NNP

Oversize Flan.  A blank larger than intended for a particular coin or medal. Oversize flans will clog or otherwise mis-strike in a coining press (because of collar dies). Open face dies can easily strike oversize flans and are occasionally used to create medals larger than dies employed. A recent example, the Haile Selassie Medal for the New York Rotary Club, 1 ½-inch, was struck from two 1 ¼-inch dies; the resulting 1/8-inch border was inscribed with lettering. The wide border on such pieces has a tendency to bow up as the center is struck and becomes depressed. Oversize blanks are always used in proving newly cut dies, and often used in die trials.

excerpted with permission from

An Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Technology

For Artists, Makers, Collectors and Curators

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY D. WAYNE JOHNSON

Roger W. Burdette, Editor