NNP

Precision Casting.  A type of investment casting which produces finely detailed casts. The process utilizes a wax pattern, which is melted away, thus it is a modern development of lost wax, cire-perdue or waste wax. It is a fairly expensive method of casting, particularly for long runs, yet it is the best method for complex and detailed designs, and it can use "medallic" alloys – gold, silver, bronze – creating an excellent surface.

History of precision casting.  Lost wax was the process used for casting vessels and statuary in China 4000 bc, employed by the Greeks in casting their monumental bronzes 2000 years ago, and widely used in the Renaissance for creating the first medals and medallions. Thus the technique of art metal casting was applied to small glyptic objects.

While in continued use in the medallic field since Pisanello's first medal of 1438, it was the 20th century in which modern needs improved on the ancient method. Dentists and doctors led the development of precision casting for dentures and prosthetic devices.

excerpted with permission from

An Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Technology

For Artists, Makers, Collectors and Curators

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY D. WAYNE JOHNSON