How are penny blanks made?

Answer 1

Penny blanks are made from large sheets of metal. They are put through a machine that cuts out the coin blanks, almost like a cookie cutter. The blanks are then sent to the mint where they are stamped.

I believe a company that creates penny blanks is "Ball." For other coins, the Blanks are made at one of the U.S. Mint locations.

here are some links

http://www.usmint.gov/kids/Cartoons/birthOfACoin/

http://www.ballcorporate.com/page.jsp?page=110

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/index.cfm?action=vtShell

Answer 2

Before any coin is minted or struck, they commence life as a shiny metal (blank) disc called a "Planchet" or a "blank".

Each different type of coin would have its own size and type of planchet.

With modern minting processes the planchets are fed at high speed through the presses and coin dies strike the coin design into both sides of the coin simultaneously.