United States Mint New Chemical Development - RFI

The United States Mint (USM) uses a third-party proprietary compound to protect and lubricate blanks during the coin-stamping process. For any reason, if production of this proprietary compound was reduced or ceased, it would greatly impact the USM operations. The USM wishes to develop a similar or alternate solution that will perform equally or better than the current mixture.

Development of an alternate solution will require in-depth knowledge of corrosion protection, lubrication, and self-assembled monolayers, exploration of relevant chemicals and/or processes, as well as small-scale and large-scale formulation and testing. The attached narrative describes the current state of USM coin production as it relates to the chemical treatment of blanks and their use in the stamping process. Also provided is a list of requirements desired by the USM.