Hordern, Mason & Edwards (HME)

[bagerap]

A nice little novelty. Can't recall seeing anything like it at the time though.

[Figleaf]

Found a UK company called HME, but it was established only in 1984. A better candidate is Group Rhodes, producing the HME mechanical power presses. As the conversion scale on the token is a bit imprecise, I could imagine that these were produced in trade shows to demonstrate the machinery.

Peter

[africancoins]

HME were previously part of Verson and before that Cincinatti-Milacron. There are various "advertisers" known with these two earlier names in conjunction with "HME", most being about 25mm in diameter.

I think I have read before what the "HME" is an abbreviation of.

Do you think it is Gold-anodised-Aluminium

Is the diameter about 38mm ?

Thanks Mr Paul Baker

[malj1]

I have three of these; Gold anodised aluminium, 38.1mm 5.7g

HME - HORDERN, MASON & EDWARDS

Cincinnati began as a small machine shop in the downtown area of the city of the same name in Ohio, USA, in the mid 1860s. After World War II it took over the Birmingham (UK) press manufacturers Hordern, Mason & Edwards, of Vesey Street, Birmingham, (HME) who had been approached by the Royal Mint in the early 1960s to prepare a specialist modern coining press suitable for the quantities of UK coins needed when the country changed over to a decimal system; the Mint estimated that 150 additional presses alone would be needed. HME designed the Coinmaster, a forged steel press with a novel rotary feed plate, which was subsequently sold to many mints the world over.

In 1969 the parent company name changed to Cincinnati Milacron, reflecting the rapid development of plastics and injection moulding in the company’s markets; the name was changed again to Milacron Inc in 1998

[malj1]

Found this on file.

reverse lower items = if a cincinnati salesman can’t match this coin he’ll buy you a beer

[eurocoin]

Another extremely rare one made to test the K360 press for the Pobjoy Mint.

[malj1]

 

[Verify-12]

I wonder if anyone here knows about HME (Cincinatti Milling Machine or "Milacron") and their involvement in helping South Korea install HME and TC presses at their then new coining mint in 1966?  I saved a message at a now-defunct forum where a person with some Korean coins said that his uncle who worked for Cincinatti Milacron helped install coining presses in Korea in the 60s, from which he got the coins.

I have tried looking this up for further detail, to no avail.  The Ohio History Museum has nothing on this, and the current "Milacron" doesn't respond to my repeated requests for information.

Just looking at these different brass tokens above makes me think that HME was also involved in striking a series of pattern coins for South Korea in 1965, as the color and detail on these tokens look very much like these rare Korean pattern coins.  Here's an image of them:

[Figleaf]

After the Korean war, trade with South Korea was a virtual monopoly of the US, especially in technology sectors. I find it difficult to imagine* that anything but US equipment would have qualified for minting in 1966. At that time, HME was already fully owned by Cincinnati Milacron.

Peter

* Around 1975, I was working for the Netherlands ministry of Economic Affairs. I was asked to meet with a Dutch businessman who sold electronic equipment for civil airports and wanted to sell to South Korea. I gave him the information I had and warned him that it was practically certain that the deal would go to a US company. My Dutch contact won the contract.

[Verify-12]

Well, the Korean Mint's first presses, bought in 1965, two of them, were Taylor & Challen presses.  That wasn't a U.S. company, not at that time or even later.  The Koreans imported banknotes from De La Rue in 1962, also not U.S.  All of South Korea's subsequent minting equipment came from AIDA (Japan, not USA), European companies like Numerota,   Security Printing Akteingesellschaft,   Papierfabrick Louisenthal,   Göbel AG,   Portals Ltd.,   Sack & Kiesselbach,   Deckel,   Jagenberg,  and of course, the reducing lathe company, Janvier.  This was all at that time, too.  And that's not a complete list of Europeans doing business with security printing and minting in South Korea in the 1960s.   Later, Schüler became dominant in the Korean's coining presses and other related equipment; also not U.S.

This abbreviated list makes it seem that some Europeans came out of it pretty good, much like your Dutch contact.

Anyway, I believe that HME was involved in producing those pattern coins.  The other possibility is John Pinches of London, since this company had produced the dies and collars for South Korea's first domestically-minted coins.   No information is forthcoming from the Koreans, sadly.  The Bank of Korea is very tight with its archives and tell its Mint (KOMSCO) to keep everything very close to their chest.  For example, their yearly COIN mintages (forget about banknotes, which is the majority of M1 money supply) is a "trade secret between the Bank of Korea and KOMSCO!   

I posted here just in case somebody might know about these pattern coins and who made them.

[africancoins]

See the image in reply 3.

I would think that the people getting HME / (Cincinatti Milacron) machines to South Korea would have been from Birmingham, England.

Thanks Mr Paul Baker

[Verify-12]

See the image in reply 3.

I would think that the people getting HME / (Cincinatti Milacron) machines to South Korea would have been from Birmingham, England.

Thanks Mr Paul Baker

Right.  Then I wonder if some British technicians were involved in the installation of these machines in Korea in the late 60s? 
It would be wonderful to learn more about that... (I'm writing a book on the subject of South Korean coins).

[Figleaf]

This side is not pictured in Reply #4. The other side is bottom row, 5th from left: press with H.M.E. COINMASTER and 1965.

Peter

[malj1]

This token has simply HME Birmingham they all seem weakly struck.

[eurocoin]

Another token related to HME. The EMO is a European trade show for the manufacturing industry. Given it is in German, the fair this piece was made for took place in Hannover.