This coin shows what was used to mint coins.  We will point out each section of the back of the coin below to help you understand how coins were minted.

Remember that the coins were minted one by one!

The anvil is the bottom section and a "die" with the image of the back of the coin would be already placed on the anvil.

The "cap" is the top section and another "die" with an image of front of the coin would be placed there.

Then a "blank" coin would be put into the space between the anvil and the cap. It would be placed there using these tongs. You don't want to pinch your fingers!

There is also a theory that the coin was heated before it was struck. If this is true the tongs would help a person not to get burnt.

The hammer would be used to strike the cap section and force the image onto the blank coin. The hammer does not quite look like our hammer todays.