They did nice work back then. Gold coins also didn’t circulate that much because of their great value relative to other coin types.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3409377/posts
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3409545/posts
Coining presses of the time were typically drop type
mechanisms up to thirty feet tall, with a ratchet device
to catch the die on the rebound and keep it from double striking.
Interesting.
