 separate and distinct steps in the production process. Money begins with the hand-engraved piece of soft steel, known as a master-die. Separate portions of the design, such as the portrait, the vignette, the ornamentation, and the lettering are hand-cut by the engravers. If you look closely at a currency note, you will notice that the portrait consists of numerous fine lines, dots and dashes which vary y in size and shape. The magnificent artistry and skill of the engraver bring the portrait to life. The process of engraving is the first step in a unique printing technique known as intaglio printing. > \*\* ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/6 "2004-01-13T01:36:37Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Noteworthy nitpickery: Paper money is made by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Coins are made by the US Mint. > > Carry on. How the hell could I make such a silly error as that. I guess I was paying more attention to how to best phrase the question while messing up stuff that I darn well better know after so many History Channel specials on coins and paper money. This is just the type of thing I would snicker at if someone else did it. Embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/7 "2004-01-13T02:29:23Z")
In the early 1800’s, a mint engraver(coins) took weeks to months to engrave an actual working die. Let’s say, one that would be used for an 1817 half dollar. That was an investment in time and money. If they had left-over dies at the end of 1817, they would re-engrave(punch, actually) an eight over the seven(which they tried to remove as best the could). It didn’t always work. So, you got “overdates” on coins in the 1800’s. This has happened in the 1900’s also, but less frequently. I think micro-engraving tools have probably changed things dramatically. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/8 "2004-01-13T02:32:36Z")
Of course, **Tamerlane** didn’t call me a drooling idiot. I just haven’t learned how to post in this new format, and hit a wrong button, yadda yadda. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/9 "2004-01-13T02:34:39Z")
NOW this isn’t funny. WHY do I have a sig line? ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-u-s-mint-engravers-do-when-they-make-a-mistake/224158/10 "2004-01-13T02:54:13Z")
The new version apparently defaults to posting your sig unless you tell it not to. No doubt this is the first thing TPTB will fix when they get the chance.